MUST READ ON PALMOIL

Palm oil is obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree.

Palm oil is used for preventing vitamin A deficiency, cancer, brain disease, aging; and treating malaria, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cyanide poisoning. Palm oil is used for weight loss and increasing the body’s metabolism.


As food, palm oil is used for frying.

Industrially, palm oil is used for manufacturing cosmetics, soaps, toothpaste, waxes, lubricants, and ink.

Palm oil has had a long history of food use, dating back to over 5000 years. It has been used for generations by the people of tropical Africa as an essential ingredient in ethnic dishes.

Palm oil, a part of the vegetable oil family, is actually the nutrition-packed beneficial fat source that can supply number of health benefits to the body. Palm oil is a rich source of saturated fatty acids and natural chemical compounds but it is good for the overall health and nutrition. Particularly, red palm oil has been well known for its nutritional health benefits.
It is a natural source of vitamin E & carotenoids in addition to fatty acids and other essential fat-soluble micronutrients.

Beta-carotene (Carotenoids)
The orange-red color of the palm oil is due to the presence of natural chemical compounds, carotenoids. In comparison to the other vegetable oils, crude palm oil and unrefined palm oil are nature's greatest source of carotenoids. It contains 15 times more carotenoids than carrots and 30 times more than tomatoes. In palm oil, the most active and important form of carotenoids is beta-carotene, a form of vitamin A, which is an effectual antioxidant that helps to strengthen the immune system of body and to decrease the risk of cataract, heart disease and cancer.
As well, beta-carotene helps to promote good vision and has the potential to get converted into vitamin A that helps in the rhodopsin production, the night vision pigment in the eye’s retina. Beta-carotene has been also shown to help defend the lungs from disease.

Vitamin E
Palm oil is a rich source of Vitamin E (tocopherols & tocotrienols). Actually, no other vegetable oil contains vitamin E in comparison to palm oil. Vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant that decreases the harmful oxygen species (free radicals) in the body. By this way, palm oil helps to protect person from some chronic diseases as well as delay the ageing process of the body. It strengthens the body’s

Other Health Benefits
immune system and protects the body’s skin cells from UV radiation and toxins.
The tocopherols and tocotrienols act as powerful nutritional antioxidants and help to reduce cellular damage due to free radicals arising from the body’s normal oxidative energy metabolism

Linoleic acid
Palm oil contains 5 to 11% linoleic acid, which is known to be essential for growth and health in animals and humans.
Palm oil is full of antioxidants that keep skin looking younger by protecting the skin cells. As the oil is a trans fat-free, it neither increases fatty deposits in the arteries & blood vessels nor interferes in fat metabolism.
This natural saturated oil raises the amount of good cholesterol, HDL in the body. It is more effective for maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system, in comparison to other saturated oils.
Some studies have shown that tocotrienols can reverse the blockage of carotid artery and thereby helps to prevent heart attack, stroke, and arteriosclerosis

High in Fat

Diets high in fats such as palm oil can lead to weight gain, heart problems and other chronic disease. Eating a proper amount of fat is essential to human health, but too much can be detrimental. According to the Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board, adults eating a 2,000-calorie daily diet should consume no more than 44 to 78 grams of fat per day. One tablespoon of palm oil has 120 calories and 13.6 grams of fat. If using palm oil, do so sparingly with regard to the amount of calories and fat it contains.

Saturated Fat

Palm oil is particularly high in saturated fat. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that diets high in saturated fat can lead to an elevated cholesterol level and a build up of plaque in the arteries. Over time, this can lead to heart attack or stroke. Thus, it is recommended by the American Heart Association to eat no more than 16 grams of saturated fat per day for a daily diet of 2,000 calories. One tablespoon of palm oil has 6.7 grams of saturated fat. In just 2.5 tablespoons of palm oil, you would exceed the recommended daily maximum of saturated fat.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol comes from foods that you eat and also from our bodies, which naturally produces it from saturated fat. This means the more saturated fat you consume, the more building blocks your body has available to make cholesterol, leading to elevated levels and increased potential for health complications. According to food expert Marion Nestle, author of the book "What to Eat", palmitic acid is a type of saturated that makes up most of the fat in palm oil. She goes on to say in her book that this fat is "especially adept at raising cholesterol levels" and that "palm oils are decidedly worse than butter" for this reason.

Hypertension

In addition to causing weight gain and elevated cholesterol, consuming palm oil that has been heated may elevate blood pressure. A study published in the December 2011 issue of "Clinics" found that heating vegetable oil produces free radicals. Over time, free radicals can lead to chronic disease. In this study consuming heated palm oil was specifically linked to hypertension. However, when the palm oil was unheated and raw, no detrimental impact on blood pressure was seen. This means palm oil may be safer to consume in a raw, unheated, uncooked state.