Such an exotic product as "palm oil" has recently appeared in our cooking. It is very convenient to use for the preparation of pastries and baked goods, especially those that need to be stored for a long time. But nutritionists are increasingly claiming that palm oil is very harmful to our health. It can be found in almost all products bought in a regular store: sweets, condensed milk, chocolate, cookies, crackers, crackers, chips and instant noodles. It seems to many that this ingredient adds a certain taste and a special touch to products. But is there any use in this?

Palm oil contains saturated fats that can be stored for a long time without changing their properties. It is used to make margarine, as well as various substitutes for butter and spread. This allows an order of magnitude to extend the shelf life and improve the taste and color of these products.

But at the same time, fatty acids increase the level of cholesterol in the blood, provoking the development of atherosclerosis, various heart ailments, vascular thrombosis and obesity. Saturated fats are also found in cocoa butter, chocolate, chicken fat, meat, dairy products, and eggs.

Many people try to replace butter with soft margarine, but if palm oil is added to the latter, then this product can greatly harm health. So in the store you need to read labels very carefully.

What can you learn from the label?

In order to determine the usefulness of, for example, margarine, remember one important trend: the composition of the ingredients is always indicated in decreasing quantity. So a healthier product will have vegetable oils in the first place - sunflower, olive, safflower, corn, and in the last - hydrogenated and hydrogenated fats.

So the last two elements are as harmful to our body as palm oil. Liquid vegetable oils are hydrogenated with hydrogen, which leads to the formation of a large number of trans fatty acids. These elements are foreign to our body, but they stick together blood cells, causing blood clots, and also lead to an increase in cholesterol. As a result, diseases such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, infertility and impotence, myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease can develop. Most of these unhealthy fats are found in processed cheese, margarine, chips, hamburgers, ready-made puff pastry, and French fries. They are also found in condensed milk, ice cream, butter (if it contains an admixture of vegetable oil), and chocolate.

All hydrogenated fats help make food cheaper, which is very beneficial for the manufacturer.

Palm oil is also very cheap, but far from healthy. In addition to food, it is used in the manufacture of inexpensive creams and cosmetics. So this lipstick on the lips has a specific paraffin flavor.

When palm oil is added to foods, their flavor is enhanced, which forces them to be eaten over and over again. After all, it is this principle that all fast food enterprises obey. Every child, and many adults, will prefer a hamburger and fries to a plate of fresh borscht.

If a person has tried one product, he seems to be addicted to the taste of chocolate or ice cream, chips or hamburgers with palm oil. He is remembered and loved, which makes him buy and buy his favorite food again.

At the same time, this component is widely used in industry to lubricate rolling metallurgical equipment.

If palm oil is added to dairy products to extend their shelf life, they become somewhat refractory. The melting point of this element is much higher than our internal temperature, so when it gets into our stomach, palm oil turns into a plastic sticky mass and tries to stick everything around.

In addition, this product is the strongest carcinogen, the use of which in food products has long been abandoned by all developed countries. If it is contained in some food, then such information must be indicated on the label.

The value of an oil is measured by the presence of linoleic acid in it. So the more it is, the more expensive and healthier vegetable oil is. An average quality product usually contains up to 75% linoleic acid, while palm oil contains only 5%. It does not contain any substances useful for our body. The most balanced in terms of nutritional value are olive and corn oils. But they should not be heated, but only used for filling ready-made dishes.

Some sources claim that the information about the dangers of palm oil is exaggerated and not true. But there are no studies that support this point. Therefore, if you want to maintain your health and the health of your loved ones, try to minimize the amount of palm oil-containing foods in your diet.

Ekaterina, www.site

In recent years russian milkmen we are 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 make up 30% of their industry. Palm oil greatly reduces the cost of production and extends the shelf life of the product, but it is unhealthy.

Recently, manufacturers of milk and products made from it have contacted proposal to Vladimir Putin: to force manufacturers to write on product packaging "contains palm oil" or even 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 a millionaire in six months to give up the huge profits. It is not for nothing that the countries that trade palm oil - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Nigeria, say: it is more profitable to have an oil palm plantation than an oil well.

Palm oil has a pleasant aroma and taste of milk cream, due to which it can significantly enhance the taste of 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 big profits by selling and using the "palm" 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 all it is found in margarines, butter, cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, yoghurt, condensed milk and dry cream. In addition, palm oil is added to pastries, cakes, rolls, muffins, crackers, cookies, buns, chocolates, bars, icing and chocolate itself to improve the taste and appearance of the product and extend its shelf life. Palm oil is indispensable for cooking chips, french fries, fast food, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc.

