Who Should Consume & Who Should Avoid Palm Oil?

Palm oil is one of the widely used oils all around the globe. This oil is extensively used in anything that needs oil, ranging from food items to cosmetics. The cheap price and flexibility in use contribute to the popularity of palm oil.

But still, there are controversies on the health benefits of palm oil. While some researchers suggest it is a good option to use, some studies claim with evidence that consumption of palm oil leads to many health issues.

Getting an idea of both observations will help you to take a decision about using palm oil. Consider your health status and decide whether using palm oil is good for you or not.

There are two varieties of palm oil. Palm oil, made from palm fruit, and palm kernel oil, made from the seed inside the fruit. Both of these have considerable amounts of saturated fat and calories.

Consuming palm oil in moderate amount will not be harmful. But, it is important to know who can consume it and who cannot.

Here we will discuss the good and bad effects of palm oil on your health. This will help you to decide whether palm oil is a good choice for you or not.

Who Should Avoid Palm Oil:

Heart Diseases

Since palm oil is rich in saturated fat, taking it regularly will increase your risk of heart diseases. Saturated fats are not heart friendly. Cholesterol will increase and this will cause heart diseases. So if you have heart diseases or if there's a family history, stay away from palm oil.

Obesity

If you are aiming at fitness, avoid palm oil. Palm oil is rich in calories and this will increase the chance of obesity. Taking palm oil daily will cause gradual deposition of fat cells that will increase your weight to make you obese.

Metabolic Syndrome

The high amount of saturated fat in palm oil will contribute to metabolic diseases. The palmitic acid present in palm oil is responsible for lower fat oxidation rates. This will cause a considerable decrease in metabolism, resulting in metabolic diseases.

Hypertension

While cooking, palm oil will become a health hazard. Cooked palm oil is associated with increased incidence of hypertension in researches. But, raw palm oil doesn't have any significant effect on hypertension.

High Cholesterol

If you have a heredity of high cholesterol and heart diseases, avoid palm oil. When you consume saturated fat, you are giving your body enough raw materials to produce cholesterol. Researches show that intake of palm oil can increase your cholesterol level.

Health Benefits Of Palm Oil:

Fights Cancer
Palm oil is rich in tocopherols that act as natural anti-oxidants. This will fight against free radicals and will prevent the occurrence of abnormal cells. Prevention of free radicals will stop the mutation of normal cells to cancerous cells.

Improves Vision

Beta-carotene in palm oil can do wonders for your eyesight. Beta-carotene has a great role to play in improving eyesight. Beta-carotene is the precursor for the formation of vitamin A (retinol). Vitamin A is important for good vision and eye health.

Hormonal Balance

Palm oil contains beta-carotene which can play a major role in keeping your hormone level in balance. This will prevent many diseases that are associated with imbalance of hormones. If you have hormonal issues, use cold pressed palm oil.

Anti-ageing

Palm oil is rich in vitamin E. Vitamin E is very important to keep the youthfulness in you. Taking palm oil regularly will prevent age-related wrinkles and other skin issues. Also, this is a powerful anti-oxidant.

Treat Vitamin A Deficiency

If you have vitamin A deficiency, you can take palm oil without any doubt. Including palm oil in your daily diet will be the best natural way to get enough vitamin A. This is one of the important health benefits of palm oil.