Palm oil might not be as unhealthy as they say
Have you ever heard that palm oil is unhealthy? That it
raises blood cholesterol or that it even CONTAINS cholesterol? This research
took me a long time because I wanted to make sure I was looking through the
right research papers. And from the information I found, it seems like the idea
that palm oil is unhealthy came from just the fact that it is saturated fat. A
researcher even claimed that that notion was developed as a way to boost the
sales of vegetable oils. In other words, it was a political agenda that was
orchestrated almost 40 years ago. Sigh!
The reason why I got interested in this topic was because I
have high levels of cholesterol (LDL) which seem to be genetic and hasn’t
reduced (I’m still hoping it does as I get stricter with my diet and work out).
As a result of this condition, I cut down on a lot of oils and food types, and
palm oil was one of them. It was really hard because that’s a staple in Nigeria
that I grew up with. But I just thought I should find out how ‘unhealthy’ it
really is.
I initially struggled with how to put out the information; whether
to group into myths and facts or to say good and bad, but who am I to do
that…LOL. I’m just a researcher. So, I will, instead, put out common questions,
that I at least have, and give you the answers that I found in scientific
journals. How does that sound? Good? I hope 😁. And don’t worry, I will keep
all the scientific jargon for the lecture hall and talk in plain and simple
English like I always have.
geopolmonitor.com |
So, what is saturated
fat to begin with?
To put it plainly, it is fat that is generally solid at room
temperature, hence ‘tightly packed’. Examples are butter, cheese, and the likes,
just to give you a visual. They are known to increase low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol and cause heart disease in the long run. This is because they mostly contain lauric and myristic acid, which are the culprits for LDL increase.
So, is palm oil
saturated?
It would interest you to know that palm oil is actually 50% saturated and 50% unsaturated. And, the study that began the discussion of
saturated fats increasing blood cholesterol did not have palm oil included in
that experiment. The oils tested were corn, soybeans, coconut, olive,
cottonseed, rapeseed, safflower, peanut, mustardseed, sardine, menhaden oils
and butterfat, but-not-palm-oil.
That being said, the saturated portion of palm oil is made
up of 44% palmitic acid, 1% myristic acid and 5% stearic acid, while the
unsaturated part is made up of 39% monounsaturated oleic acid, and 11%
polyunsaturated linoleic which can equally be found in the commercial oils that
are considered healthier, such as canola, olive, sunflowerseed oils and so
forth. Some papers have different compositions that show lauric acid but it’s
obvious it is so little that it is sometimes missed out. However, they all
agree that palm oil is equally as unsaturated as it is saturated. So, again,
should it be termed ‘unsaturated’? I’ll leave that to you to decide.
Is palm oil the same
as palm kernel oil?
No. Palm oil is from the ‘skin’ of the plant and is 50%
saturated, while palm kernel oil is from the seed of the plant and is 80%
saturated.
Does palm oil contain
cholesterol?
No, it does not contain cholesterol. It’s from a plant. Only
animals and animal products have cholesterol.
So, if it does not
have cholesterol, how come it supposedly increases blood cholesterol?
The reason why it has been termed ‘unhealthy’ is because it
is considered saturated and it contains myristic and lauric acid. But I bet
that it takes more than 1% myristic acid to increase LDL. In fact, I’d say that
8 out of 10 research papers I found proved that it either lowers your LDL or it
does nothing.
There was this research that tried to prove otherwise using
olive oil, palm oil and lard, and they reached the conclusion that palm oil
increased LDL. HOWEVER, they went on to point out the limitation of the study
stating that when it was time for the test subjects to eat palm oil, they
recorded eating other foods that where high in cholesterol only during that
time and not during the olive oil and lard diet. But they still went ahead to say
that the extra cholesterol non-test food couldn’t have affected their result
because a paper said that eating cholesterol-rich foods has negligible effects
on hypercholesteremia in healthy adults. When I zoomed in in these papers they
were using to support their conclusion, one paper claimed that since eggs
increased HDL (which is the good cholesterol that you indeed want to increase),
it was safe to say that eggs should be avoided in diet. The other paper said
that men have a different response of LDL cholesterol to saturated fat. *Crickets*
Really? How do you use these finding to support your already faulty finding? Are
you as confused as I am? Well, at least they were transparent about it. Long
story short, the palmitic acid in palm oil has been shown to either lower LDL
or not do anything at all.
Other blog posts that mention the 'health hazards' don't put any links to scientific papers that back up that claim, or they use the saturated fat content as proof. I wouldn't take those to heart if I were you.
Does it cause heart
disease?
Well, the reason for this notion is, again, because it is
considered saturated fat, and saturated fat is notorious for increasing LDL,
which in turn increases the risk of heart disease. But guess what? No research
has been able to prove that palm oil is linked to coronary disease. So, it is
safe to say that it is in fact safe for the heart until proven otherwise
So, is palm oil safe
for cooking/frying?
Yes! Saturated fat is actually the safest for cooking or frying
because it can withstand the heat and oxidation. The next best group for that
would be monounsaturated fats such as peanut oil, canola oil and olive oil, and
the least would be polyunsaturated fats such as corn oil, flaxseed oil, soybean
oil. The rule is that fats with a smoke point higher than 200 oC (392 oF) are
better for deep frying. Palm oil has a smoke point of 235 oC (455 oF) and unrefined
coconut oil has 117 oC (243 oF), and they are both saturated fats. Since that is the case,
coconut oil will do better for just shallow frying and palm oil will do well
for both.
HOWEVER, it is not advisable to reheat used oils because…I’m
thinking of a very simple way to put it…initial heating causes oxidation of the
oil, which leads to reduction in the smoke point and increase in free fatty acids.
Free fatty acids cause the muscles in the body to resist insulin, and that
could lead to diabetes and other health conditions. Funny enough, I grew up
eating plantain fried with old oil…LOL! The most delicious actually. Who knew?
What really are the
benefits of palm oil in summary?
·
It is cholesterol free
·
As long as you are healthy and your LDL
receptors have not been affected through genetics or dietary means, be rest
assured that the palmitic acid in palm oil, which is the major source of
saturation, has been proven to have no adverse effect on cholesterol levels
·
It literally has the same components of your
favorite ‘healthy oils’ such as olive oil, only tougher with regards to cooking
I could go on and on about the details of palm oil but I
hope this gives you a better understanding of things. Points to remember are:
·
Know your health status! Not just for HIV, for
everything. Know where you are at health-wise so that you can have better
control
·
If drinking too much water can lead to water
intoxication and possible death, then you know that palm oil, or food in
general, would be no exception. So, everything in moderation. The good old
balanced diet sermon has never been proven wrong!
·
Again, your doctor knows best but don’t be
afraid to ask questions
Cheers to good health!
DISCLAIMER: Most of the information on my blog are from scientific
research papers which have been interpreted using my best judgement. Please
feel free to click the link for yourself and read those sources but use
discretion when using the information on this blog.
I've been trying to tell people to enjoy palm oil! A true gift to tropical soils. Lucia, thank you for bringing this issue to light. Hopefully, the hype behind oiless okro soup will be put to rest :-)
ReplyDeleteBut as you mentioned...everything in moderation.
Thank you so much for reading! I struggled with this for a while and now that I know that it is more nutritious than it is harmful, I can make better healthy decisions. I'm glad you got something out of it.
DeleteFunny enough, I grew up eating plantain fried with old oil…LOL! The most delicious actually. Who knew?----looool, I was saying it in my mind, Wow! What an interesting piece of information, who knew all these?...then you took the words out of y mind...lool. Good work Uju
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