By the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union the use of pure palm oil in food products is officially prohibited on its territory. It is allowed to add to dairy products only "milk fat substitute" - palm oil, which is close in performance to milk fat. However, it is not profitable for manufacturers to comply with this regulation, because palm oil costs 5 times cheaper than milk fat. Therefore, those who buy an expensive substitute for vegetable fat complain that they are being sold regular palm oil instead!

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

Recently, they have increasingly become advertise palm oildescribing its unique health benefits. And this is true, but only expensive red palm oil is useful, which is unprofitable to add to food. The commercial interests of manufacturers make them look for a replacement, so they manufacture their products with technical palm oil, which is hazardous to health.

In countries The European Union it is allowed to use palm oil with a peroxide number of no more than 0.5 units in the production of food products, while in Russia an indicator of 10 is allowed. In the West, such oil is used as machine oil for lubricating equipment, but 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 trees to Russia, OOO Food Ingredients of the EFKO group of companies, transported palm oil in containers of oil products. Most often, this oil is stored in plastic tanks, for this reason, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead and other heavy metals hazardous to health may be present in it.

Palm oil obtained from the fruit 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 increases cholesterol. Palmitic acid, which is one of the main constituents 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 oncology.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult these days to protect yourself from the use of such harmful palm oil... After all, it is almost impossible to detect its presence in a product. Manufacturers on labels instead of the words "palm oil" usually write "vegetable oil" or "vegetable fat", which we perceive as a useful product.

Nutritionist Arian Grumbax recommends: "To protect yourself from the harmful effects of palm oil, the main thing is to limit the use of industrial products and not eat what was not there during the life of your grandmother!" This means try to consume natural milk and homemade products. Avoid buying pastry and dairy products with a long shelf life, especially try to restrict children from eating them. Never eat fast foods, chips, cheap rolls, cakes, pastries, curd cheeses, condensed milk, cheese and curd products, yoghurts, ice creams, chocolates and bars. You shouldn't save money to the detriment of your health!

If the label says “no palm oil”, it is perceived as a sign of safety. Is the sensational vegetable fat really so harmful, and why is it added to dairy and confectionery products? Let's talk about the benefits of palm oil, real dangers and uses.

What it is

What is palm oil and what kind of palm is it made from? The source of raw materials is the fruit of the oil palm, which grows in equatorial West Africa, as well as tropical regions - Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. The fruits are carefully selected and subjected to various pressing techniques. The seeds of the fruit are also used to make oil: this product is called palm kernel.

Composition

We will take as a basis a pure, unrefined cold-pressed product:

1. Most of them are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids: palmitic, lauric, oleic, palmitoleic, linoleic, linolenic, etc.
2. It contains much less vitamins than olive or sunflower, but the composition includes tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) and carotenoids.
3. A couple of trace elements are also found in the oil - these are iron and phosphorus.

The final benefit also depends on the degree and method of processing raw materials. In order not to be mistaken and to really assess the harm, you need to familiarize yourself with the varieties of palm fruit oil and the scope of application of each type.

Views

The balance of benefits and harms, as well as the scope of application is determined by the type of oil:

1. Red oil is considered the healthiest. It is easily recognized by its characteristic carrot color. This property is due to the carotene content. Red oil is produced in the most gentle way and without refining. This allows you to preserve the maximum of useful vitamins and acids. Other distinctive properties of the product are sweetish smell and taste.
2. Unlike the first variety, the refined and deodorized product has no smell, taste or color. Such pomace is used in the food industry, but its benefits are much less than in cold-pressed oil.
3. Pure hydrogenated oil is very hard and resembles paraffin. Such a product goes to the cosmetic and household industries. It contains a lot of oxidized fats, and vitamins are practically absent. Such oil is the cheapest, and therefore some food manufacturers replace the usual refined oil with them in order to save money. Such food leads to the accumulation of free radicals in the body, and this is fraught with cancer! Hence the fear of the palm tree: you never know what kind of palm tree was added.

Interesting fact
Red pomace from palm fruits is a traditional product of the inhabitants of West and Central Africa. During the excavation of burial grounds, 5 thousand years old, a jug with traces of palm oil was discovered.

