- 3981

If you look at the composition of products purchased in a regular grocery store, you can see it almost everywhere Palm oil. It can be seen in condensed milk, candies, cookies, French fries, chocolate spread, chocolate, noodles instant cooking, chips, crackers, crackers. It seems that palm oil adds a special note and a certain taste to products. But is there any benefit from this?

Palm oil and coconut oil contain saturated fat. Saturated fats of plant origin are distinguished by their ability to be stored for a long time without changing their properties. Palm oil is used to prepare margarine, butter substitutes, and spreads, significantly extending the shelf life of these products and improving the taste and color.

But, unfortunately, this is where the benefits of palm oil end. The ability of fatty acids to increase cholesterol levels in the blood and provoke the development of atherosclerosis, vascular thrombosis, heart disease, and obesity makes palm oil an unacceptable product in the diet of a person of any age.

A high percentage of saturated fats is found, in addition to palm oil, in chicken fat, meat, eggs, dairy products, butter, cocoa butter and chocolate.

People striving for healthy image life, have long proclaimed soft margarine a healthy substitute for butter. But, when palm oil is added to margarine, this product becomes not only unsafe, but very harmful to our health. If you want to buy healthy margarine, read the labels: at least it should not contain palm oil.

To understand the “usefulness” of margarine, you need to remember: the composition of the ingredients in the product is always compiled in order of decreasing quantity. In a healthier margarine, vegetable oils - olive, sunflower, corn, safflower - will come first, and hydrogenated or hydrogenated fats will come last.

Yes, hydrogenated and hydrogenated fats are just as harmful to the human body as palm oil. Hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils is carried out using hydrogen. During this production, a large number of trans isomers of fatty acids are formed in fats, and they are foreign to the human body. These fatty acids glue blood cells together, form blood clots, and increase the amount of cholesterol in human blood. This leads to the formation of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, impotence and infertility due to hormonal deficiency in men, metabolic disorders, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, breast cancer, prostate cancer.

The products from which we eat the most trans isomers are processed cheeses, margarines - soft and hard, hamburgers, chips, crackers, French fries, ready-made puff pastry and confectionery products made from it. Trans isomers can be found in butter mixed with vegetable oil, in ice cream and condensed milk, and in chocolate.

Hydrogenated fats make products cheaper and are very beneficial to the manufacturer, but not to you and me - we have to pay with our health. During the experiment, they tried to dissolve the ingredients of the “fast” food in gasoline - even he left these substances unchanged. They, like plasticine, cover our blood vessels from the inside, leaving no chance for a healthy life.

Palm oil is cheap, but, unfortunately, not the healthiest oil. In addition to cheap food products, palm oil is used to make cheap cosmetics and creams. Remember that “paraffin” lipstick taste on your lips? Do you want this sticky mass in your arteries?

Palm oil in products enhances the taste of the product, making you eat it again and again. It is on this principle that enterprises are built fast food. After all, every child would prefer a hamburger with french fries to a plate of borscht.

People, having tried one product, seem to get hooked on the taste of ice cream or chocolate, hamburgers or chips with palm oil, which they remember and love, and this makes them buy this product again and again.

Many people will probably be surprised that palm oil is widely used in industry for lubricating rolling metallurgical equipment. Bon appetit?!!

Palm oil, introduced into dairy products to extend shelf life, makes them refractory. The temperature at which palm oil melts is much higher than the temperature of the human body. Once in our stomach, palm oil remains a plastic sticky mass that tends to cover everything around. Would you like a piece of plasticine for dinner?

Palm oil is a strong carcinogen. Developed countries have long abandoned the import of palm oil into countries for food use, and also limit products containing it for sale, making sure to mark its presence on the label.

Oils are valuable for their amount of linoleic acid. The higher this amount, the more expensive and healthier the variety of this vegetable oil. IN vegetable oil of average quality and price, the content of linoleic acid reaches 70-75%. Palm oil contains linoleic acid - 5%.

And in palm oil useful to the body NO substances AT ALL. The most balanced types of oil for humans are corn and olive. It is better not to heat vegetable oil, but to season the finished dish with it.

The only advantage of palm oil for consumers is its price. But when it comes to health, it is better to forget about saving - as a result of the wrong food, serious illnesses can arise, and you will pay for this cheapness in full, but with your health. The harm of palm oil to human health has already been proven.

