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 a flip side to the coin. 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 contains high levels of 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. It is most widely used in the manufacture of refined products 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 that this type of vegetable oil is 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 cleaning, it loses most of the beneficial 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 journal “Plant Products for Human Nutrition,” Nigerian researchers praised palm oil for the fact that it contains many useful 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, but also the digestive system of an adult cannot cope with it. 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 indeed a very useful product only if it has not been subjected to careful processing and multi-level purification. 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.

Such an exotic product as “palm oil” recently appeared in our cuisine. It is very convenient to use for preparing confectionery and baked goods, especially those that need to be stored for a long time. But nutritionists are increasingly asserting that palm oil is very harmful to our health. It can be found in almost all products purchased in a regular store: candy, condensed milk, chocolate, cookies, crackers, crackers, chips and instant noodles. Many people think that this ingredient adds a certain taste and special note to products. But is there any benefit to this?

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

But at the same time, fatty acids increase cholesterol levels in the blood, provoking the development of atherosclerosis, various heart diseases, 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 be very harmful to health. So in the store you need to read the 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 descending order of quantity. So a healthier product will have vegetable oils in the first place - sunflower, olive, safflower, corn, and in last place 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, resulting in the formation of large amounts of trans fatty acids. These elements are foreign to our body, but they stick together blood cells, causing blood clots, and also lead to increased cholesterol. As a result, diseases such as cancer, diabetes, 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 vegetable oil), and chocolate.

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

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

When palm oil is added to foods, their taste is enhanced, which makes them eat them again and again. After all, it is this principle that all fast food enterprises obey. Every child, and many adults, would prefer a hamburger and fries to a plate of fresh borscht.

If a person has tried one product, he becomes addicted to the taste of chocolate or ice cream, chips or hamburgers with palm oil. It is remembered and loved, which makes you buy and buy your favorite food again.

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

When 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 once in our stomach, palm oil turns into a plastic sticky mass and tries to seal everything around.

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

Some sources claim that information about the dangers of palm oil is exaggerated and does not correspond to reality. But there are no studies that would confirm this point of view. Therefore, if you want to maintain your health and the health of your loved ones, try to minimize the amount of products containing palm oil in your diet.

Ekaterina, www.site

Palm oil is essentially a product of plant origin. It is customary to add it in the manufacture of confectionery products, the shelf life of which undergoes a sufficient amount of time.

Since 2015, the production of this product has exceeded all expectations - twice as much as soybean, sunflower and other oils. However, the benefits and harms of palm oil haunt many consumers. Let's try to find out whether it is really useful or whether there are certain concerns due to which it should be avoided. And if there is, then why is palm oil harmful to humans in food products?

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The health benefits and harms of palm oil are summarized by the way in which the processing took place.

Composition and properties

Two components that have a significant impact on the melting degree of palm oil are stearin, which is a hard fat, and olein. The second component is a substance of liquid consistency. The composition of palm oil itself looks like this:

• vitamin E;
• acids – lauric, myristic and palmitoleic;
• phosphorus.

Beneficial properties of palm oil:

1. This ingredient contains a lot of calories, and after it you don’t want to eat because you feel full.
2. The benefits of palm oil are not only in saturating the body with energy, but also in improving brain activity.

How is it made and what is it made from?

Now we can lift the veil of secrecy about what palm oil is made from. The oil mixture is squeezed from palm fruits. It is commonly called oilseed. This tree grows in Africa, Indonesia, Southeast Asia and South America. It is considered the only raw material from which palm oil is produced. For culinary delights, you only need a product that has gone through all stages of refining. In other cases, soap and candles are made from this substance.

Ripe oil palm fruits

It remains to figure out how palm oil is made. Palm fruits collected from plantations are treated with dry hot steam. Next comes the sterilization of the pulp, and only then it is sent to the press. The raw materials obtained as a result of such actions are heated to a temperature of one hundred degrees and placed in a centrifuge. This removes excess liquid.

The plant product is refined in several main stages:

• mechanical impurities are eliminated;
• phospholipids are excluded;
• fatty acids are separated;
• whitening procedure in progress;
• the resulting product is deodorized.

Different degrees of processing affect how harmful palm oil is and where it is used:

1. Standard product. Melts at 36-39 degrees. You can fry and bake on it. There will be no smoke or burning during cooking. It is advisable to eat food that has been cooked in palm oil warm, otherwise an unpleasant-looking film may appear when it cools.
2. Olein. Melts at a temperature of 16-24 degrees. Has a creamy consistency. Such a substance should first be heated, and only then the meat should be fried on it. The product is actively added to cosmetics.
3. Stearin. Melts less than others - 48-52 degrees. Becomes hard. Used for cooking and present in cosmetics.

