Why is palm oil harmful? Palm oil in nutrition, food products

There are many varieties of vegetable oils in the world. Palm oil also finds its application, used not only in industry and cosmetology, but also in nutrition.

Moreover, in the latter case, you can often hear that it is completely harmful to humans.

What kind of oil is this, why is it harmful and what exactly is the danger?

Compound

Palm oil is produced from the fruits of the oil palm tree

The composition, quality and degree of usefulness differ significantly depending on the type of product.
It is produced from the fruits of the oil palm, common in the tropics. The most natural is red palm oil, the harm or benefits of which are generally comparable to the properties of any vegetable oil produced by cold pressing. Also on the market is a refined product, which loses some of its properties during processing, and palm kernel oil, made from kernels.

What is palm oil made of? The properties of a given product are determined by its chemical composition. Essentially, it is a cocktail of various fatty acids, and very few vitamins and minerals.

The main substances are the following:

Myristic acid, which is not absorbed by the intestines and leaves the body with stool, therefore has no effect on health;
Palmitoleic acid, which helps produce nerve cells, reduces cholesterol and blood pressure;
Lauric acid, which fights pathogenic bacteria and viruses, improves mental performance and moisturizes the skin;
Vitamin E, which has a positive effect on nails, skin, hair, thyroid function, has a rejuvenating effect;
Vitamin A, which normalizes metabolism and the functioning of the immune system, is necessary for vision;
Phosphorus is important for brain function, cell regeneration, metabolism, heals skin, teeth, hair, bones;
Capric, caprylic, peanut, and stearic acid may be present.

So, the composition contains only two significant vitamins and one microelement. The main share is occupied by fatty acids - both saturated and unsaturated. The calorie content of the product is very high - 100 grams contain as much as 899 kcal.

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Is palm oil good for humans?

Palm oil – is it harmful or beneficial due to its presence in food? Let's first consider the positive properties of this substance. So, what are the benefits of natural natural oil? This is a powerful antioxidant that has a beneficial effect on the body's cells. It protects against the negative effects of toxins and oxidation, which prevents premature aging. Unsaturated fats in the composition are important for the health of the heart and blood vessels.

More specifically, the benefits for the body are expressed in the following:

Improves brain function, as unsaturated fatty acids stimulate mental activity;
Satisfying hunger. The high-calorie product quickly fills you up and suppresses your appetite;
Cleansing the body. Linoleic and oleic acids reduce cholesterol levels, thereby preventing heart and vascular diseases;
Giving strength. Due to triglycerides, cells are saturated with oxygen, energy is added, performance and mood increase;
Solving the problem of exhaustion of the body. It is easy to gain weight with this product, as it is high in calories;
Taking care of your vision. Vitamin A strengthens the retina of the eyes, prevents detachment, and prevents the development of cataracts;
Improved digestion. Bile secretion increases, which is why the liver is effectively cleansed of harmful deposits. As a result, the organs of the digestive tract are protected from the development of inflammation.

You will learn more about the benefits of palm oil from the video:

How is it dangerous for the body?

Is palm fruit product really harmful, or can the myth be easily dispelled? What health consequences might there be? The main problem lies in the processing of palm oil. For the convenience of manufacturers, the natural product undergoes so-called hydrogenation. Unsaturated fatty acids, about whose beneficial effects on our health so much has been said, are artificially enriched with hydrogen and, accordingly, turn into saturated ones, and the aggregate state of the original substance changes from liquid to solid. And for the further production of food products, this, simply put, palm margarine is used.