For centuries, palm oil has been used for cooking. Especially in the tropical zone, where there are plenty of raw materials for its production. Nowadays, the oil extracted from the fruit of the oil palm is widely used in the production of refined foods because it does not contain trans fats. It is rich in natural antioxidants, including vitamins A and E. However, there is reverse side medals. Today you will learn why palm oil is dangerous for the body.

Why is palm oil dangerous?

It contains a lot of saturated fat

While the product does not contain trans fats, the oil does contain high level saturated fats, which pose a serious threat to cardiovascular health.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports that palm oil is second only to soybean oil in popularity. Most wide application in the manufacture of refined products it was found in the USA. Its consumption has increased sharply after the government passed a series of bills to reduce trans fat content.

A 2005 report found this type of vegetable oil to be less harmful than partially hydrogenated soy products. However, this does not relieve it of responsibility for raising cholesterol levels. Two meta-analyses were included in the report to support the findings. Based on the results, we can conclude that palm oil is dangerous for the body.

A later test conducted by British scientists on 147 volunteers also showed an equally disastrous result. It turned out that palm acid, the active ingredient in the oil, significantly raised total cholesterol levels.

Another clinical study was conducted in Holland. As a result, they found that palmitic acid significantly increased the ratio of total cholesterol to so-called “good cholesterol,” a widely recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

It's hard to digest

In her book Food for Healing, Linda Page, Ph.D., a practicing naturopath, acknowledges that palm oil has a number of beneficial properties. But as a result of purification, it loses most useful substances. The purification process makes the oil difficult for the gastrointestinal tract to absorb. For this reason, Linda Page recommends avoiding it. This especially applies to those who suffer from other digestive problems.

May cause intoxication

In one of the issues of the foreign magazine “ Plant products for human nutrition,” Nigerian researchers praised palm oil for containing many beneficial substances in its fresh form. However, these same researchers note that oil in an oxidized state jeopardizes the physiological and biochemical functioning of the body!

They also acknowledge that processed food manufacturers oxidize palm oil for various culinary purposes, meaning that a large proportion of consumers consume it in an oxidized state. The dangerous effects of oxidized palm oil affect the functioning of the heart, kidneys, liver and lungs, and also negatively affect reproductive function. In addition, scientists noted that refined oil leads to an increase in the amount of free fatty acids, phospholipids and cerebrosides.

Most formulas for artificial feeding contain palm oil. This is due to the fact that it contains palmitic acid, one of the components of mother's milk. In addition, palm oil does not provoke allergies and contains a large amount of retinol.

If only it were that simple. As already noted, processed palm oil has a high melting point, so not only children’s, but also digestive system adult. As a result, a small organism is not able to obtain the intended benefit from this product. And if you consider its ability to absorb and remove calcium, necessary for the full growth and development of bones. Such food products should generally be avoided! Domestic pediatrics only confirmed these conclusions by classifying infant formula containing palm oil as potentially hazardous food products.

In a child, palm oil can cause:

• Leaching calcium from the body;
• Prolonged colic;
• Frequent regurgitation.

Don't be led by marketing shills. Read again about the dangers of palm oil for the body before feeding your baby formulas that contain this element. Scientists and pediatricians unanimously say that the developing body is not ready for the stress that they are.

Can I eat foods with palm oil?

Fortunately, palm oil has not yet received the global popularity in our homeland that it has, for example, in the USA. Nevertheless, the market is slowly being flooded with refined products containing this ingredient. Around which there are heated debates. What is more benefit or harm in this overseas miracle? Someone says more benefits! Others warn that citizens should avoid products containing palm oil. Who to believe?

Let's face it. Palm oil is really very useful product only if it has not been subjected to careful processing and multi-level cleaning. This oil can be found on the shelves of some stores, but its price scares off ordinary people. As a rule, the oil used by large food manufacturers is preliminarily subjected to severe processing and oxidation. As a result, not a trace remains of the useful components.

Therefore, do not put your health and the health of your loved ones at risk. If possible, avoid foods that contain this type of vegetable fat. Or at least reduce their consumption to a minimum.

Environmental consequences of palm oil production

Large areas of tropical forests and other ecosystems with high conservation value have been cleared to make way for extensive oil palm plantations. As a result, the potential habitats of many endangered species, including rhinoceroses, elephants and tigers, have been destroyed. In some cases, the expansion of plantations has led to the eviction of forest dwellers!

The establishment of extensive monoculture oil palm plantations has a number of negative environmental impacts.

