What is palm oil?
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of an oil palm tree. The scientific name of this tree is “Elaeis guineensis” and two types of oil are produced from it.
Date fruit oil (known as palm oil), which is obtained by pressing the fleshy fruits of this tree.
Date kernel oil, which is obtained by crushing the hard kernel in the middle of the fruit.
This oil is actually obtained from the fleshy fruit of this oil palm and due to its reddish orange color, it is sometimes referred to as “Red Palm Oil”. These oil palm trees are native to West and Southwest Africa and their use in this region dates back to more than 5000 years ago.
The use of palm oil as a vegetable fuel for the last few years has increased global demand and, as a result, increased its price. Malaysia is the largest producer of palm oil in the world. And this tree can be seen in most streets of Malaysian cities.
Like all vegetable oils, palm oil does not contain cholesterol, although consumption of saturated fat increases LDL and HDL cholesterol.
However, a 2009 study showed that palm oil may not be a good alternative for people with high LDL because of its trans fats. The use of palm oil has raised concerns for environmental activist groups. The high amount of oil in the trees has attracted investors for profit, which has led to the destruction of forests in Malaysia and Indonesia to make room for pure palm oil cultivation.
Palm and increased heart disease
Palm oil is composed of fatty acids and glycerol like all fats. Unlike all fats, they are rich in saturated fatty acids, which are solid at room temperature. Palm oil gets its name from the saturated fatty acid c16 yamtic acid.
Saturated oleic acid is also a component of palm oil. According to the World Health Organization, there is convincing evidence that palmitic acid consumption increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is classified as trans fatty acids.
Antioxidants of red palm oil, such as tocotrienols and carotenoids, were added to food and cosmetics due to their claimed healing properties, and are still used in women’s cosmetics, and most cosmetic products depend on palm oil.
Currently, palm oil is listed as “vegetable oil” or “vegetable fat” on food labels in the European Union (EU). From 2015, food packaging under the supervision of the European Union will no longer be allowed to use the general term “vegetable fat” or “vegetable oil” in the list of ingredients. The food manufacturer must mention the specific type of vegetable fat used, including palm oi
Disadvantages of consuming palm oil
Increased fat and cholesterol
Vascular blockage
What products contain palm oil?
Palm oil is found in almost all food and industrial cosmetics. Almost 50 percent of packaged products in supermarkets. They contain palm oil.
Some companies add palm oil as a stabilizer to peanut butter and other edible nut butters to prevent the oil from these products from separating and settling on the top of the container. In addition to nut butters, palm oil is also found in several other foods, some of which include:
Processed grains
Baked goods such as bread, cookies and muffins
Protein wafers and dietary wafers
Chocolate
Enough of the dead
Vegetable butters
What are the benefits of palm oil?
Palm oil is a very widely used oil and has various properties and functions that make it very useful and usable for various purposes. Some of these features are listed below:
Relatively low melting point: This oil is semi-solid at room temperature. Therefore, it allows the product in it to be soft, fluid and malleable at room temperature.
Oxidation resistance: This oil is resistant to oxidation and therefore can increase the shelf life of products.
Heat resistance: Palm oil is stable at high temperature and thus helps in producing crispy and crunchy fried products.
Colorless and odorless: Palm oil added to food products is odorless and colorless. Therefore, it does not change the appearance or smell of food products.