Is palm oil harmful to humans?
Unfortunately, the answer is clear, confirmed by numerous studies and WHO findings, because:

Saturated fats negatively affect the walls of blood vessels, forming fatty deposits on them. In addition, cholesterol levels increase, the heart and the entire vascular system suffer. As a result, a stroke, heart attack, hypertension, or Alzheimer's disease may develop;
With regular consumption of food prepared using hardened palm oil, harm to human health will consist in the accumulation of toxins and waste, due to which the walls of blood vessels will begin to narrow. In this condition, there is a high risk of blood clots and varicose veins;
It is already known that this product is very high in calories;
In addition, since hydrogenated palm oil is obtained artificially, some molecules in the substance acquire unnatural properties that are impossible in nature, and the result is the notorious “trans fats” that do not bring any benefit to our body, only harm. Eating trans fats significantly increases the risk of disruptions in the metabolic mechanism, leading to clogging of blood vessels, intestines, and liver. Body weight will gradually increase, leading to obesity.

However, how harmful palm oil is is determined by the amount of its consumption. There is no danger when using the product in small portions.
There is also refined deodorized palm oil - is it harmful to the body? Essentially, this type of product is similar to the red variety. The hot pressing method is used for its production, after which it loses its taste and smell. There are no additional negative aspects, but the value is reduced due to the loss of some useful substances.

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What's harmful about baby formula?

For bottle-fed infants, a high-quality formula plays a huge role. To bring its composition closer to natural human breast milk, manufacturers use a variety of oils, including those made from palm fruits. Is palm oil harmful in baby formula? Discussions about this are still ongoing. Let us examine in more detail whether the content of this product in infant formula is dangerous.
For children, the benefit of palm oil is the presence of vitamins A and E, as well as important palmitic acid. They strengthen nerve and brain tissue, bones, teeth, and improve vision. It is also an excellent source of energy. Why is palm oil dangerous in baby formula? Unfortunately, the necessary and beneficial substances contained in the milk of a nursing mother and those obtained in food production still have some differences.

Harm to the child’s body from palm olein is expressed in the high probability of the following pathological processes:

Constipation;
Stomach colic;
Food allergies;
Leaching calcium from the body;
Frequent regurgitation.

You will learn the opinion of pediatricians about palm oil in baby food from the video:

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Why is it harmful to women's health?

For the development of the fetus, this product is useful due to the presence of vitamins A and E and the same healing fatty acids - of course, if we are talking about a natural product that has not been processed. Is the content of palm margarine in products consumed by women during pregnancy harmful? And here everything has to do with the presence of saturated fats. Palm oil in products for expectant mothers is as dangerous as it is for other people. Due to the complex digestion of the product, the load on the intestines increases. The negative impact also extends to blood vessels and the heart. However, the mother’s body takes the brunt of the impact, and the development of the fetus itself does not have a strong impact.

Product Use

Palm oil, among many other vegetable fats, has an affordable price. Moreover, thanks to its properties, the use of the product is very extensive. It is used in the food industry, cosmetology, and medicine. The resulting goods end up being much more profitable for producers and cheaper for consumers.

In the food industry

Despite scientific evidence that hydrogenated palm oil is harmful in food, the practice of using this and similar fats in food production became widespread in the 20th century. This is due to the ability of hardened vegetable fats to extend the shelf life of products.

The areas of application are as follows:

For the production of dairy products such as sour cream, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, condensed milk, margarine, butter. More precisely, for cheaper substitutes for natural dairy products;
For deep frying to prepare chips, chicken wings, French fries;
For confectionery products, such as cookies, icing, cupcakes, sweets, biscuits, creams;
For the production of baby food.

In chocolate, the benefits and harms of palm fat are identical to those in other products: benefits to the manufacturer, harm to the body of the sweet tooth. Do not overuse chocolate with a substitute. Its composition is unnatural, so problems with the cardiovascular system and obesity may occur. Besides, it simply doesn't taste good.

In cosmetology

Harm or benefit in cosmetics from a product made from palm fruits? This ingredient is added to moisturizers and other cosmetics. It promotes the healing of cracks and wounds on the skin. Palm oil is also a good skin moisturizer that nourishes it perfectly. That is why very often palm oil in cosmetology is found in moisturizing creams.
In addition, this substance is used for hair, since the vitamin E content has a beneficial effect on it. Palm oil for the face has a rejuvenating effect, nourishes, softens the skin, and smoothes out wrinkles.