The two most serious are:

• Large-scale forest conversions;
• Habitat destruction for endangered species.

Other consequences of such activities include:

• Soil erosion;
• Air pollution;
• Soil and water pollution;
• Changing of the climate.

Palm oil began to be widely used in the food industry relatively recently, but debate about whether it is harmful or beneficial has not subsided since then. TV screens often talk about him harmful properties, the media unanimously claim that it is the main cause of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

But what is the situation really like and is palm oil really so harmful or does it also have properties beneficial to human health? Let's look at this issue in detail.

How is palm oil made?

According to WWF ( World Fund wildlife), palm oil is found in more than 50% of food products. It is produced from the soft part of the oil palm fruit - this is what distinguishes it from flaxseed or sunflower oil which are obtained from plant seeds. The product made from oil palm seeds is called palm kernel (it resembles coconut in its structural composition and properties).

The oil palm grows in Malaysia, Indonesia and African countries. Such localization of plantations, low labor costs and relatively cheap transportation significantly reduce the cost of finished products. In addition, one hectare of oil palm plantation can produce eight times more finished product than sunflower.

Raw butter is a very thick orange or red liquid with a pleasant, nutty taste and odor reminiscent of dairy cream. chemical composition It is largely duplicated by the usual creamy one.

Areas of use

Depending on the fraction (melting point), the product is used in various fields:

1. Stearin – solid with a melting point of approximately 47-52 degrees, looks like margarine;
2. Actually, oil is a semi-liquid product that melts at 40-43 degrees Celsius;
3. Palm olein is an oily liquid with a melting point of about 18-21 degrees Celsius, looks like a cosmetic hand cream.

Use in the food industry

The use of palm oil in the food industry began after American scientists studied the composition of the product in 1985. They also examined its properties in detail - up to this point it had been used exclusively for technical purposes.

Today, vegetable fat is used to make products with a long shelf life: confectionery, curd desserts, processed cheese, condensed milk, waffles, cakes and creams. In addition, it has the ability to improve the taste and appearance of products and reduce their cost.

Often it is used to replace milk fat, which is especially important for people who suffer from intolerance to certain components of milk.

There is no ban on the use of palm oil in any country in the world, but in the Russian Federation some time ago a bill appeared banning the use of the unrefined substance in the food industry. The ban was not adopted, but most manufacturers already “dilute” it with other vegetable fats, and on the product packaging they indicate that it contains a “milk fat substitute.”

Palm oil is also found in baked goods and confectionery products, sweet spreads, chocolate, processed meats, chips and French fries - this list is very extensive. Much controversy has flared up around the use of the product in nutritious milk formulas for infants, although its harm when used in baby food has not been proven.

Chemical industry, cosmetology and medicine

The ability to heal minor skin damage, moisturizing and nourishing properties allow the oil to be used in the production of creams for aging skin, healing ointments, medicines, which are used to treat a wide range of cardiovascular diseases and pathologies gastrointestinal tract, ophthalmological problems.

Palm oil, in addition to the food and pharmaceutical industries, is used by the chemical industry in the production of soap, detergents, decorative and ordinary white candles, washing powders.

The effects of palm oil on the body

The benefits and harms of a product for humans depend on what type of product it is - red (unprocessed), refined and technical have different properties and are used in different areas production.

It is important to take into account that the harm of palm oil to human health is often not determined by its composition, but rather by the chemical processing of raw materials in pursuit of reducing the cost of finished products.

Red oil

It is a natural plant product that is rich in natural red-orange pigment. It undergoes minimal processing, which allows you to save many beneficial features:

• it contains vitamins E and A, which allows it to effectively fight free radicals that provoke cancer;
• red palm oil has a positive effect on skin condition, nourishes hair, supports immunity, and also improves visual acuity.

But there are also a number of negative points:

• its consumption in large quantities can provoke diseases of the cardiovascular system or increase the risk of cancer;
• Palm oil (in large quantities) can cause significant weight gain. Because of high temperature melting (40 degrees), it is digested somewhat worse than other products and, as a rule, is not completely eliminated from the body. When consumed excessively, most of it settles in the form of waste.

Vegetable fat does not accumulate in the body in such volumes that any special measures are required to remove it. Simply increasing the amount of natural foods in your diet is enough.

