What you Need to know About Palm Oil to be Safe

Palm oil is one of the most widely used cooking oil. It has a good taste, flavor, and color when used to make a delicacy. It has a lot of other uses such as for making soap, lubricants, cosmetics, toothpaste, and waxes.

There have been a lot of questions and opinions regarding how safe this oil is to the human body, and this is what this article will be addressing as we are here for your wellbeing.

Palm oil

This red viscous liquid is gotten from oil palm fleshy fruit which is majorly found in west and southwest Africa. It is different from palm kernel oil which is also a product of oil palm fruit.

Palm oil contains a high level of nutrients and a good source of carotenoids, beta-carotene, and vitamin A. It is also a natural carrier of vitamin E constituents and tocopherol excellent in preventing cancer and the aging of body cells.

How safe is this oil for cooking?

Despite the nutritional benefits of palm oil, research has shown that palm oil is among the food that supply saturated fat to the body, this type of fat has been said to be a bad fat and could have a negative effect on the body.

There has been a lot of controversy about this. But health organizations have advised to reduce saturated fat intake to a minimum.

Palm oil can be very safe with little saturated fat.

A high level of saturated fat can often be as a result of poor processing and the nature of the oil palm. A good processing of palm oil can help reduce its saturated fat. You can also mix or replace this oil with other highly processed vegetable oil like canola oil.

How can I know the palm oil that has a high level of saturated fat? 

Have you ever try to pour out palm oil for use and it refuses to come out? If yes, that is because the fat is high. A high saturated fat palm oil easily gets thick at room temperature and this is not good for your health.

The Nutritional makeup of Palm oil

One served a cup of palm oil contains;

• 1909 Calories
• 216.0g total lipid fat
• 0.02mg iron
• 0.6mg choline
• 34.4mg vitamin E
• 17.3µg vitamin K
• 106.5g total saturated fat
• 0.22g lauric acid
• 2.2g myristic acid
• 93.9g palmitic acid
• 9.3g of stearic acid
• 79.9g monounsaturated fats
• 20.09g polyunsaturated fats
• 0.65g palmitoleic acid
• 79.06g oleic acid
• 0.22g gadoleic acid
• 19.66g linoleic acid
• 0.43g linolenic acid

Read Also; Key facts, Processing, Benefits and Uses of Palm Oil

The health benefits of palm oil

Brain health benefits

This oil contains a good amount of tocotrienols and antioxidants which play a key role in proper brain function and development.

Improves eye vision

Palm oil contains nutrients that are beneficial to the eyes. It is rich in vitamin A which helps to prevent ocular degeneration and night blindness.

Reduces oxidative stress

The antioxidants present in palm oil helps to fight against free radicals responsible for oxidative stress and cell damage

Hair and skincare

Research has shown that the nutrient tocotrienol found in oil is capable of increasing the number of hairs in humans by about 34 percent. Vitamin E presents in this oil helps to improve your skin health. It makes your skin soft and fresh that is why it is majorly used for soap and creams.

Source of vitamin K

Palm oil is also a good source of vitamin K which is necessary for bone health and blood clotting.

It is a good oil for a pregnant woman as it contains some of the necessary nutrients and vitamins that they need.

About Author

Raphael Okhueleigbe

Raphael Osas Okhueleigbe is a Blogger, Content creator, Agricultural Economist, Resource manager, and the founder of greener health.

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