Let's sum it up

So, what information about palm oil is more reliable, about the dangers or benefits of the product? It is recommended to eat red oil, which retains the natural benefits of plant materials and does not contain artificial trans fats; the main thing is not to abuse it, and then no harm will occur. Unfortunately, in our latitudes this product is quite rare on sale.

And when discussing whether palm oil is dangerous for humans, it is important to clarify that any artificially saturated fatty acids, not only those obtained from the notorious tropical palm, cause undoubted and proven harm to health.

Some unscrupulous manufacturers do not indicate vegetable fats on the packaging of their products. To determine their availability, you should pay attention to the shelf life and price. In addition, attentive buyers will certainly be wary of the wording on the packaging: “curd product”, “creamy-vegetable spread”, “substitute ...” and the like.
You can also check the quality of purchased products at home. For example, cheese should not stick and crumble, natural butter should quickly melt in the palm and leave a film on the surface, sour cream should not thicken in the refrigerator.

Similar materials

Palm oil is harmful to health! This is exactly what doctors constantly talk about, warning us, ordinary consumers, not to eat products containing it. But what to do if now most products are made using this type of oil? So you don't need to eat at all? Or switch exclusively to natural food? And is palm oil really harmful?

First, it’s worth understanding what it actually is. So, a special type of Guinea palm is used to create it. This oil consists mostly of what allows it to be the only one with a composition almost identical to the composition of animal fat.

The main use of palm oil is in manufacturing, for example as a lubricant for equipment in steel mills. However, for some time now, palm oil has become a permanent guest in our kitchens: it is included in most of the products that can be found in any store. This ingredient is added to many flour and confectionery products, chocolate, ice cream, condensed milk, French fries and almost all fast food products. In addition, it is often the main component of margarine, spread or “light” butter.

The main (and, perhaps, the only) positive quality of palm oil is that the vegetable fatty acids it contains can significantly increase the shelf life of the products in which it is included. Also, this oil has a very low price. It is these factors that make such an ingredient indispensable for most manufacturers. However, otherwise, yes, we can say with confidence that palm oil is harmful.

It is a fairly refractory product, that is, its melting requires a much higher temperature than other products and higher than the human body. Thus, such oil does not melt in the stomach, but remains, taking the form of a sticky mass that resembles window grease.

However, most have probably heard that the benefits have long been proven by doctors. The fact is that this statement applies exclusively to oils that consist of unsaturated fats. Among other things, healthy vegetable oils contain up to seventy-five percent, the content of which in palm oil is almost zero. The most useful are olive and corn vegetable oils, while palm oil practically does not contain any substances necessary for the normal functioning of the human body. This is why palm oil is harmful to health.

The oils that make up this oil contribute to an increase in cholesterol levels, the negative effects of which have long been proven: like plasticine, it clogs blood vessels, which causes heart disease and atherosclerosis. Among other things, palm oil is harmful because it is a carcinogen, which, with its constant use, can cause the appearance and growth of cancerous tumors.

Now that it is clear why palm oil is harmful, you should think about how to limit its consumption in food. There is only one way out: pay attention to labels and packaging when purchasing goods. If palm oil occupies one of the first places in the composition of the product, you should not hesitate to put it back on the shelf. Of course, products made using palm oil will definitely be cheaper than their healthier “brothers,” but you shouldn’t skimp on your own health and the health of your loved ones, because you can’t buy it for any money.

Palm oil is obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree and is used for cooking throughout the world. However, its production can be harmful to the environment, which is why products labeled “palm oil-free” have begun to appear in Western countries.

In Russia, such a mark also appeared, but for a different reason. Horror stories about palm oil are popular here: you can hear from journalists, State Duma deputies and even representatives of the food industry that palm oil is not digested and is not excreted from the body, prevents children from absorbing calcium, harms blood vessels and even causes cancer.

Let's deal with these myths separately.

"Not digestible"

Palm oil, like any other oil or fat, breaks down in the intestines into glycerol and fatty acids. “If a person is healthy and his pancreas produces enough lipase, digestion and absorption approaches 100 percent,” says gastroenterologist Alexey Paramonov. - If there is little lipase, excess oil will come out in the feces.

