Beef tallow: What to know about the seed oil alternative touted by RFK Jr

Beef tallow has become the latest health obsession, with the support of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Kennedy has been a staunch proponent of fringe health ideas, from using Vitamin A to treat measles to drinking raw milk and using tallow for frying instead of seed oils. 

Tallow, or rendered animal fat similar to lard, is often contrasted with so-called “seed oils,” a term for common vegetable oils such as canola oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, corn oil, and soybean oil.

Following Kennedy’s lead, Steak ‘n Shake switched its frying formula back to tallow after most fast-food chains switched to seed oils in the 1990s. 

Here is everything you need to know about the medical and nutritional science of tallow. 

What is tallow?

Tallow is made by rendering the fatty tissue surrounding the organs of ruminant animals, including cows, buffalo, sheep, goats, and deer. Beef tallow, in particular, is made from cows, often colloquially called “beef drippings.” 

Like other solid cooking fats, beef tallow is primarily made of saturated fats, which have attracted the ire of nutritionists for years for their links to heart disease. There is limited evidence that saturated fats may also increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. 

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a document of health recommendations made by HHS and the Agriculture Department, recommends that under 10% of calories consumed in a day should be saturated fats. 

Kennedy will have a major hand this year in reshaping the newest version of the guidelines, which set the standards for federal food programs such as food stamps and school lunches.

However, according to the Mayo Clinic, stearic acid, a specific type of saturated fat found in beef tallow, may not raise cholesterol in the same way as other saturated fats. 

Beef tallow contains omega-6 fatty acids, which have been found to prevent plaque buildup, as well as fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Tallow also has omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation. 

Is tallow better for you than seed oils?

Many seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fats, which have been found to lower levels of LDL cholesterol. LDL is considered “bad” cholesterol because it is thought to increase the risk of heart disease. 

Seed oils generally have higher smoke points than animal-based fats. This means that seed oils are less chemically stable at higher temperatures than tallow and have a greater propensity to form harmful compounds during the heating process.

But seed oils are backed by decades of health and safety research, beginning in the mid-20th century, when medical scientists began to understand the link between fat intake and heart disease. 

In fact, the American Heart Association encourages the use of seed oils but says health problems come from eating too much seed oil in ultraprocessed foods.

There is significantly less research on beef tallow than on seed oils. So-called ‘tallow truthers’ say that much of the research touting the benefits of seed oils is compromised by financial interests from large food corporations, since seed oils are less expensive than tallow. 

Nutritionists, however, argue that frying fast food either in tallow or seed oils doesn’t make much of a difference.

“People should be eating fewer french fries, whatever they’re deep fried in,” Christopher Cagner, nutritionist at Stanford University School of Medicine, told NPR. 

How safe is tallow for skincare?

The tallow trend isn’t just for french fries. It’s also being advertised by social media influencers as a perfect addition to skincare routines.

Since early 2024, influencers have increasingly touted that their acne has cleared and their skin is glowing thanks to switching from conventional moisturizers to tallow.

However, a 2024 review of nearly 150 published studies on using beef tallow for skincare found mixed safety and efficacy results.

The meta-analysis found that tallow does have hydrating properties, but its moisturizing powers were inferior to those of other products, such as pumpkin seed oil and linoleic acid. 

Data were inconclusive on whether or not tallow causes any skin or eye irritation or reactions, requiring further research. 

Using pure tallow topically can also leave your skin with “a faint beefy smell,” according to New Zealand-based tallow skin care company It’s All Good. 

“Tallow will always have a flavour/scent, not because it’s dirty, but because it’s a nutrient-laden fat, not standardised, bleached and decolorised fat that was treated in a lab with unwanted chemicals and procedures,” Anat Edwy, cofounder of the New Zealand company, wrote on her website.