Refined and deodorized

In the food industry, as a rule, refined oil is used. It is an order of magnitude cheaper than unprocessed and can be stored longer, which can significantly reduce the cost of finished products and extend their shelf life, but in addition, it is practically devoid of all beneficial properties and is dangerous for the human body:

• Source large quantity saturated fats can cause the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system and worsen the condition of patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus;
• Another negative impact– improving the taste of products, it provokes obesity;
• The harm of palm oil to human health is not limited to the likelihood of weight gain, because In addition, it is a carcinogenic product.

Olein is also used in the production baby food, but not at all to reduce the cost of the finished product, as is commonly believed.

A source of palimitic acid, which is necessary for a child to fully develop and required quantity contained in mother's milk, cannot be cow's or goat milk and vegetable fats, but palm olein can be brought closer to this substance. It is introduced into infant formula precisely with the goal of bringing the nutritional composition as close as possible to breast milk.

Hydrogenated

Hydrogenation is the process of adding carbon to make an oil solid. Any hydrogenated fat loses almost all of its beneficial properties and becomes an unhealthy product.

The product is hydrogenated for use in margarines and margarine mixtures. In this case, the harm of palm oil to human health is enormous, while hydrogenated products (including hydrogenated olive or vegetable oils) contain very few beneficial substances.

Technical

Industrial palm oil is used in the production cosmetics, medicines, soaps, candles and washing powders. Its use in the food industry is unacceptable due to the fact that:

• the changed acid-base composition makes olein completely unsuitable for adding to food;
• it significantly impairs digestibility, deprives absolutely all beneficial properties and often provokes the formation of cholesterol plaques or even malignant tumors.

Most myths about palm oil are based on the erroneous claim that the product is banned in many countries. developed countries. In reality, for example, in the USA, the volume of its use is growing year by year, and in the countries of Africa and Asian region it is used daily by the majority of the population for cooking.

If non-technical oil and edible oil are used in the production of products, then it will cause no more harm than any other.

IN last years Russian milkmen became concerned about the problem: every year more and more palm oil is imported into our country, and dairy products to which it is added already account for up to 30% of their industry. Palm oil greatly reduces the cost of production and extends the shelf life of the product, but it is harmful to health.

Recently, manufacturers of milk and products made from it have addressed proposal to V.V. Putin: force manufacturers to write “contains palm oil” on product packaging or completely ban its import into our country. However, it is very difficult to “force” those who have already warmed their hands on palm oil and turned into millionaires in six months to give up making huge profits. It is not for nothing that in countries that trade palm oil - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Nigeria - they say: it is more profitable to have an oil palm plantation than an oil well.

Palm oil has pleasant aroma and the taste of milk cream, due to which it can significantly enhance the taste of the products to which it is added. In addition, it significantly extends the shelf life and reduces the cost of goods. It is clear that corporations that make large profits by selling and using the palm tree are trying to increase their business income every year. Therefore, today most of the dairy products sold in our stores have nothing to do with milk.

Palm oil mainly used as an alternative to milk fat. Most of it is found in margarines, butter, cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, yoghurts, condensed milk and dry cream. In addition, in order to improve the taste and appearance product, extending its shelf life, palm oil is added to pastries, cakes, rolls, muffins, crackers, cookies, buns, chocolates, bars, glazes and to the chocolate itself. Palm oil is indispensable in the preparation of chips, French fries, fast food, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc.

Technical regulations of the Customs Union use of pure palm oil in food products officially prohibited on its territory. It is allowed to add only “milk fat substitute” to dairy products - palm oil, which is similar in performance to milk fat. However, it is not profitable for manufacturers to comply with this regulation, because palm oil costs 5 times less than milk fat. That's why those who buy an expensive vegetable fat substitute complain that they are sold regular palm oil instead!

In 2005 World Health Organization officially recommended reducing palm oil consumption to prevent an increase in the number of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Eating products containing palm oil is especially harmful for children. younger age. It has been proven that frequent regurgitation, colic, and constipation in babies are a consequence of feeding infant formula that contains palm oil!

IN Lately increasingly advertise palm oil, describing its unique beneficial properties. And this is true, but only expensive red palm oil is useful, which is unprofitable to add to food. The commercial interests of manufacturers force them to look for a replacement, so they make their products with industrial palm oil, which is hazardous to health.

In countries European Union It is allowed to use palm oil with a peroxide value of no more than 0.5 units in food production, and in Russia the allowed value is 10. In the West, such oil is used as machine oil for lubricating equipment, and we eat it! In addition, according to GOST, palm oil must be transported in stainless steel canisters, and recently it turned out that the main importer of palm oil to Russia, LLC Food Ingredients of the EFKO group of companies, transported palm oil in oil product containers. Most often this oil is stored in plastic tanks, for this reason it may contain cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead and other heavy metals hazardous to health.

