On the one hand, there are a number of health benefits associated with palm oil. On the other hand, it might be harmful to the heart. The rise in its production raises environmental problems as well.
The consumption of palm oil is rising globally. It’s a very contentious dish, though.
The implications of palm oil on sustainability, the environment, and human health are examined in length in this article.
What is palm oil?
The meaty fruit of oil palms is the source of palm oil. Because of its reddish-orange hue, unrefined palm oil is sometimes called red palm oil.
The Elaeis guineensis tree, which is indigenous to the coastal nations of West and Southwest Africa, including Angola, Gabon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and others, is the primary source of palm oil. In these areas, it has a lengthy history of use (1Reliable Source).
Although Elaeis oleifera, a related oil palm, is present in South America, it is hardly ever farmed for economic purposes. However, the manufacture of palm oil occasionally uses a hybrid of the two plants (2Trusted Source).
Southeast Asia, notably Malaysia and Indonesia, has seen an increase in oil palm cultivation in recent years. Currently, almost 80% of the palm oil produced worldwide comes from these two nations (3Trusted Source).
Making over one-third of the world’s plant oil production, palm oil is currently among the most widely used and least priced oils in the world (3Trusted Source).
It’s crucial to remember that palm oil and palm kernel oil are not the same thing. Although they both come from the same plant, palm kernel oil is taken out of the fruit’s seed. It offers several health advantages.
Palm oil: refined versus unrefined
Unrefined palm oil is raw oil that is pressed directly from the palm plant. It’s reddish in color, with a distinct odor and flavor. This type is more often used in traditional cooking in West African countries such as Nigeria.
On the other hand, refined palm oil goes through a number of processing steps to give it a neutral color and flavor. It is used more widely in food manufacturing or for frying mass-produced foods.
In brief
Since ancient times, people have used palm oil, which is derived from palm plants that are indigenous to coastal West and Southwest Africa. It has a different nutritional makeup than palm kernel oil and is semi-solid at room temperature.
What is its purpose?
In addition to being used in cooking, palm oil is a common ingredient in many of the prepared goods seen at the supermarket.
Its flavor is described as earthy and delicious.
In Nigerian and Congolese cuisines, unrefined palm oil is a traditional mainstay that works particularly well in curries and other spicy meals. Its flavor has been compared to that of carrot or pumpkin by others.
Due to its high smoke point of 450°F (232°C) and ability to withstand high heat, refined palm oil is frequently used for frying and sautéing (4Trusted Source).
Furthermore, as a stabilizer to keep the oil from separating and settling at the top of the jar, palm oil is occasionally added to peanut butter and other nut butters.
Apart from nut butters, a number of other items contain refined palm oil, such as:
- cereals
- baked products, such as muffins, cookies, and bread
- Diet bars and protein bars
- Margarine
- coffee creamers
- chocolate
- Many nonfood items, including toothpaste, soap, and cosmetics, also include this oil.
Furthermore, biodiesel fuel, an alternate energy source, can be made from it (5Trusted Source).
The nutritional value of palm oil
According to one reliable source, one tablespoon (14 grams) of palm oil has the following nutritional value:
calories Among the 120 grams of fat, 7 grams were saturated, 5 grams were monounsaturated, and 14 grams were polyunsaturated. One gram of vitamin E: The Daily Value (DV) is 14%.
Every calorie in palm oil is derived from fat. About half of its fatty acid composition is made up of saturated fatty acids, 40% of which are monounsaturated, and 10% of which are polyunsaturated (6Trusted Source).
Beta carotene is one of the carotenoids, which are antioxidants that give red palm oil its reddish-orange color. Your body may use beta carotene to produce vitamin A (7Trusted Source).
Possible advantages
Numerous health advantages have been associated with palm oil, including:
- safeguarding brain activity
- lowering the risk factors for heart disease
- raising the level of vitamin A
Mental well-being
Tocotrienols, a kind of vitamin E with potent antioxidant qualities that may promote brain health, are abundant in palm oil.
According to research on both humans and animals, tocotrienols in palm oil may help shield the brain’s fragile polyunsaturated fats, slow the advancement of dementia, lower the risk of stroke, and stop brain lesions from growing (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).
