What Are The Side Effects of Palm Oil?

Palm oil has been getting a bad reputation in the public lately. It is not without basis, and in the following, we will consider the main reasons why this is the case.

It is an oil that is obtained from the famous palm tree (Elaeis guineesis) and is counted among the most used oils in the world.

Palm oil is rarely used in households, but it can still be said that it is ubiquitous in the diet. So, although we don’t cook with it, palm oil has a wide range of applications in the food industry, such as cooking oil, shortening, or margarine.

Accordingly, processed foods are often a rich source of these fats. In addition, fast food chains and many restaurants also use large amounts of palm oil.

The wide application of this fat is due to its stability at higher temperatures and low cost compared to other similar food fats.

The bad reputation in the diet of the so-called tropical fats, which also include coconut oil, is mainly due to the high percentage of saturated fat they contain. Coconut oil and palm kernel oil are up to 85% saturated fat.

In contrast, “ordinary” palm oil has 50% saturated fat, which is also too high a percentage, considering that we should avoid it as much as possible. According to the British Department of Health, consuming more than 25g of saturated fat per day is considered high-risk, especially for people who already have weight problems.

Dangers of saturated fat to our health

Not all fats are bad for our health, on the contrary. However, there are some that we should avoid as much as possible in our diet. Definitely among them is the so-called saturated fat. We are talking about fats whose source is mostly animal food, such as meat and dairy products.

However, as we have seen before, certain vegetable sources are also extremely rich sources of these bad fats for our health. Some of the main negative health effects, with a scientific basis:

• Processes of chronic inflammation or inflammation – more on this topic, read here: Chronic inflammation and health
• Increased level of cholesterol – elevated so-called. Bad cholesterol (LDL)
• Insulin resistance – When the cells stop responding properly to the “stimulations” from insulin, it is called insulin resistance or resistance. In such conditions, the pancreas begins to secrete even more insulin in an attempt to lower blood sugar. This leads to high levels of insulin in the blood, a condition called hyperinsulinemia.
• Strongly increased risk of excess weight – all the consequences associated with this condition
• Hormonal imbalance
• Impaired liver health – fatty liver
• Cognitive health problems
• Heart health problems – associated with almost all of the conditions listed above.

What are the additional dangers?

As already mentioned, palm oil is quite often used by fast food chains. It is actually used as a frying medium, due to its stability at high temperatures and low cost.

In many of the previous articles, we have talked about the harmfulness of eating fried food, but here it is worth considering another aspect. The fact is that fried food is harmful in itself, regardless of the oil used to fry it.

Due to its greater stability, palm oil is also used after several frying cycles. In translation, it is not uncommon for various sandwich shops and fast food places to use palm oil for a large number of fryings, even more than one day. The oil is stable, but chemically a storm of reactions occurs.

What are the problems of multiple frying in the same oil?

Regardless of the origin of the oil (but it is usually made with palm oil), this practice is particularly harmful to our health. Let’s summarize the harmful effects in 5 main points:

1. Formation of trans fats—repeatedly heating oil to high temperatures during frying can cause the formation of trans fats, components known to increase LDL cholesterol levels and decrease HDL or good cholesterol levels.
2. Oxidation—with each subsequent frying, the degree of oxidation of the oil increases. Oxidation processes lead to the creation of components with a strong harmful effect on our health. First of all, we are talking about free radicals, which increase inflammation in our body.
3. Formation of acrylamide—a carcinogenic component, which is created during the frying of food rich in starch, such as potatoes, but also the frying of various confectionery products.
4. Reduced nutritional value, reduced taste characteristics, and contamination—multiple frying in the same medium inevitably leads to the loss of the nutritional value of the oil, but also of the food that is fried in it. In addition, unpleasant odors and tastes occur, and contamination from the previous fried food poses an additional risk of creating toxic components in the next fried food.
5. The reduced smoking point of the oil—with each subsequent frying, the oil is more and more chemically damaged. This means that the temperature at which it decomposes or smokes, forming highly toxic components, is lowered.

Other negative effects of frying in the same medium, multiple times:

• Increased risk of spoilage of fried food
• Increased risk of allergic reactions – due to different foods being fried in the same oil
• Bad digestion
• Reduced bioavailability or degree of absorption of nutrients in food
• Inefficient frying
• Negative effects of the environment

Short tips on how to avoid palm oil in the diet:

To avoid large amounts of palm oil in the diet, we need to be careful about processed products. Palm oil can often be “hidden” in certain products, such as:

• Puff pastry
• Chips and similar snacks
• Popcorn
• Chocolates and various chocolate products
• Processed meat products
• Instant soups and sauces
• Frozen desserts, such as ice creams and similar dairy products
• Instant cereals for breakfast
• A variety of products labeled as “vegan”

For these reasons, as well as several others, avoid these products in everyday life, and when you buy them, always be especially careful in reading the composition.

On the other hand, the abundance of palm oil is an additional reason to cook more at home, that is, to avoid fast food.