Palm oil obtained from the fruits of a special oil palm. It contains more than 50% saturated fatty acids and, like animal fat, tends to be deposited in the arteries and contribute to increased cholesterol. Palmitic acid, which is one of the main components of palm oil, promotes the formation of fatty plaques on the walls of blood vessels and, if consumed in excess, leads to atherosclerosis, heart disease and can provoke cancer.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult these days to protect yourself from using such harmful palm oil. After all, it is almost impossible to detect its presence in a product. Manufacturers usually write “vegetable oil” or “vegetable fat” on labels instead of the words “palm oil,” which is perceived by us as a healthy product.

Nutritionist Arian Grumba x recommends: "To protect yourself from harmful effects palm oil, the main thing is to limit the consumption of products industrial production and don’t eat anything that didn’t exist during your grandmother’s lifetime!” This means, try to eat natural milk and homemade products. Do not buy confectionery and dairy products with a long shelf life, especially try to limit children from consuming them. Never eat fast foods, chips, cheap rolls, cakes, pastries, curd cheeses, condensed milk, cheese and curd products, yoghurts, ice cream, chocolates and candy bars. Don't save money to the detriment of your health!

Is palm oil dangerous? Increasingly, in the composition of products on packaging you can find echoes of the “African jungle” ‒ Palm oil. Sometimes it hides behind vague formulations: "vegetable fat" or "vegetable oil". And all because manufacturers are trying to hide the fact that it is used in food.

How is palm oil fundamentally different from other vegetable oils?

First, let's turn to the Big Soviet encyclopedia: “Palm oil is obtained from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm tree. It red-orange color, rich in carotenoids and palmitic acid. Used local population for food and as a lubricant. In importing countries it is used to produce margarine, soap and candles. Oil palm seeds produce some of the best... edible oils, called kernel palm; it has the smell and taste of a nut; also used for the production of margarine.”

Palm oil

Palm oil has an ancient history. According to the findings, it was used in Africa 5 thousand years ago, and in the eighteenth century, palm oil reached Europe by sea and gradually “conquered the whole world.” Today, its main exporters are Asian countries.

Getting acquainted with this mysterious product, full of Asian secrets, you should know that there is some kind of contradiction hidden in it. After all, all vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature, and only palm oil stands apart - it is solid, like butter. In fact, palm oil is more of a vegetable fat, and they called it “oil” for euphony and consumer demand. Its melting point is twenty-seven degrees, and it can become liquid only at forty-two degrees.

It contains saturated fats, which “preserve” foods. That is why they began to be actively added to chocolate paste and soybean oils - after all, if you noticed, they can be stored for years.

Alexey Kovalkov

nutritionist, presenter of the programs “Food with and without rules”, “Family Size”

Of course, palm oil will be inferior to, for example, sunflower oil. It contains 4-8 times less vitamins and healthy fats. But in itself, in small quantities, it is not as harmful as is commonly thought. However, if there is a lot of it in the body, accumulating, it begins to block receptors that are able to perceive and metabolize polyunsaturated fatty acids. In other words, if you ate a palm oil dairy product and then drank fish fat“for health”, then the latter will not have a beneficial effect on you. But even horror films don’t show this.

Palm tree fruit

Palm oil consists of sixteen acids, the main ones being palmitic (40-50%), oleic (35-45%) and linoleic (5%).

We have already talked about palminitic acid above. I will only note that it is contained in products of animal origin, therefore a person cannot develop a deficiency of it.

As for the other two acids, the value of any oil lies primarily in the amount of linoleic acid. The higher it is, the more expensive it is healthier variety oils Average quality vegetable oil usually contains 70-75% linoleic acid, while palm oil contains only 5%.

And the champion in the amount of the third - oleic acid - is olive oil. This fatty acid prevents the deposition of fats and even helps their utilization, i.e. "burning".

Until recently, trans fats—margarines—were widely used in food production. Now they are being replaced by an equally cheap but natural product - palm oil, and if we compare this oil with margarine, I give preference to butter. According to the principle, we choose the lesser of two evils.

Palm tree fruit

You can find out sensational facts and shocking myths about vegetable oil, including palm oil, by watching our video!