Beef tallow
Alternate names: Beef Lard, Bovine Lard, Bovine Tallow
Actions: General, Antioxidant, Anti-cancer, Bone health, Cardiovascular, Dental health, Dermatological, Diabetes, Immune, Lipid, Weight loss
Background
Beef tallow is edible cow fat that's used for cooking, making soap, and skincare products. It's also sometimes used as medicine.
Beef tallow mainly contains triglycerides rich in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, including stearic acid. Stearic acid might have various effects in the body.
People sometimes use beef tallow for aging skin, osteoarthritis, wound healing, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
Beef tallow mainly contains triglycerides rich in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, including stearic acid. Stearic acid might have various effects in the body.
People sometimes use beef tallow for aging skin, osteoarthritis, wound healing, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
Safety Safety definitions
When taken by mouth: Beef tallow is commonly consumed as part of the diet. Like all saturated fats, beef tallow should be used in moderation. There isn't enough reliable information to know if beef tallow is safe or what the side effects might be when used in larger amounts as medicine.
When applied to the skin: There isn't enough reliable information to know if beef tallow is safe or what the side effects might be. But there's no reason to expect safety concerns when used appropriately.
High cholesterol: Use beef tallow in moderation if you have high cholesterol. Beef tallow is a source of saturated fat.
When applied to the skin: There isn't enough reliable information to know if beef tallow is safe or what the side effects might be. But there's no reason to expect safety concerns when used appropriately.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Beef tallow is commonly consumed as part of the diet. But there isn't enough reliable information to know if beef tallow is safe when used in larger amounts as medicine. Stay on the safe side and stick to food amounts.High cholesterol: Use beef tallow in moderation if you have high cholesterol. Beef tallow is a source of saturated fat.
Effectiveness
Effective Effectiveness definitions
There is interest in using beef tallow for a number of purposes, but there isn't enough reliable information to say whether it might be helpful.
Dosing & administration
There isn't enough reliable information to know what an appropriate dose of beef tallow might be. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important. Be sure to follow relevant directions on product labels and consult a healthcare professional before using.
Interactions with pharmaceuticals
It is not known if Beef Tallow interacts with any medicines. Before taking Beef Tallow, talk with your healthcare professional if you take any medications.
Interactions with herbs & supplements
There are no known interactions with herbs and supplements.
Interactions with foods
There are no known interactions with foods.
vital.ly has licensed monographs from TRC Healthcare.
Monographs are reviewed and/or updated multiple times per month and at least once per year.
Natural Medicines disclaims any responsibility related to medical consequences of using any medical product. Effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this monograph is accurate at the time it was published. Consumers and medical professionals who consult this monograph are cautioned that any medical or product related decision is the sole responsibility of the consumer and/or the health care professional. A legal License Agreement sets limitations on downloading, storing, or printing content from this Database. No reproduction of this monograph or any content from this Database is permitted without written permission from the publisher. It is unlawful to download, store, or distribute content from this site.
Natural Medicines rates safety based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Likely Safe, Possibly Safe, Possibly Unsafe, Likely Unsafe, Unsafe, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate. For more information about Natural Medicines’ Safety Rating System, click here.
The Natural Medicines Effectiveness Ratings are assigned for specific indications. A product might be rated "Possibly Effective" for one condition, but be rated "Likely Ineffective" for another condition, depending on the evidence. For more info click here.
