6 Tallow Benefits: Why This Ancient Fat is Making a Comeback

Has tallow been blowing up your social feeds?

This ancient fat is making a serious comeback, especially in paleo, primal, carnivore, and ketogenic diet communities. Fans praise tallow for its versatility and sustainability, using it in everything from recipes to natural skincare.

But what actually is tallow? And, more importantly, is tallow good for you?

Let’s explore the health benefits of tallow to see if it deserves all the hype. We’ll break down where this fat comes from, how it’s made, and the top science-backed tallow benefits for a keto diet. 

🙊 Spoiler alert: You’ll also score a cheat code for the easiest way to add tallow to your routine.

🤔 FAQs: What Is Tallow? 

Beef tallow is rendered fat, usually from the suet of cows (the hard fat around the organs, particularly the kidneys and loins). Though beef is the most popular, tallow can also be made from sheep, goats, deer, elk, bison, or buffalo suet.

This pure, nutrient-dense source of animal fat has been relied on for centuries. Consider it the OG healthy fat long before avocados and coconut oil stole the show. A concentrated energy source our ancestors thrived on.

♨️ How Is Tallow Made?

First, the animal fat is chopped into small pieces. It’s gently heated over low heat until it melts and separates from any protein or water in the tissue (rendered). The liquid fat is then strained to remove any solid bits and impurities. 

Once it cools, you’ve got a creamy, nutrient-dense fat that’s ready for action! Tallow is solid at room temperature and melts to a liquid when heated.

People call tallow a sustainable food because it supports a nose-to-tail approach to meat production. Ensuring all parts of an animal are used minimizes waste and maximizes resource efficiency. Just like our ancestors believed.

🧾 Tallow Nutrition: A Fatty Acid Powerhouse

The nutritional value of tallow comes down to its fatty acid profile. It’s pure fat; it doesn’t contain any protein, carbohydrates, or sugar. So, is tallow a healthy fat?

While the exact percentages vary, tallow is primarily composed of:[*][*]

• Monounsaturated fats (40–50%). Monounsaturated fats like oleic acid (found in olives, almonds, and almond butter) have been touted as “good fats” because studies show they reduce inflammation, support heart health, improve blood sugar levels, and may lower obesity risks.[*]
• Saturated fats (45–50%). Unfairly demonized in the past, there’s no evidence that saturated fats cause heart disease or high cholesterol.[*][*] Recent research proves they’re vital to any diet. But you probably already know that. 😎
• Polyunsaturated fats (3–7%). Though the least of the bunch, this type of fat includes essential omega-3 fatty acids. Our bodies can’t make them, so we must load up on them to support our brains and overall health and lower inflammation.[*][*][*]

Now, we want to shout out the King of Fats by name: stearic acid.

Beef tallow is the second-highest dietary source of stearic acid after cacao butter (the main character in Keto Bricks). This saturated fat has been shown to improve cholesterol levels, decrease insulin resistance, lower inflammation, and more.[*][*][*]

👑 Discover why this fat takes the crown in our guide on The Benefits of Cacao Butter and Its High Stearic Acid Content.

🥓 Tallow vs. Lard: What’s the Difference?

Tallow is most often rendered from the fat of cows, while lard is rendered from the fat of pigs. If you strain and save your bacon grease to cook with later, you’ve been rendering pork tallow (aka lard).

Both fats have distinct flavors, nutritional profiles, uses, and benefits. Which brings us to:

✨ 6 Keto Health Benefits of Tallow

Now, let's dive into the real reason you're here: to learn why you should be chomping down on tallow for that extra edge. The top tallow health benefits include:

♥️ Heart Health, Reimagined 

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room: tallow and heart health. 

The monounsaturated fats in tallow typically get all the glory. Prized as “healthy fats,” these improve cholesterol profiles, lower high blood pressure, and decrease the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and all-cause mortality.[*][*]

Then there’s the dark side of the moon: saturated fat.

Blaming saturated fats for high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease is an oversimplification.[*] Factors like the type of saturated fat and one’s overall diet, lifestyle, and metabolic health all play a role in how they affect your body. 

We already highlighted the health benefits of stearic acid. But there’s another twist: researchers say your body actually converts this saturated fat to a monounsaturated fat, so it may be just as beneficial for your ticker.[*]

🔥 Ketone Production and Long-Lasting Energy

There are two ways tallow boosts energy levels on keto:

1. Tallow digests slowly, providing a steady, long-lasting energy source for intense workouts, challenging hikes, and busy days at the office. Say sayonara to afternoon slumps and hello to sustained performance!

2. Its fatty acids are perfect for ketone production. Ketones are the super fuel your brain and muscles use in ketosis. They generate much more ATP (energy) than glucose.[*] More ketones = more energy and stamina.

So go ahead and throw tallow on the list of what to eat before a workout on keto.

