The whole truth about palm oil

Trans fats are a long time are “on the carpet”. Their impact on health is widely accepted. Unhealthy fats are replaced by other, “healthier” products, including palm oil. However, recently, palm oil has also been heavily criticized. What is the truth? Palm oil is harmful or beneficial to health? Palm oil is added to many food products. Therefore, it is useful to be aware of what are the properties of palm fat.

The European Agency for safety has found that the processing of palm oil at high temperatures, is dangerous. Palm fat overheating causes the production of harmful substances. The conclusions are based on studies conducted on animals. Opinion about the dangers of palm oil spread very quickly. Additional charges at this fat are guided by environmentalists, who point out that plantations producing palm oil, threaten rain forests and animals.

Palm oil is a vegetable oil. It is prepared with pulp or seeds of the oil palm. Crude palm oil is rich in nutrients, contains antioxidants, vitamin E and beta carotene. After refining, oil becomes a solid mass of white or yellowish, loses its beneficial properties and becomes worthless filler.

Palm oil and the risk of cancer

On the basis of tests carried out on mice and rats, the European food safety authority (EFSA) announced that palm oil may cause cancer. The Agency also concluded that the risk to humans, has not been specified. Release of harmful substances (esters of glicydylowe fatty acids) found in vegetable oil, heated above 200°C. The highest level of carcinogenic substances was found in overheated palm fat.

Research shows that palm fat may be harmful only if it is overheated.

Palm fat is a component of many products, but no information is available, in which temperatures was processed.

On the basis of studies of products containing palm fat, it was found that during the last 5 years the level of potentially harmful substances has been halved. This is undoubtedly of concern producers to improve the quality of the products. Ferrero has stated that palm fat in their products is not heated above 200°C.

Palm oil and heart disease

Reviews of scientists on the issue of the impact of the fat palm-heart disease, are divergent.

It is recommended the use of products rich in polyunsaturated fats, for example, derived from soy or corn. Palm oil has been suggested to use occasionally. From other studies, the researchers conclude that consumption of palm oil leads to increased levels of LDL cholesterol more than other vegetable oils with lower saturated and trans fats.

The relationship between diet and heart disease is examined for a long time. A variety of studies on Palm oil, saturated fats and related issues can be found on the Internet. However, none of them confirmed, that palm oil causes heart disease.

Certainly, abuse of any substance is not beneficial to health. The healthiest is a varied diet, based on natural and unprocessed products. Natural palm oil used as part of a healthy diet does not raise cholesterol and contains no harmful substances.