Palm oil of various degrees of processing

The way palm oil looks indicates that it is not like coconut or soybean oil. The consistency is quite soft. Fresh oil of light orange hue.

In order for it to be used for cooking, it must be bleached. The oil component is heated in the oven to two hundred degrees and then cooled. Oxygen destroys the natural pigment, and the oily substance loses its original color. Therefore, most consumers wonder whether palm oil in such processing is harmful.

Benefit for health

It is too early to talk about the dangers of palm oil for human health, for now it is necessary to understand what benefits it brings. This oily substance benefits the stomach, and it also helps the intestines. It can be taken for the slightest damage to the mucous membrane, since in this case healing occurs much more effectively.

Sometimes it is difficult to imagine how much harm palm oil causes to the body, when this product has a beneficial effect on metabolism with limited use. The oily substance will be an excellent helper in case of mental and nervous diseases; it also relieves chronic fatigue and improves brain activity.

It is especially useful for women to take this product, since it is fully enriched with fatty acids, as well as various vitamins, thanks to which the reproductive system works well. Recommended in case of diseases of the ovaries, uterus or breasts. We will talk about whether palm oil in infant formula is harmful a little later.

Palm oil has a beneficial effect on the epidermis. Relieves symptoms of psoriasis, acne, and helps with bedsores and burns. It is enough to lubricate those areas of the skin that need healing. To make the treatment process more effective, the substance is also taken orally.

Harm from hydrogenated (modified) product

However, the gold medal also has a second, dark side. You should find out why palm oil is dangerous. The twentieth century, especially in the second half, saw a boom in modified foods. Moreover, artificial fats are an inexpensive replacement for animals. Let's find out why hydrogenated palm oil is harmful to humans.

What are trans fats?

According to its consistency, fat can be solid or liquid. These categories of fats are divided into:

• saturated - this is a fatty acid consisting of a carbon chain, which is surrounded by hydrogen atoms (solid fat);
• unsaturated - the same molecules of fatty acids, but not completely covered with hydrogen (liquid fat).

Hydrogenation (modification) of a product can be defined as the enrichment of acids with hydrogen. Only the spatial structure changes, unsaturated fat turns into saturated fat. This is how trans fats arise (and in modified palm oil).

Trans fats are commercially beneficial because the chemically altered product has a much longer shelf life. It also has a pleasant creamy taste.

Consumers are captivated by the relatively low cost of such a product, and, as a rule, they have no idea why pre-processed palm oil is harmful. The price of a natural product is much more expensive than, for example, margarine, and also modified palm oil.

Why are they dangerous to humans?

Hydrogenated palm oil is cheaper than natural palm oil: it does not bring much benefit, but its harm is obvious. Such savings and passion for trans fats can result in an unpleasant surprise for the body. Such products are dangerous. Incorrect fat molecules take part in lipid metabolism in the body, which over time causes:

• obesity;
• atherosclerosis;

Trans fats also affect sex hormones. Pregnant women are not recommended to indulge in modified products (this also includes hydrogenated palm oil).

With excessive consumption of such products, a person gains weight sharply. In addition, they negatively affect the endocrine system.

What products does it contain?

Considering how palm oil is extracted and the fact that it is quite inexpensive, it is therefore a common component of confectionery products:

• chocolate candies;
• cakes;
• gingerbread, cookies;
• waffles and other sweets.

Palm oil is found in vermicelli, which cooks in a couple of moments, and in seasonings to improve the taste. Now you can imagine what palm oil is and why it is harmful to health.

Why is it added to baby food?

Now it’s worth understanding what the harms and benefits of palm oil in baby food are. These cereals and purees replace natural breastfeeding. The difficulty is due to the fact that not a single manufacturer has yet been able to create an analogue of breastfeeding mother’s milk. But a newborn must constantly receive exactly those elements that are present there.

The choice of manufacturers falls on palm oil due to the fact that it is inexpensive. Exported from countries with undeveloped economies and cheap labor. Sometimes it is replaced with similar oils, such as coconut or soybean.

Studies have been conducted that have successfully demonstrated how infant formulas containing palm olein (in Russia it is called palm oil) reduce calcium absorption.

Malabsorption can be explained directly by the placement of palmitic acid on the fat molecule. In olein it is located on the side, where it is split off at the moment when the composition is digested in the intestines of a small person. Thus, palmitic acid binds calcium contained in baby food and forms calcium palmitate, which does not dissolve in any way, is not absorbed and leaves with the stool. The stool itself becomes denser, its frequency becomes much less.