🧠 Mental Performance and Brain Health Wins

Your brain’s around 60% fat, and the fats you eat play a massive role in its function and overall health.[*] That’s why high-fat diets like keto are a game-changer for your cranium. 

Ketones cross the blood-brain barrier to give your neurons (brain cells) a more efficient energy source than glucose.[*] 

That’s why keto dieters report improved alertness, memory, attention, and stronger cognitive performance.[*][*] They also score mental health wins like less stress, anxiety, and depression.[*]

Tallow supports brain health because it sparks ketone production. But its fatty acid profile also helps:

• Maintain your myelin sheath. This protective fatty layer ensures lightning-fast communication between neurons for peak brain function.[*]
• Skyrocket brain power. Its monounsaturated fats are linked to better mental performance and problem-solving skills.[*]
• Slow cognitive decline. The myristic acid (a saturated fat) in tallow reduces brain aging and neuron damage, while also boosting memory and brain health in mice studies.[*]

Tallow also packs choline, a nutrient most people lack.[*] Choline supports neurotransmitter production, heightens mental performance, and may lower your risk of dementia.[*] 

⚡ Want to sharpen your mind and enhance your focus? Read this guide to build your perfect nootropics stack.

⚖️ Increased Satiety and Weight Loss Support

Most people start a keto diet to shed LBs, and it works. Ketones reduce both the urge to eat and feelings of hunger, a powerful one-two punch for maintaining a calorie deficit.[*]

Tallow’s also a proven weight loss ally. Research shows it may: 

Boost your metabolism. Rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and stearic acid, these fatty acids torch body fat, especially abdominal fat and the dangerous visceral fat around your organs.[*][*]

Curb your appetite. Fat is the most satiating macronutrient, so tallow can keep you feeling full and satisfied longer.[*] You’ll banish cravings, prevent overeating, and lose weight without starving yourself. That means more time crushing goals and less time thinking about your next meal.

Combine these perks, and you've got a recipe for naturally slashing your calorie intake and accelerating fat loss.

🧯 Lower Inflammation

Inflammation speeds up the aging process and raises your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders (like Alzheimer’s and dementia), and even cancer.[*] It also makes you feel like crap.

Good news? The anti-inflammatory CLA in tallow stomps out inflammation and may also prevent and treat those conditions.[*][*]

Heads up: Like meat, tallow from grass-fed cows contains higher levels of CLA than tallow from their grain-fed counterparts.[*] 

🧑‍🍳 Safer High-Heat Cooking

Most cooking oils oxidize at high temperatures. Oxidation ignites a chain of chemical reactions that form health-damaging free radicals.[*]

Tallow doesn’t just taste better; it’s actually better and healthier for high-heat cooking like frying, roasting, grilling, and searing. Thanks to its high smoke point (up to 480°F), tallow retains its structure at high heat and is less likely to oxidize, burn, or produce dangerous compounds. 

🍟 Fun fact: Fast-food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s all used tallow for cooking and frying before cheap, ultra-processed hydrogenated vegetable oils and seed oils became the unfortunate norm.[*]

🥩 How To Use Tallow In Your Daily Life

You can grab tallow at local farmer’s markets, butcher shops, and health food stores. Prioritize grass-fed tallow for the highest quality. If you fancy yourself a DIYer, try rendering tallow at home using beef fat from 

your butcher and this free MasterClass lesson.

Use your tallow to cook and flavor low-carb veggies and nutrient-dense organ meats or sear steaks. Add a spoonful to homemade soups, stews, and mugs of bone broth for a dose of healthy fats.

Tallow’s also a fantastic moisturizer for skin and hair health.[*] You can find all-natural and highly nourishing tallow lotions, lip balms, soaps, and shampoo/conditioner bars online or at your farmer’s market. 

🎂 Meet Carnivore Cake Pop: A Tallow-Based Keto Brick!

The worldwide cacao/cocoa shortage continues to climb higher than previously estimated.[*] Cacao butter forms the base of every Keto Brick. But it’s not the only high-performing healthy fat in the sea.

🎉 Carnivore Cake Pop is our first tallow-based Keto Brick, and we’re pumped about it!

Designed with keto go-getters in mind, this Keto Brick packs all the benefits of tallow into a convenient, ready-to-eat performance bar. Backed by the same premium ingredients (and none of the junk!), we know this craveable flavor will be another Brick you’ll love and rely on.

💪 Everyone Loves a Comeback Story

Tallow isn’t just another health and wellness trend; it's a throwback to the days when humans thrived on whole, nutrient-dense foods. 

With health benefits that range from supercharging your energy and ketone levels to higher thinking and weight loss support, tallow checks all the boxes for a clean fuel that delivers.

🥳 Celebrate the launch of our new tallow-based Keto Brick — Carnivore Cake Pop — to experience the power of tallow for yourself!