An example of oils that are not absorbed in the intestines are Vaseline and machine oil. But they are called oils only because of their external similarity, chemically being hydrocarbons. Nature did not expect us to ingest petroleum products, and provided enzymes only for oils and fats of plant and animal origin.”

“Deteriorates the quality of baby food”

Is it harmful for children to eat formula with palm oil? It is not the oil itself that is added to baby food, but palmitic acid isolated from it, and this is done to reproduce the composition of human breast milk, where this acid is also present.

There are studies showing that formula with palmitic acid from palm oil is less digestible than baby food without it. Acid from palm oil forms insoluble compounds with calcium, which are excreted from the child’s body in feces.

But the following position is no longer a myth:

Harmful to the environment

Russian media rarely remember that palm oil production is associated with a serious environmental threat.

To expand oil palm plantations, South Asia is destroying tropical forests that are home to endangered species such as orangutans and Sumatran tigers. People also suffer due to the fault of unscrupulous manufacturers. In Malaysia, while clearing new forest areas, farmers burned trees and drained peat swamps, which ultimately led to terrible fires on the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

Palm oil is made from the fruits of the oil palm tree. And the oil obtained from the seeds of this palm tree is called palm kernel oil. In Russia, palm oil began to be used relatively recently. It is ideal for baking and confectionery products, especially those intended for long-term storage. Currently, palm oil has become widespread, the benefits and harms of which are still being studied, and controversy surrounding it continues.

Use of palm oil

Due to its interesting chemical and physical properties, palm oil has become one of the most common types of vegetable fat in the world. This is also due to the fact that it is easily available and very cheap. Palm oil is highly resistant to oxidation, so it can be stored for a long time.

Palm oil is mainly used in the food industry. It is used in the preparation of waffles, sponge rolls, cakes, creams, and semi-finished products are fried on it. Palm oil is included in processed cheese, condensed milk, combined butter, it is added to curd desserts, etc. Many modern recipes cannot do without palm oil. They also partially replace milk fat. In general, it is easier to list those products that do not contain palm oil than those that do contain it.

Palm oil, whose use is not limited to the food industry, is also used in the manufacture of candles and soap. In cosmetology, it is usually used to care for dry and aging facial skin, as it nourishes, softens and moisturizes the skin.

Palm oil is useful to use for certain diseases. For example, for vision problems: night blindness, blepharitis, glaucoma, conjunctivitis and others. Due to its medicinal properties, palm oil is recommended to be used to treat various diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Benefits of palm oil

Many people are interested in the question: “Is palm oil harmful or beneficial?”

If we talk about its benefits, then first of all it is necessary to emphasize that it contains a large amount of carotenoids, the strongest antioxidants that are of great value to the human body. Carotenoids have a positive effect on weakened hair and skin. Therefore, it is used by many well-known cosmetic companies.

Palm oil holds the record for vitamin E content, which consists of tocotrienols and tocopherol. Tocotrienols are extremely rare in plants, they fight free radicals that cause cancer.

Palm oil is rich in triglycerols, which are digested very quickly, and when they enter the liver, they are used to produce energy without entering the bloodstream. This oil is especially useful for people who have difficulty digesting other fats, as well as those who watch their figure and athletes.

Palm oil also contains many unsaturated fats: oleic and linoleic acid, which contribute. These acids are involved in the structuring of bones, joints and are beneficial for skin health.

Provitamin A ensures the functioning of the vision analyzer and is involved in the production of visual pigment in the retina.

Palm oil. Some numbers...

The harm of palm oil

The main harm of palm oil is its high content of saturated fats. The same fats are present in butter. Many scientists argue that consuming large amounts of saturated fat contributes to the occurrence of heart and vascular diseases.

Palm oil contains only 5% linoleic acid; it is on this indicator that the quality and price of vegetable oils depends. Vegetable oils contain on average 71–75% of this acid, and the more it is, the more valuable the type of oil.