Beneficial features

The natural red product is quite healthy:

• vitamin a improves the health of the organs of vision;
• unsaturated fatty acids support the heart and blood vessels, stimulate mental activity;
• oil enhances bile secretion, cleanses the liver and intestines;
• reduces the risk of gastrointestinal inflammation;
• is an antioxidant;
• saturates the body, satisfies the feeling of hunger, as it is high in calories - 899 kcal per 100 g;
• as part of cosmetics helps to heal, nourish and smooth the skin.

Why is it harmful: a detailed review

Let's take a look at the chemical composition again. The presence of some substances does not mean unlimited benefits - you need to understand their percentage.

Why is oil palm squeeze harmful:

1. The main story that warns people against using palm is its high saturated fatty acid content. Their excess in the diet leads to vascular and heart disease, in particular, the accumulation of cholesterol and the appearance of plaques. Mortality from CVD diseases is the most common in the world. With a low content of linoleic acid, palm oil contains a lot of palmitic acid. This fatty acid reaches 44%. It is these fats that lead to the accumulation of bad cholesterol.
2. Vegetable oils are classified according to the content of linoleic acid: the more it is, the more valuable the product. So, the average indicators of the pomace we are used to are 71-75%. In palm oil, they do not exceed 5%. Linoleic acid belongs to a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids that lower cholesterol and neutralize the effects of saturated fat. Thus, palm oil does not fight cholesterol and does not neutralize the effects of palmitic acid.
3. The harm of pomace to humans is not limited to the load on the cardiovascular system. Other organs also suffer: the gastrointestinal tract, nervous, excretory systems. Toxins accumulate in the intestines. Slagging of the body leads to oncology, which is the second cause of death after diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
4. With the constant use of the palm substance, working capacity decreases, a person is more often exposed to stress. If you ignore these signs, one day, serious malfunctions in the body are discovered.

Contraindications to use:

• age up to 18 years;
• diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• gastrointestinal problems during exacerbation;
• osteoporosis, osteopenia;
• pregnancy or lactation;
• age from 50 and older.

Signs of individual intolerance: edema, difficulty breathing, cough, skin rashes.

Palm oil and ecology

Wildlife advocates should be outraged by the fact that hectares of rainforest are being cut down to grow the oil palm. So, for the benefit of producers of cheap things, the planet is deprived of its "lungs", because it is the evergreen forests that ensure the stability of the atmosphere. Rare species of animals are dying, whose homes were cut down forests, and this threatens their final extermination.

Caution: palm oil in baby food

The magazine "Polzateevo" draws attention: who really should not eat palm fats is children. However, the substance is included in infant formula. This component reduces the absorption of calcium by almost 2 times. These are serious numbers for a growing organism: calcium, as a building element for the skeletal system, is especially necessary for babies.

Palm oil in baby food interferes with the absorption of other substances. The consequence is indigestion, constipation, poor health of the child, delayed development.

Where is applied

Palm oil is one of the most abundant vegetable fats in the world. This is a very cheap and affordable raw material, while it has interesting chemical and physical properties. For example, it is resistant to oxidation, which means it can be stored for a long time.

The main purpose of adding to foods is to replace animal fat and extend shelf life. In some cheeses and sour cream, especially from the low price segment, there is not a drop of milk fat.

What products contain palm oil:

1. It is added to baked goods. It allows you to extend the shelf life, as it is a natural preservative. The palm tree is included in the composition of rolls, waffles, cookies, cakes.
2. It is used for fried semi-finished products, chips, deep-fried chicken wings, french fries and other fast food.
3. Milk fat is partially replaced by palm oil. Often the product is included in milk-based products: sour cream, cottage cheese, cottage cheese desserts, condensed milk, cheeses.
4. It is a component in cosmetics for skin and hair.
5. Soap and candles are prepared on the basis of the technical form.

It's easier to say where palm oil is not used than to list all of its uses. According to some reports, up to half of all products contain refined palm oils.

Determine palm oil in the composition

How do you know if a product contains harmful palm pomace? There are four warning signs:

1. We read the label: some manufacturers in good faith indicate that the product contains a palm tree, but not all do this. Palm oil is hidden behind the label "vegetable" or "vegetable fat" and also "palm olein". This latter disguise must be closely monitored in baby food products.
2. The next sign of adding cheap fat is the product name. According to the law, it is called "milk-containing product", "curd product", "condensed milk", "butter", etc. There is a clear difference from the traditional names "milk", "curd".
3. Look at the cost. If the price is suspiciously low, the probability of keeping a palm tree is very high, and the product was not of the best quality.
4. Shelf life. If yogurt can sit on a refrigerator shelf for up to 6 months, it is not a natural product.

