Is This New Superfood A Good Choice?
Much the same way that coconut oil became a trending topic a few years ago, palm fruit oil is now gaining recognition in the health food arena.
How does it stack up?
Pretty well it seems. I can see a number of potential benefits from using palm fruit oil—it is very heat stable, contains a number of phytonutrients, and is a heart-healthy option to use in place of toxic shortenings like margarine.
There are, however, some complications in the sustainability of palm oil production.
Read on to learn how to make an environmentally conscious choice that can dramatically benefit your health…
The Good
Traditional cultures in Africa and South America have regarded palm fruit oil as a sacred food for more than 4,000 years. What distinguishes palm fruit oil from other plant oils is its fatty acid composition—50% saturated, 40% unsaturated and 10% polyunsaturated, which is good news for cholesterol levels!
As with any diet high in saturated fats, it is important to include adequate levels of essential fatty acids from flax seed oil, fish oil and omega-3 supplements. When saturated fats are unbalanced by omega-3s, we have difficulty converting our EFAs into inflammation-reducing prostaglandins. This can slow metabolism and even hamper weight loss!
However, given the high ratio of saturated fatty acids in palm fruit oil, it is much safer for cooking at high temperatures than other plant oils.
(Note: Never use olive oil or canola oil for high temperature baking or frying!).
Palm fruit oil’s impressive heat-stability means fewer free radicals are created in the cooking process. It even surpasses grass fed butter for high temperature cooking.
Ample amounts of free radical-scavenging antioxidants sweeten the deal, too.
Palm fruit oil contains:
- Free radical scavenging phenolic acids
- Heart protective flavonoids
- Stroke preventative tocopherols and tocotrienols from vitamin E
- Cholesterol lowering plant sterols sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol
- And adrenal supportive alpha-, beta- and gamma-carotenes!
Palm fruit oil has a 50% concentration of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). This makes it a great source of quick energy, but coconut oil trumps palm oil here by offering 90% concentration of MCFA’s.
Based on research of the many healthy elements of palm fruit oil, we can see that it may be a promising addition to the diets of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, arterial thrombosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, cataracts, macular degeneration, cognitive impairment, blood clotting, high cholesterol and hypertension. Adrenal fatigue may also be improved by the natural vitamin A in palm oil.
The Bad, And The Ugly
“Palm oil has become the edible oil of choice, if you will, for much of the world,” said Michael Shean, a global crop analyst with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “More land will have to come into line to meet that demand.”
It is true that palm fruit yields more oil per hectare than any other major oilseed crop, which makes it quite lucrative. However, some of the land that is being used to cultivate palm fruit is old growth forest rooted into peat-rich soil. When the land is deforested and soil is turned, an extraordinary amount of carbon dioxide is released—approximately 5,400 tons over 25 years.
Indonesia, the leading country in palm oil production, emits as much greenhouse gas as the US and China. The vast majority of these emissions are due to deforestation for palm fruit farming.
In recent years there has been a conscious movement to create a more sustainable practice for palm oil production that will lessen the environmental impacts. That is why it is imperative to purchase only certified sustainable palm oil! Look for the RSPO or Green Palm Sustainability label on any palm product you purchase.
What else should you look for in a palm product?
You must choose a palm fruit oil that is unrefined and cold pressed. Heated and refined versions of this oil (any oil, for that matter!) are oxidized and toxic.
It is also important to note that we are not talking about palm kernel oil.
While they are derived from the same plant, palm fruit oil utilizes the pulp of the fruit and palm kernel oil comes from the seed within. Palm kernel oil is not a health food!
The heated and refined version of palm oil goes by a myriad of names, some of which you might recognize from your shampoo, lipstick, bar soap, biodiesel, and yes—even margarine.
All in all, a properly selected palm fruit oil can do wonders for your health and the health of our environment. Malaysian palm fruit oil is RSPO, and I am impressed by their standard of eco-sustainability.
I don’t think palm fruit oil will equal the popularity of coconut oil, but it is making a good play so far!
Have you used palm fruit oil? Did you notice any specific health benefits?
Please share your experience in the comment section below!
You’re articles are always so informative… Thank you! Can you recommend a particular brand please?
Hi Lori: Thank you for your comment. I like Tropical Traditions and Malyasian Palm Fruit Oil.
Great article, however I’m a little surprised that you mentioned the use of Canola oil (in same context with Olive). Isn’t Canola oil a product we should all avoid?
Thanks
Hi Jennifer: Thanks for your eagle eyes. Canola should be avoided at all costs – unlike olive oil, which is a nutritionally-sound monounsaturated.
Hi Ann Louise,
This fruit is supposed to be a great DHT blocker as well (that is why I take it everyday)…
I still miss your incredible radio appearances with the great Dr. Atkins on WOR radio in NYC (the station is gone as well, sold to Iheart and is now a junk radio station)….
http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/
Kathy: I am very aware of the ecological concerns and have done my best to present both sides of the palm oil story. Thank you for your post.
Kathy – Thanks for sharing the website link – I agree that it’s important to choose foods produced in an environmentally conscious method. With all of the information out there online about Palm Fruit Oil, I’m sure that Ann Louise felt it was important to weigh in on its health benefits from a nutritional standpoint. She did touch on the concerns of the environmental impact that Palm Fruit Oil production has in many parts of the world, and of course it’s up to us as consumers to make responsible decisions on the foods we choose to purchase and consume. I felt it was a very balanced blog in that regard.
Thank you Caroline! There are indeed some irresponsible practices used by less reputable palm fruit oil growers. After exhaustively researching the methods and environmental dedication of the two companies referenced, we were quite impressed with the lengths they go to as conscious and responsible growers and harvesters. When properly done, palm fruit farming does wonders for the land, the local economy and the world hunger issue!
Agree. Say no to palm oil!
Yes, super-informative article. I cook with macadamia nut or grape seed oil for the high heat resistance factor. But when hubby goes to the store, he gets canola oil. Is safflower oil better than canola? He looks at cost. He doesn’t like to cook with olive (he thinks it tastes like olives).
Hi Diana: Both safflower and canola are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and so oxidize quickly. It would be much better to cook with butter or coconut oil as these are much more stable under higher heat. Canola is simply an unhealthful oil at any temperature!!
This is extremely interesting and not an oil that has been on my radar. I will look for the environmentally friendly ones.
Palm oil plantations in Indonesia are displacing the wild elephants of the forest. The landowners are chasing the poor elephants back and forth and terrorizing them with air guns etc. I saw a documentary about this recently and I cant bring myself to use Palm products for this reasons- the elephants were so stressed they were all weeping as they ran…just my opinion and shouldn’t keep anyone else from doing what they please on this issue.
Exactly. It’s affecting the elephants, orangutans, and tigers. I gave up using products with any form of palm oil … food, body, etc.
right now i say no to all palm oil products based on the horrific environmental and animal damage that is taking place as the biggest producers of palm oil burn tropical forest to make way for plantations. These forests are the habitat of Orangutans which have just been placed listed as in extreme danger of extinction – the highest alert there is. The cruelty done to these animals is really too traumatic to even look at. I know that some palm oil production is taking place responsibly, but i have not yet found a way to determine sourcing for most palm oil products.
I gave up any product — food, body, etc — with any form of palm oil.
There is a solution that can help the local farmers as well as the animals and environment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=199&v=7BRGj0DwYwA
https://greenpalm.org/about-palm-oil/sustainable-palm-oil