Statistics from the World Wildlife Fund say that half of all packaged foods contain palm oil. Companies are increasing the production of this oil and, for this purpose, wild tropical forests are being cut down and oil palm plantations are being planted in their place. As a result of deforestation, rare species of animals die - also indirect, but harmful.

What happens, is palm oil harmful or beneficial? Surprisingly, the benefits and harms of oil are comparable. For example, due to the saturated fats of the oil, heart problems arise when consumed, but at the same time it contains vitamins A and E, which make palm oil useful for the prevention of heart diseases and cancer. Palm oil is valued for its linoleic acid content, but at the same time it is much less than in other oils. Some strange combination of harmful and beneficial properties is obtained - maybe the researchers were British scientists or made a mistake somewhere? No, everything is much simpler - palm oil comes in several varieties.

Types of palm oil

The most useful and natural is red palm oil. To obtain it, gentle technology is used, in which most of the beneficial substances are preserved. This oil is red in color due to its high carotene content (which gives tomatoes their orange and red color).

Red palm oil has a sweetish taste and smell. The researchers came to the conclusion that during the refining process of palm oil, beneficial substances are released from it. And raw red palm oil contains a huge amount of beneficial substances. The described beneficial properties of palm oil mainly apply to red palm oil. It has long been consumed as food by the indigenous people of Central and Western Africa, Central America and Brazil. In Africa, red palm oil is popular as an excellent fat raw material. Some scientists claim that this oil is no different in beneficial properties from olive oil, so popular among Europeans.

Refined and deodorized palm oil is a different product. It is odorless and colorless. This is done specifically for use in the food industry. There is GOST R 53776-2010, which specifies the requirements for edible palm oil. This oil has the same beneficial properties as red palm oil, but in much less quantity.

There is another variety of palm oil that is used to make cosmetics, soaps and more. This oil is five times cheaper than other types of palm oil. It differs from edible oil in its acid-fat composition. Due to the low degree of purification, it contains a lot of harmful oxidized fats. It happens that unscrupulous manufacturers add such oil to products, the consumption of which causes the accumulation of free radicals in the human body, causing cancer. Also, consuming such oil leads to the formation of cholesterol plaques.

Experts are sure that some manufacturers use this oil in the production of food products. When talking about the dangers of palm oil, they mainly mean just this possibility. It is very difficult to bring the case to court, since identifying this oil in products is very difficult, so there have been no precedents yet.

Four myths about palm oil

Palm oil is indigestible because it melts at a temperature higher than human body temperature. This is not true; fats are not digested in the human body under the influence of temperatures.
Palm oil is banned in developed countries. This is not true, for example, 10% of palm oil produced is consumed by the United States.
Palm oil can only be used in the metallurgical industry and soap making. In fact, palm oil has a wider range of uses. It is even known to have been used during World War II to produce napalm. But this does not mean that it absolutely cannot be used for food.
Palm oil is produced from the trunk of a palm tree. This is not true, it is made from the fleshy part of the oil palm fruit.

The benefits and harms of palm oil are known to many. Palm oil has a number of beneficial properties, some of which are even unique, but this only applies to red palm oil.

Whether to eat palm oil or not, everyone decides for themselves. We tried to give you a little information.

For centuries, palm oil has been used for cooking. Especially in the tropical zone, where there are plenty of raw materials for its production. Nowadays, the oil extracted from the fruit of the oil palm is widely used in the production of refined foods because it does not contain trans fats. It is rich in natural antioxidants, including vitamins A and E. However, there is a flip side to the coin. Today you will learn why palm oil is dangerous for the body.

Why is palm oil dangerous?

It contains a lot of saturated fat

While the product does not contain trans fats, the oil contains high levels of saturated fats, which pose a serious threat to cardiovascular health.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports that palm oil is second only to soybean oil in popularity. It is most widely used in the manufacture of refined products in the USA. Its consumption has increased sharply after the government passed a series of bills to reduce trans fat content.