Advice! Please note: Palm oil is sometimes referred to as palmoil.

Product myths, funny and not so

Palm oil, which has recently appeared on our market, has already become overgrown with many myths about the dangers and benefits. What is true and what can only be laughed at:

1. "Palm oil is very healthy due to its carotene, vitamin E and other valuable compounds." Yes, if we are talking about a cold-pressed red substance, which is used in a strict dosage. It should be understood that such a product is very expensive. And the palm tree is also useful rather for those who live in places of its distribution and whose ancestors ate it from generation to generation. Residents of the northern regions are more useful for other vegetable fats, for example, from sunflower.
2. "In developed countries, palm oil is prohibited." This is not true. Pay attention to the production statistics: the world share of the oil produced is in the USA. Residents of Europe, where a strict ban on palm trees is allegedly introduced, claim the opposite: it is difficult to find a product with a "pure" composition.
3. "Palm oil is only suitable for making soap." Yes and no. It all depends on the type of product. Cold-pressed red oil is an example of this: it is included in food in some countries.
4. "It is not digested in the human body." This is another melting point myth. Up to 90% of the product is successfully digested.
5. But how can one explain the fact that the inhabitants of Africa and Indonesia have eaten the fruit of a palm tree since ancient times and have not died out? Quite simply: refining and hydrogenation technologies have appeared relatively recently. It turns out that the ancients used the most useful type of oil - red.

Palm oil is a controversial food. The harm of a refined and even more technical kind is undeniable. What about the red look? Can it be considered a health elixir? This expensive pomace is rare in our markets.

Even if you find such a bottle, you should not abuse the substance anyway: this will lead to complications in the work of the cardiovascular system, obesity, and cancer. The daily rate is no more than 2 tsp. per day.

You can protect yourself from palm vegetable oils by carefully studying the labels. Give preference to goods marked with GOST and with a familiar name that does not arouse suspicion.

Shrouded in many rumors.

Due to its cheapness, as well as the influence of the media, most believe that it is very harmful and diligently avoids it.

In reality, everything is far from so simple. How is it done?

The following are the various species harvested from the palm tree, in brief the process of obtaining them and.

What types are there?

By processing the fruit of the palm tree, called the oil palm, two types of oils are extracted: palm kernel and raw palm... Crude oil is made from the pulp of the fruit, which contains fats up to 70%.

Palm kernel oil is extracted from the kernels inside the fruit. These kernels or seeds contain 10 to 30% fatwhich is considered more valuableand is similar in composition to coconut oil.

How is it mined?

How it's done? Palm oil is obtained through pressing fruit pulppreviously sterilized. Further, the resulting crude oil centrifuged for separation and other unnecessary inclusions.

Before this, the oil must first be preheated to 100 degrees... Palm kernel oil - by pressing the kernels from or by extraction.

Resources used

The birthplace of the oil palm is considered Western guinea... Today the tree imported and growing throughout West Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The most large producers palm oil - Malaysia and Indonesia.

In these countries, the oil palm is grown plantations.

On plantations, fruits are collected, and then transported to plant, where the oil itself is directly obtained.

The fruits hang in the form of bunches, 3-4 cm each. dry hot steam treatment, in order to separate the fruit from the bunch. Then they are exposed pressingto obtain oil.

Further processing

The oil obtained after pressing is considered technical... Power applications require more than deep processing.

The oil goes through five stages refining:

1. Getting rid of mechanical impurities.
2. Stage hydration... Through this process, phospholipids are extracted.
3. Getting rid of free fatty acids, the process neutralization.
4. Whitening.
5. Deodorization.

The result is a ready-made refinedpalm oil used all over the world.

Chemical constituents

The main component palm oils are palmitic and stearic acids. They belong to saturated fatty acids and constitute 50% composition... Are considered harmfulfor the body in large quantities.

Up to 40% palm oil - monounsaturatedfatty acids (oleic).

They are useful acids that help cleanse excess cholesterol and increase vascular tone.

Up to 10% take polyunsaturatedacids (linoleic).

Such fats improve metabolism and are considered very important for normal human life.

Palm oil is enriched with a significant amount tocotrienols- one of the modifications of vitamin E.

In addition, it is the source vitamin A... But during processing, a significant part of these vitamins is lost. There are more gentle technologies that allow save useful itemsin the composition. The oil produced in this way is called redpalm.

Compositionally, palm kernel oil resembles coconut... The main composition includes saturated lauric and myristic acids. Unsaturated oleic and linoleic acids are present up to 33%, due to them, palm kernel oil has a higher iodine number.