However, most mothers are wary of the presence of palm oil in infant formula, because there is a possibility that it brings not only benefits, but also harm. Some babies have constipation and frequent regurgitation. But often such symptoms indicate poor quality of the product, and there is no need to focus your attention on what palm oil is made from and why it is harmful to children.

Useful video

A little more about palm oil and its effect on the body:

Conclusion

1. Palm oil is added to products, and when compared with vegetable oils traditionally used in cooking, the harm from it is greater and the benefit is less.
2. It should be borne in mind that ordinary palm oil reduces the absorption of calcium in the intestine. In addition, almost 50% of the fat in it is represented by saturated acids, the consumption of which should be minimized under certain conditions (for example, with).
3. It is necessary to monitor the content of palm oil in food and limit its consumption.
4. A hydrogenated or otherwise modified product is a trans fat and is harmful to the body in any quantity.

Palm oil is made from the fruits of the oil palm tree. And the oil obtained from the seeds of this palm tree is called palm kernel oil. In Russia, palm oil began to be used relatively recently. It is ideal for baking and confectionery products, especially those intended for long-term storage. Currently, palm oil has become widespread, the benefits and harms of which are still being studied, and controversy surrounding it continues.

Use of palm oil

Due to its interesting chemical and physical properties, palm oil has become one of the most common types of vegetable fat in the world. This is also due to the fact that it is easily available and very cheap. Palm oil is highly resistant to oxidation, so it can be stored for a long time.

Palm oil is mainly used in the food industry. It is used in the preparation of waffles, sponge rolls, cakes, creams, and semi-finished products are fried on it. Palm oil is included in processed cheese, condensed milk, combined butter, it is added to curd desserts, etc. Many modern recipes cannot do without palm oil. They also partially replace milk fat. In general, it is easier to list those products that do not contain palm oil than those that do contain it.

Palm oil, whose use is not limited to the food industry, is also used in the manufacture of candles and soap. In cosmetology, it is usually used to care for dry and aging facial skin, as it nourishes, softens and moisturizes the skin.

Palm oil is useful to use for certain diseases. For example, for vision problems: night blindness, blepharitis, glaucoma, conjunctivitis and others. Due to its medicinal properties, palm oil is recommended to be used to treat various diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Benefits of palm oil

Many people are interested in the question: “Is palm oil harmful or beneficial?”

If we talk about its benefits, then first of all it is necessary to emphasize that it contains a large amount of carotenoids, the strongest antioxidants that are of great value to the human body. Carotenoids have a positive effect on weakened hair and skin. Therefore, it is used by many well-known cosmetic companies.

Palm oil holds the record for vitamin E content, which consists of tocotrienols and tocopherol. Tocotrienols are extremely rare in plants, they fight free radicals that cause cancer.

Palm oil is rich in triglycerols, which are digested very quickly, and when they enter the liver, they are used to produce energy without entering the bloodstream. This oil is especially useful for people who have difficulty digesting other fats, as well as those who watch their figure and athletes.

Palm oil also contains many unsaturated fats: oleic and linoleic acid, which contribute. These acids are involved in the structuring of bones, joints and are beneficial for skin health.

Provitamin A ensures the functioning of the vision analyzer and is involved in the production of visual pigment in the retina.

Palm oil. Some numbers...

The harm of palm oil

The main harm of palm oil is its high content of saturated fats. The same fats are present in butter. Many scientists argue that consuming large amounts of saturated fat contributes to the occurrence of heart and vascular diseases.

Palm oil contains only 5% linoleic acid; it is on this indicator that the quality and price of vegetable oils depends. Vegetable oils contain on average 71–75% of this acid, and the more it is, the more valuable the type of oil.

Statistics from the World Wildlife Fund say that half of all packaged foods contain palm oil. Companies are increasing the production of this oil and, for this purpose, wild tropical forests are being cut down and oil palm plantations are being planted in their place. As a result of deforestation, rare species of animals die - also indirect, but harmful.

What happens, is palm oil harmful or beneficial? Surprisingly, the benefits and harms of oil are comparable. For example, due to the saturated fats of the oil, heart problems arise when consumed, but at the same time it contains vitamins A and E, which make palm oil useful for the prevention of heart diseases and cancer. Palm oil is valued for its linoleic acid content, but at the same time it is much less than in other oils. Some strange combination of harmful and beneficial properties is obtained - maybe the researchers were British scientists or made a mistake somewhere? No, everything is much simpler - palm oil comes in several varieties.

Types of palm oil

The most useful and natural is red palm oil. To obtain it, gentle technology is used, in which most of the beneficial substances are preserved. This oil is red in color due to its high carotene content (which gives tomatoes their orange and red color).

