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Introduction
*Palm oil is edible vegetable oil extracted from the fleshy fruits (mesocarp) of the oil palm tree.
*It is different from the palm kernel oil extracted from the palm kernels.
*Palm oil and palm kernel oil have different fatty acid composition. Palm oil is edible oil used mainly for cooking, baking, frying, making margarine, etc whereas palm kernel oil is mainly used in the preparation of soaps, cosmetics, etc.
*Palm oil gets its name from palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid that is most abundant in the palm oil.
*Red palm oil has a characteristic golden red color and a unique flavor to it, whereas refined palm oil is colorless and odorless.
*Palm oil is red (and hence called red palm oil) due to the presence of high amounts of beta-carotene, which is a precursor of vitamin A, and is more healthier than its refined counterpart. Heating red palm oil for a few minutes results in a clear, colorless and odorless oil because the carotenoids are destroyed by heat.
*Red palm oil is a very rich source of -
- Beta-carotenes
- Tocotrienols
- Co-enzyme Q 10
- Squalene
- Vitamin A and Vitamin E
*Palm oil is one of the few vegetable oils that has very high amounts of saturated fats and also is the only vegetable oil that is naturally semi-solid to solid at room temperature like animal fats. It has the same properties in baking and a longer shelf life like animal fats and other hydrogenated fats, but without any trans fats.
*Palm oil has been used all over the world in the baking industry, making noodles, etc for hundreds of years but became infamous solely due to the high amounts of saturated fats present in it since the PUFA rich vegetable oils like soybean oil and sunflower oil came into the market.
*It is still widely used in the US for baking different foods like biscuits, cake mixes, crackers, chips, etc.
Is it raw?
Yes and No.
*Yes. Crude palm oil is raw and is a rich source of beta-carotenes.
*No. Refined oil, which is refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) is processed by heat and chemicals. Mostly refined oil is available in the supermarkets. Make sure you read the label.
Health Benefits
1. Palm oil is very high in saturated fats (50%) and monounsaturated fats (37%) and has low amount of polyunsaturated fats. The high saturated fat content is what makes it very stable.
2. Though it is very high in saturated fats, the presence of antioxidants like beta-carotene, tocotrienols, CoQ10 and squalene actually helps lower the LDL and total cholesterol in blood and maintain the HDL cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of heart diseases.
3. Tocotrienol is an isomer of vitamin E, which acts like an antioxidant and reduces the levels of cholesterol in the blood and fights the free radicals in the body, reducing the risk of heart diseases, cancers and other inflammatory diseases.
4. As palm oil is naturally semi-solid to solid at room temperature, it is a healthy alternative to other hydrogenated vegetable oils, which have trans fats in them.
5. Naturally, it is cholesterol and trans fat free.
6. Animal studies have shown that palm oil actually reduces the risk of heart disease, reverses the carotid artery blockage and reduce the total and LDL cholesterol.
7. Has moderate amounts of essential fatty acids, 9% of linoleic acid (omega-6) and 0.2% of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), which are the precursors of prostaglandins, which are hormone like substances that have a variety of functions like contraction and relaxation of smooth muscles, control of blood pressure, pain and inflammatory response, etc in humans and animals.
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