Loot myths

The most common myth about palm oil mining is rumor that it is made from the trunks of palm trees... In fact, such suspicions are absolutely groundless- the sources of oil are fruits. Moreover, both the pulp and the kernel.

This product has found such popularitydue to its ease of extraction. Locals get it even today manuallyand eaten. They drop the fruits into boiling water and collect the floating oil and then squeeze the pulp extracted from the water. But the oil obtained in this way good food for a short time, but received in production differs in storage length.

Thus, it turns out that palm oil not so harmful... In any case, no more harmful than the usual creamy... Cheapness is determined by the ease of its production, and popularity among manufacturers - at the costand the possibility of long-term storage.

There are very useful components, especially in red palm and palm kernel oils.

However, it cannot be called harmless either, the presence of saturated fatty acids in a large volume harm the body.

Don't be scared, if the inscription palm oil is found in the composition, you just need to wisely approach the amount of its consumption.

How and where produce palm oil, you can find out by watching the video:

Why is palm oil added to all foods? The properties of palm oil, what causes its harm to humans. What causes the harm of palm oil to humans?

In Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, a plant such as the oil palm is very common. This is a very cheap product, while in its composition palm oil is very close to butter. Both palm oil and butter contain the same amount of saturated fatty acids, but palm oil has twice the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids. There is a difference in texture, at a temperature of 45 degrees, palm oil remains creamy, so it is convenient to use it for the manufacture of dairy products and confectionery.

Palm oil for domestic use in producing countries is different from what is sent for export, including for our country. In order to obtain high-quality palm oil, fresh fruits are needed, the pressing process takes place no later than within 24 hours after harvesting the fruits from the palm tree. Raw materials undergo multilevel preparation and purification, then are packed in sealed containers for sale. Processing and packaging must take place very quickly, the tightness of the package must not be broken, otherwise the oil will undergo oxidation processes. Oxidized palm oil is a huge health hazard, this product is toxic and can provoke the onset of cancer. In Russia, there is a regulation on the food industry, according to the document, only high quality palm oil should be allowed into production, but despite this, manufacturers often use oxidized palm oil.

There is an opinion that palm oil cannot be broken down in the human body due to its high melting point, but this is not true. In the human intestine, a special enzyme, lipase, works, it performs the function of breaking down fats and cope with palm oil, like with other oils. However, a high melting point will affect how long it takes to digest, and the process will take longer.

Why is palm oil dangerous?

Palm oil, like many other common foods, contains saturated fatty acids, and excessive use of them leads to violations of the integrity of the walls of blood vessels. This is just one of the reasons leading to such consequences, but at the same time it is very common. The American Heart Association does not recommend exceeding the daily intake of saturated fat - this is 7% of the total caloric intake of the daily diet - and it will be very easy to exceed the amount with palm oil.

By using palm oil, the manufacturer is misleading the consumer. It is advantageous to add a low-cost product to dairy products and confectionery products instead of butter, fry chips and other snacks on it, besides, it can be omitted from the composition. According to the rules of the current legislation, cheese using palm oil should deal with a cheese product, cottage cheese with a curd product, but this recommendation is constantly violated.

There are several criteria that can be used to determine the palm oil content of foods. The first and foremost of them is the cost, palm oil products are significantly cheaper. Cheese at a cost of 250-300 rubles per kilogram and cottage cheese at a price of 100 rubles per kilogram cannot be natural, they were made cheaper due to palm oil. If we are talking about dairy products, then they should not contain vegetable fats, so if you find such a component in the composition, you should know - this is how palm oil is veiled.

Palm oil becomes even more dangerous when it is hydrogenated, that is, when it is made into solid fat. In the process, trans fats are formed, they are disconnected in structure from those fats that a person needs.

The body uses fats to build cell membranes, it is very difficult to build them from trans fats, and if it does, the cell will become unviable.

Cells begin to break down before reaching the end of their biological cycle, this accelerates aging and contributes to the development of age-related diseases.

Most often, palm oil is present in those products in which, and without it, there are enough harmful additives - these are chips and crackers, cookies and sweets, yoghurts and processed cheeses with a lot of dyes, flavors, stabilizers, salt and sugar. Palm oil is also used for frying, it is cooked on it in inexpensive fast food establishments, the frying process is the most harmful processing of food, even more so with low-quality oil. If you choose the most natural products for your diet, then you will protect your body from the harmful effects of palm oil.