Red palm oil has a sweetish taste and smell. The researchers came to the conclusion that during the refining process of palm oil, beneficial substances are released from it. And raw red palm oil contains a huge amount of beneficial substances. The described beneficial properties of palm oil mainly apply to red palm oil. It has long been consumed as food by the indigenous people of Central and Western Africa, Central America and Brazil. In Africa, red palm oil is popular as an excellent fat raw material. Some scientists claim that this oil is no different in beneficial properties from olive oil, so popular among Europeans.

Refined and deodorized palm oil is a different product. It is odorless and colorless. This is done specifically for use in the food industry. There is GOST R 53776-2010, which specifies the requirements for edible palm oil. This oil has the same beneficial properties as red palm oil, but in much less quantity.

There is another variety of palm oil that is used to make cosmetics, soaps and more. This oil is five times cheaper than other types of palm oil. It differs from edible oil in its acid-fat composition. Due to the low degree of purification, it contains a lot of harmful oxidized fats. It happens that unscrupulous manufacturers add such oil to products, the consumption of which causes the accumulation of free radicals in the human body, causing cancer. Also, consuming such oil leads to the formation of cholesterol plaques.

Experts are sure that some manufacturers use this oil in the production of food products. When talking about the dangers of palm oil, they mainly mean just this possibility. It is very difficult to bring the case to court, since identifying this oil in products is very difficult, so there have been no precedents yet.

Four myths about palm oil

1. Palm oil is indigestible because it melts at a temperature higher than human body temperature. This is not true; fats are not digested in the human body under the influence of temperatures.
2. Palm oil is banned in developed countries. This is not true, for example, 10% of palm oil produced is consumed by the United States.
3. Palm oil can only be used in the metallurgical industry and soap making. In fact, palm oil has a wider range of uses. It is even known to have been used during World War II to produce napalm. But this does not mean that it absolutely cannot be used for food.
4. Palm oil is produced from the trunk of a palm tree. This is not true, it is made from the fleshy part of the oil palm fruit.

The benefits and harms of palm oil are known to many. Palm oil has a number of beneficial properties, some of which are even unique, but this only applies to red palm oil.

Whether to eat palm oil or not, everyone decides for themselves. We tried to give you a little information.

Why did they start adding palm oil to all products? Properties of palm oil, what causes its harm to humans. Why is palm oil harmful to humans?

In Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, a plant such as oil palm is very common. This is a very cheap product, and the composition of 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 also a difference in texture; at a temperature of 45 degrees, palm oil remains creamy, so it is convenient to use for the production of dairy products and confectionery products.

Palm oil for domestic use in producing countries is different from what is exported, including to our country. In order to obtain high-quality palm oil, fresh fruits are needed; the pressing process takes place no later than 24 hours after harvesting the fruits from the palm tree. Raw materials undergo multi-level preparation and cleaning, then are packaged in sealed containers for sale. Processing and packaging must occur very quickly; the seal of the packaging must not be broken, otherwise the oil will undergo oxidation processes. Oxidized palm oil poses a huge health hazard; this product is toxic and can cause 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. A special lipase enzyme works in the human intestine; it performs the function of breaking down fats and can cope with palm oil, as with other oils. However, the high melting point will affect the digestion time, the process will take longer.

Why is palm oil dangerous?

Palm oil, like many other common foods, contains saturated fatty acids; their excessive consumption leads to damage to the integrity of the walls of blood vessels. This is just one of the reasons leading to such consequences, but it is very common. The American Heart Association does not recommend exceeding the daily allowance of saturated fat - this is 7% of the total daily calorie intake, and if you consume palm oil, it will be very easy to exceed the allowance.

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

There are several criteria by which you can identify the palm oil content in products. The first and main one is cost; palm oil products are significantly cheaper. Cheese costing 250-300 rubles per kilogram and cottage cheese costing 100 rubles per kilogram cannot be natural; they are made cheaper by 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 that palm oil is veiled.

Palm oil becomes even more dangerous when it undergoes hydrogenation, that is, when it is turned into a solid fat. In the process, trans fats are formed; they are structurally disconnected 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 deteriorate without 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 that already have enough harmful additives - these are chips and crackers, cookies and sweets, yoghurts and processed cheese with a large amount of dyes, flavors, stabilizers, salt and sugar. Palm oil is also used for frying; it is used for cooking in inexpensive fast food establishments. The frying process is the most harmful food processing, and even more so with low-quality oil. If you choose the most natural products for your diet, you will protect your body from the harmful effects of palm oil.