Paleo pork ribs, cooked slowly to perfection, are truly one of the most delicious foods out there. For too long, however, they’ve unrightfully been demonized as unhealthy. Because they contain saturated fat, many institutions are still advancing the outdated and disproven theory that saturated fat increases your risk for heart disease.
Recently, for example, Claire Hewat, the CEO of the Dietitians Association of Australia, wrote an opinion piece for the Newcastle Herald in which she expressed several opinions contrary to the science behind the Paleo diet. Among her list of “healthy fats,” she includes both sunflower and canola oil, both of which contain significant quantities of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids.1
Hewat contends that “too much saturated fat increases one’s risk for heart disease,” and recommends replacing foods containing saturated fat with those containing unsaturated fat. Technically, she’s right because too much of anything is unhealthy, but the scientific literature doesn’t support extreme reductions of dietary saturated fat. To the contrary, saturated fat, from both plant and animal foods, consumed in accordance with Paleo diet principles, is health supportive.
Also, it’s important to dispel the myth that pork and other animal fats are solely saturated fat; they’re actually proportionately higher in unsaturated fat. Lard, for example, is roughly 41% saturated fat, 47% monounsaturated, and 12% polyunsaturated. Tallow is about 50% saturated, 46% monounsaturated, and 4% polyunsaturated.
Besides containing healthy varieties and quantities of fat, pork ribs are also rich in B-vitamins, zinc, selenium, and protein.
Try our Slow Cooked Paleo Pork Ribs and Roots recipe, paired with a fresh garden salad, for a delicious, nutritious, complete Paleo meal.
