Our food of
the week - Palm oil, has for a while
been the topic of much discussion, controversy and possible confusion.
Many consumers - particularly
Africans are seek an understanding of the key health messages around Palm
oil.
Ok, so let’s
get stuck in by firstly laying down some basics:
Palm oil is not to be confused with Palm kernel oil. As I mentioned in my post yesterday – Palm oil is extracted from the Palm
fruit – which grows on palm trees in the tropics in bunches. Ripe palm fruit
are a deep lush reddish – orangey colour, they look like oversized grapes!
Palm kernel oil – is extracted from the kernel or the ‘nut’ of
the palm fruit. This is the inner most part of the fruit.
Palm fruit oil (aka red oil) is derived from the fleshy
orange part of the fruit. The oil is traditionally a deep red-orange colour.
That is if it is unrefined.
The illustration below
captures the different parts of the palm fruit and where the oil extract stems
from:
Though both types of palm oil come from the palm fruit; there are
fundamental differences in appearance and nutritional and chemical properties.
Red Palm oil –contains high amounts of saturated fat, vitamins, and antioxidants
and phytonutrients. The
red colour actually comes from carotenes such as beta-carotene and lycopene -
the same nutrients that give tomatoes and carrots and other fruits and vegetables
their rich red and orange colours. Carotenes
are valuable nutrients and powerful antioxidants.
They are also important because the
body can convert them into Vitamin A, an essential nutrient. Vitamin A
deficiency can cause blindness, weaken bones, lower immunity and adversely
affect learning ability and mental function.
Palm kernel oil is derived from the seed of the palm
fruit. Palm kernel oil is lighter in colour. In
many cases the kernel oil is further refined, and it is known as ‘white palm
oil or fractionated palm oil. It is used for frying in chip shops and is used
in baked products such as pastry and biscuits.
Red Palm oil – contains high amounts of saturated fat, vitamins, and antioxidants
and phytonutrients. The
red colour actually comes from carotenes such as beta-carotene and lycopene -
the same nutrients that give tomatoes and carrots and other fruits and vegetables
their rich red and orange colours. Carotenes
are valuable nutrients and powerful antioxidants. They are also important because the
body can convert them into Vitamin A, an essential nutrient. Vitamin A
deficiency can cause blindness, weaken bones, lower immunity and adversely
affect learning ability and mental function.
In terms of composition these oils
differ in that Palm kernel oil is about 80% saturated fat. Palm fruit oil is about 37% is monounsaturated
fat, 50 percent saturated fat, and 9 percent is polyunsaturated fat. In it’s unrefined form palm fruit oil is reddish
or golden. This richness in colour indicates the presence of the carotenoids,
which the body converts into vitamin A. Palm fruit oil is pretty impressive as
it also contains high levels of Tocotreinols, which is basically a form of
vitamin E.
The profile of fat in
palm fruit indicates a more beneficial lowering effect on LDL cholesterol. This
along with the powerful antioxidant (protective) properties of the red oil - makes it a pretty potent food source when
it comes to health.
Dr. Albert Egbuehi (2006) of the
Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine University of Lagos said:
"Red palm oil is the richest dietary source of provitamin A carotenes
(beta-carotene and alpha-carotene). It has 15 times more provitamin A carotenes
than carrots and 300 times more than tomatoes. This has made it a valued
resource in the treatment of Vitamin A deficiency." "Just one
teaspoon a day of red palm oil supplies children with the daily recommend amount
of Vitamin A. Nursing mothers are encouraged to supplement their diet with palm
oil to enrich their milk with the vitamin," he stressed.
So that’s our first deep dive – excuse the pun – into Red palm
oil
Don't forget that quality and quantity of fat intake matter - if you eat too much of any fat, you risk becoming overweight. Even if it is a 'beneficial' fat.
Don't forget that quality and quantity of fat intake matter - if you eat too much of any fat, you risk becoming overweight. Even if it is a 'beneficial' fat.
Watch out for part 2
which will review Palm kernel oil and the process of refining upon the potent properties
of Palm oil.
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