Health Benefits of Palm Oil, Uses And Its Side Effects

Palm oil, an edible vegetable oil rich in saturated fats and free of trans fats, is derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms, mainly the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and to some extent from the American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera) and the maripa palm (Attalea maripa).

Palm mesocarp oil which is 49% saturated, is generally reddish in colour because of high beta-carotene content. Crude red palm oil that has been refined, bleached and deodorized, a common commodity called RBD palm oil, does not contain carotenoids. It is semisolid at room temperature. Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil.

Summary- Palm oil is quite famous for cooking globally. It is quite rich in beta-carotene and Vitamin A content.

One cup of Palm oil serves 1909 calories and 216 g of total lipid fat. It also offers 0.02 mg of iron, 0.6 mg of choline, 34.43 mg of Vitamin E, 17.3 µg of Vitamin K, 106.488 g of total saturated fat, 0.216 g of lauric acid, 2.16 g of myristic acid, 93.96 g of palmitic acid, 9.288 g of stearic acid, 79.92 g of total monounsaturated fats.

Palm oil contain 0.648 g of palmitoleic acid, 79.056 g of oleic acid, 0.216 g of gadoleic acid, 20.088 g of total polyunsaturated fats, 19.656 g of linoleic acid and 0.432 g of Linolenic acid.

Summary- Palm oil provides a high calorific content along with minerals, ions, and essential fatty acids. It provides various nutrients important for carrying out metabolism.

Not only you can cook with palm oil, but this oil is used in various snack products, wax, cosmetic, and skincare items. Now even it is used as a biofuel and medicinal purposes. Palm oil is beneficial for health, diabetic person can use it as it reduced blood glucose level and enhance antioxidant status.

Mentioned below are the best health benefits of Palm Oil . We also list out when not to use palm oil in different condition, read out its origin and cultivation details to know more about it.

Palm oil can be used in various procedures and due to its lower cost, it is widespread commercially. Some uses are-

• Palm oil possesses higher oxidative stability therefore often employed for frying.
• Palm Oil is used to manufacture many products worldwide.
• Palm Oil is also known to manufacture certain commercial products such as cosmetics, personal care items, cleaning products, hair care, soaps, etc.
• Palm Wax is popularly utilized for making candles.
• It is also quite useful for manufacturing biofuel and prepackaging foods.
• Palm is often used as fodder for livestock.

Summary- Palm oil is used to serve different purposes, like cooking, packaging material, making candles, etc. It is also being used as biofuel and feeding livestock.

The consumption of red palm oil is often considered safe, even in large amounts. It rarely causes some side effects because of its composition. However, when consumed in large amounts, it leads to some adverse effects, such as

• The skin may turn yellowish due to the presence of high levels of carotenes in the oil.
• The topical application of red palm oil can also exert negative effects on the skin.
• Palm oil stains on clothes are more complicated to launder.

Summary- Along with many benefits, palm oil also leads to some side effects. However, the consumption of red palm oil is more beneficial than others.

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) originated from West Africa, where evidence of its use as a staple food crop dates as far back as 5,000 years. There is even evidence in Egyptian tombs of people being buried with casks of palm oil, reflecting the high societal value attributed to the product. While palm oil was ubiquitous in West Africa, the use of palm oil in the international market expanded significantly as a result of the British Industrial Revolution and the expansion of overseas trade.

A combination of European settlers and entrepreneurs, observing the opportunity for commercial palm oil production to produce soaps, lubricants and edible oils lead to a dramatic expansion of oil palm plantations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The first commercial scale plantation in Malaysia was founded in 1917 and established in Tennamaran Estate in Selangor.

Summary- The origination of palm oil is traced back to West Africa. It has been used as a staple diet for a very long time. It has large-scale commercial trade globally.