A 2005 report found that this type of vegetable oil is less harmful than partially hydrogenated soy products. However, this does not relieve it of responsibility for raising cholesterol levels. Two meta-analyses were included in the report to support the findings. Based on the results, we can conclude that palm oil is dangerous for the body.

A later test conducted by British scientists on 147 volunteers also showed an equally disastrous result. It turned out that palm acid, the active ingredient in the oil, significantly raised total cholesterol levels.

Another clinical study was conducted in Holland. As a result, they found that palmitic acid significantly increased the ratio of total cholesterol to so-called “good cholesterol,” a widely recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

It's hard to digest

In her book Food for Healing, Linda Page, Ph.D., a practicing naturopath, acknowledges that palm oil has a number of beneficial properties. But as a result of cleaning, it loses most of the beneficial substances. The purification process makes the oil difficult for the gastrointestinal tract to absorb. For this reason, Linda Page recommends avoiding it. This especially applies to those who suffer from other digestive problems.

May cause intoxication

In one of the issues of the foreign journal “Plant Products for Human Nutrition,” Nigerian researchers praised palm oil for the fact that it contains many useful substances in its fresh form. However, these same researchers note that oil in an oxidized state jeopardizes the physiological and biochemical functioning of the body!

They also acknowledge that processed food manufacturers oxidize palm oil for various culinary purposes, meaning that a large proportion of consumers consume it in an oxidized state. The dangerous effects of oxidized palm oil affect the functioning of the heart, kidneys, liver and lungs, and also negatively affect reproductive function. In addition, scientists noted that refined oil leads to an increase in the amount of free fatty acids, phospholipids and cerebrosides.

Most formulas for artificial feeding contain palm oil. This is due to the fact that it contains palmitic acid, one of the components of mother's milk. In addition, palm oil does not provoke allergies and contains a large amount of retinol.

If only it were that simple. As already noted, processed palm oil has a high melting point, so not only children, but also the digestive system of an adult cannot cope with it. As a result, a small organism is not able to obtain the intended benefit from this product. And if you consider its ability to absorb and remove calcium, necessary for the full growth and development of bones. Such food products should generally be avoided! Domestic pediatrics only confirmed these conclusions by classifying infant formula containing palm oil as potentially hazardous food products.

In a child, palm oil can cause:

Leaching calcium from the body;
Prolonged colic;
Frequent regurgitation.

Don't be led by marketing shills. Read again about the dangers of palm oil for the body before feeding your baby formulas that contain this element. Scientists and pediatricians unanimously say that the developing body is not ready for the stress that they are.

Can I eat foods with palm oil?

Fortunately, palm oil has not yet received the global popularity in our homeland that it has, for example, in the USA. Nevertheless, the market is slowly being flooded with refined products containing this ingredient. Around which there are heated debates. What is more benefit or harm in this overseas miracle? Someone says more benefits! Others warn that citizens should avoid products containing palm oil. Who to believe?

Let's face it. Palm oil is indeed a very useful product only if it has not been subjected to careful processing and multi-level purification. This oil can be found on the shelves of some stores, but its price scares off ordinary people. As a rule, the oil used by large food manufacturers is preliminarily subjected to severe processing and oxidation. As a result, not a trace remains of the useful components.

Therefore, do not put your health and the health of your loved ones at risk. If possible, avoid foods that contain this type of vegetable fat. Or at least reduce their consumption to a minimum.

Environmental consequences of palm oil production

Large areas of tropical forests and other ecosystems with high conservation value have been cleared to make way for extensive oil palm plantations. As a result, the potential habitats of many endangered species, including rhinoceroses, elephants and tigers, have been destroyed. In some cases, the expansion of plantations has led to the eviction of forest dwellers!

The establishment of extensive monoculture oil palm plantations has a number of negative environmental impacts.

The two most serious are:

Large-scale forest conversions;
Habitat destruction for endangered species.

Other consequences of such activities include:

Soil erosion;
Air pollution;
Soil and water pollution;
Changing of the climate.