Palm oil. Harmful or useful?

Palm oil has recently become popular on our tables. This oil is obtained from palm fruits, for example, seeds. It has a reddish color, the composition contains palmitic acid and carotenoids. Few people know how much palm oil is harmful or useful, but many have heard of it.

Most often, palm oil can be found in margarine and other inexpensive butter substitutes. Thanks to it, the color, smell and consistency of the product improves, and due to easy availability and long shelf life, the price decreases. Margarine is preferred to eat because of its low calorie content in comparison with butter, but considering the calories, you need to look at the list of nutrients. Also, palm oil can be found on food labels such as condensed milk, mayonnaise, chips, soup mixes, curds, instant noodles, etc. In the cafe, we are often offered to try some dishes, the preparation of which used this ingredient. This is french fries, hamburgers and other fast food. Ironically, even in chocolate, biscuits and crackers there is this oil. It is rich in saturated fats of vegetable origin, due to which the shelf life of products greatly increases, properties remain.

Used palm oil, harmful or useful which - and remains a big mystery, not only in cooking, but also in everyday life. It makes candles, soap, cheap cosmetics. As you can see, all products, whether they are culinary masterpieces or chemicals, have a low cost and are easily accessible. Is it good or bad? Let's try to understand!

Essential advantages of oil are:

1. Its cheap. It is proved that it is palm oil that is cheaper than all other vegetable (sunflower, olive, etc.).
2. It has a long shelf life, it can prolong the life of the products in which it is located.
3. It has an unforgettable, unique taste. Many people, once having tried French fries or condensed milk, can not forget her taste and consume again and again. Unfortunately, the taste of these products is worthless. In such "delicacies" there are no vitamins and useful substances.
4. Obtained from fruits of plants that have not been genetically modified in any way.

The pros are obvious, but why do dieticians say that red palm oil is harmful?

1. It has too high a percentage of saturated fat. Due to excessive use, the level of cholesterol rises, which contributes to the development of heart disease, atherosclerosis, obesity. Saturated fats are found in large quantities in cocoa, chocolate, dairy products, meat, eggs.
2. This is the strongest carcinogen. In some countries, a ban on the import of palm oil, in Russia it is actively used in all areas of life, replacing all other oils.
3. This product is poorly digested and absorbed by the body, which contributes to poor health and digestive problems.

These are just a few points proving the harmfulness of palm oil. In fact, the harm is really significant. If you still doubt palm oil is harmful or useful, the answer is obvious! Do not ruin your health and do not "get carried away" on advertising stunts. Read the ingredients on the product labels and choose a safe food. When choosing, choose the right and healthy oils: corn, sunflower and olive.

Some people still find reasons to use this product in everyday life, referring to its medicinal properties. For example, olein, which is a part of the oil, is really good for health, but its content is so small that the answer is palm oil is harmful or useful, the answer is unanimous: "Harmful!".