Processed food products often contain palm oil for its price. Also, some industrialists are motivated to mix edible oils with palm oil and sell it as pure oil. Let’s delve into this issue. However, such widespread and hugely accepted use of palm oil as a cheap adulterant is leading to a deleterious impact on consumers’ holistic health. This practice of unregulated adulteration has led to an increase in lifestyle diseases, especially those due to internal organ inflammation.
Palm Oil as an Adulterant
Adulteration with Valuable Oils
Since palm oil is available at a significantly reduced cost compared to olive oil, sunflower oil, or groundnut oil, these pricey oils are typically blended with less expensive palm one to lift revenue profits for companies. This is a well-established practice to ensure high profitability, and studies have shown this to be prominent in geographies like India [1, 2]. However, this practice is compromising the health of consumers.
Statistics on Palm Oil Use
It’s the largest of all edible oils used around the world at 38 percent which is why palm oil is so dominant globally. Approximately 35% of the global vegetable oil marketplace, estimates indicate.
Effects of Refined Oils -Containing Palm oil
Nutrients Lost: Most refining methods also remove the antioxidants and other essential nutrients that are widely distributed in oils. Despite having some nutrients, combining with refined oils simply further waters down the little nutrition it originally had[3].
High in Saturated Fat: Palm oil is packed full of saturated fat which has been linked to a myriad of health problems, including heart disease.
Human Nutrition Problems of Palm Oil
Elevated Cholesterol: The saturated fat content in palm oil is sky-high, which can increase LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and raise the risk of heart disease.
It causes weight gain and obesity: Palm oil is high in calories, if consumed in excess it will undoubtedly contribute to weight gain and obesity.
The real problem with palm oil is when it masquerades as an adulterant or you end up consuming saturated fat through refined oils.
Making Informed Choices
Seek for ingredients on the labels Don’t ingest anything that is just labeled as “vegetable oil.
If you can, stick to unrefined or minimally processed oils and fats.
Opt for brands that are organic, transparent, and have a conscious thought on sourcing.
You can then consume less palm oil used as an adulterant and also make conscious decisions on the kind of processed fats you are taking in.
The Problems With Refined Palm Oil
Some alternative criticisms come from refining it. Genotoxic (DNA-damaging) and potentially carcinogenic (cancer-causing) contaminants called glycidyl esters are found in refined palm oil [1]. The levels of these particular contaminants are usually minimal, and more investigation is needed before ruling out health effects on humans.
Focus on Saturated Fat
The main health issue with palm oil is that it is high in saturated fat (~50%). A high consumption of saturated fat also can increase LDL cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Some studies link high saturated fat intake with certain cancer types but this work is very much ongoing.
Impact on Cancer Spread
A 2021 study indicated that one of the many fatty acids in palm oil, called palmitic acid, may encourage cancer cells to metastasize in mice [3]. It’s a fascinating study area, but the study only looked at mice, so no we cannot extrapolate and say that palm oil gives you cancer. Research in humans must investigate what this means.
Conclusion
The widespread use of palm oil as an adulterant in the edible oil industry has several health concerns. The refining also results in harmful contaminants like glycidyl esters. Those h may represent genotoxic as well as carcinogenic hazards.
Not to mention that palm oil is high in saturated fat, which in a controlled setting increases LDL cholesterol and your risk for heart disease. A few reports indicate that palmitic acid found in palm oil has encouraging metastatic potential, underlining the importance of using healthier choices such as unrefined oils for better health. These might include coconut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, olive oil largely which are unrefined or minimally processed forms of these oils, and even avocado fatty oils.
Sources:
- [1] Get carcinogenic refined palm oil out of our food! – Rainforest Rescue: [This source makes strong claims but doesn’t provide the most balanced perspective]
- [2] American Institute for Cancer Research: https://www.aicr.org/nutrition-facts/
- [3] Worldwide Cancer Research:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8876414/