The group who took tocotrienols derived from palm oil twice a day stayed constant in a two-year research with 121 participants who had brain lesions, while the group that received a placebo had their lesions develop (9Trusted Source).
Furthermore, a 2020 analysis of 18 studies conducted in test tubes and animals found that palm oil and its tocotrienols seem to have neuroprotective properties against cognitive deterioration. But further human research is required (10Trusted Source).
Heart health
It has been suggested that palm oil can prevent heart disease.
This oil typically seems to have positive effects on heart disease risk factors, such as lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol and boosting HDL (good) cholesterol, despite some study results being conflicting (11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).
According to a comprehensive review of 51 studies, those who consumed diets high in palm oil had lower levels of total and LDL (bad) cholesterol than those who consumed diets high in trans fats or myristic and lauric acids (11Trusted Source).
In a three-month study published in 2016, the effects of palm oil derived from a hybrid of Elaeis guineensis and Elaeis oleifera plants on cholesterol were examined.
Participants in this trial were given either a hybrid palm oil or 25 mL (2 tablespoons) of olive oil per day. Researchers hypothesized that this palm oil might be referred to as “the tropical equivalent of olive oil” (12Trusted Source) because both groups showed a 15% decrease in LDL (bad) cholesterol.
However, it’s crucial to remember that heart disease risk cannot be predicted just by changes in LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. There are other additional elements at play.
An improvement in vitamin A levels
Because red palm oil is high in carotenoids, which the body may convert into vitamin A, it may also aid those who are deficient or at danger of becoming so (7Trusted Source).
According to one tiny study, eating two to three tablespoons of red palm oil daily for eight weeks increased vitamin A blood levels in adults with cystic fibrosis, a disorder that makes it difficult for the body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (15Trusted Source).
Red palm oil supplementation may raise vitamin A levels in both adults and children, according to another analysis of nine high-quality studies (16Trusted Source).
Controversies surrounding palm oil
The effects of palm oil extraction on communities, wildlife, and the environment raise a number of ethical concerns.
The output of palm oil in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand has increased at an unprecedented rate in recent decades due to rising demand.
The humid, tropical temperatures of these nations are perfect for oil palm tree growth.
However, peatlands and tropical forests are being destroyed to make room for oil palm plantations.
According to a 2016 analysis, over half of all palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as 45% of the area currently used for palm oil production in Southeast Asia, were forests in 1990 (3Trusted Source).
Since trees are essential for lowering greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, deforestation is expected to have a negative impact on net carbon emissions (17Trusted Source).
Furthermore, the loss of natural landscapes alters the ecology, endangering the variety and well-being of species.
The effects on endangered species, like Bornean orangutans, which are in danger of becoming extinct because of habitat loss, are particularly worrisome (18Trusted Source).
Additionally, there have been reports of palm oil companies violating human rights by, among other things, removing forests and farmlands without authorization, paying poor wages, creating hazardous working conditions, and drastically lowering living standards (19).
According to experts, there are more sustainable and moral ways to produce palm oil.
According to a 2015 estimate, for example, only planting in areas with low carbon stocks and restricting the growth of new palm oil plantations to areas devoid of forests might reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 60% (20Trusted Source).
Look for companies that have received certification from The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to help guarantee that the palm oil you purchase is produced and grown in an ethical and sustainable manner.
Even palm oil that is sourced sustainably, though, may raise certain environmental issues, particularly as large-scale palm farms expand and occupy land that was originally used for other purposes (21Trusted Source).
Some claim that purchasing red palm oil directly from small, nearby farms is the most environmentally friendly option (22Trusted Source).
The bottom line
One of the most popular oils in the world is palm oil.
However, there are serious concerns about how its manufacturing affects the environment, the wellbeing of wild animals, and the lives of Indigenous people.
If you wish to use palm oil, think about buying it from small farms directly if you can, or from ethical, RSPO-certified manufacturers.
Only one item
Try this now: Unrefined palm oil is typically bought locally from small farmers in nations like Nigeria where it is a staple of the cuisine, benefiting the local economy overall and causing no environmental harm.
Eating locally is also a simple method for anyone to incorporate healthy, unprocessed foods into their diet and support their community’s economy. See our list of the top seven reasons to eat locally.
