Ham and cholesterol, how does Pastor help your health?
In Spain we have always been able to boast several aspects in terms of quality of life: a very pleasant climate, good gastronomy, the beauty and diversity of our country … So much so that in 2017 we were the second country with the longest life expectancy of the OECD, second only to the Japanese. Speaking about the Japanese, they take into account the maxim of “we are what we eat”, something that in Pastor we also take at face value, elaborating all our products in a 100% natural way. Today we will focus on our Teruel DOP Ham and the benefits it offers for cholesterol.
Ham is healthy for cholesterol
The Mediterranean diet is considered beneficial, studies point to the benefits of the Mediterranean diet by showing that the countries of northern Europe have a higher rate of heart attacks and cardiovascular problems than the Mediterranean countries. However, we will take into account that in Spain cardiovascular problems are the first cause of mortality, therefore we must take special care and be aware that the food we bring to our fridge are natural, as there are our ham and charcuterie.
The Mediterranean diet consists of a good amount of fresh fruits, cereals, vegetables, legumes, meat, fish, red wine in moderation, and the use of olive oil for cooking. One of the “ingredients” of this Mediterranean diet would be ham. However, when we talk about ham and cholesterol, we will have to differentiate what type of ham.
The composition of Teruel pork meat will depend significantly on factors such as race, habitat, diet and product elaboration. Our pigs of Teruel race Duroc, due to the type of feeding exclusively with cereal (wheat and barley) of Teruel, has a fat composition with a high oleic acid content markedly superior to other pigs; the product that would contain more oleic acid would be olive oil, with 80%, a pure Iberian acorn ham would have around 60%, in Pastor our natural ham contains around 54%, and a ham of Teruel “medium” would contain 38 – 40%.
High cholesterol, treat yourself to a natural ham.
One of the benefits of our Teruel ham is that more than half of the fats are unsaturated (especially oleic acid), which is going to translate into an improvement in cholesterol levels, thus increasing the “good” cholesterol HDL and decreasing the “bad” LDL.
Proven the benefits of our Teruel ham by the University of Zaragoza, we will also emphasize that it is a natural cardioprotector to introduce in our diet, it is a 100% natural product, without additives or chemical preservatives, nor added sugars neither.
After this analysis of the Jamón de Teruel, you will only be able to taste it, with a mild flavor and a delicious sensation in mouth.