Palm oil is unhealthy! This is what doctors are constantly talking about, warning us, ordinary consumers, that we do not use foods containing it in our food. But what about if now most of the products are made using this type of oil? It turns out you do not need to eat at all? Or switch exclusively to natural food? And is palm oil really harmful?
First you need to figure out what it is all about. So, to create palm oil , a kind of special Guinean palm is used. Such an oil consists mainly of saturated fatty acids, which allows it to be the only vegetable oil having a composition that is almost identical to that of animal fat.
The main use of palm oil is production, for example, as a lubricant for equipment at metallurgical plants. However, for some time, palm oil has become a regular guest in our kitchens: it is part of most 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 instant foods. In addition, it is often the main component of margarine, spread or “light” oil.
The main (and perhaps the only) positive quality of palm oil is that the vegetable fatty acids contained in it 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, in the rest - yes, it is safe to say that palm oil is harmful.
Palm oil is a rather refractory product, that is, it requires a much higher temperature for melting than for other products and higher than a person’s body. Thus, such oil in the stomach does not melt, but remains, taking the form of a sticky mass that resembles window grease.
However, most probably heard that the benefits of vegetable fats have long been proven by doctors. The fact is that this statement applies exclusively to oils that are made up of unsaturated fats. Among other things, healthy vegetable oils contain up to seventy-five percent of linoleic acid, 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. That is why palm oil is unhealthy.
The saturated fats that make up this oil contribute to increasing cholesterol, the negative effect of which has long been proven: it, like plasticine, clogs blood vessels, which causes heart disease and atherosclerosis. Among other things, palm oil is harmful because it is a carcinogen, which, when used continuously, can cause the appearance and growth of cancerous tumors.
Now that it has become clear why palm oil is harmful, you should consider how to limit its use in food. Only one way out: pay attention to labels and packaging when buying goods. If palm oil is one of the first places in the product, you should not hesitate to put it back on the shelf. Of course, products obtained with the use of palm oil will definitely be cheaper than more useful "brothers", but you should not save on your own health and the health of your loved ones, because you can’t buy it for any money.