Uncovering
Palm Oil Benefits
Uncovering Palm
Oil Benefits with New Food Label Laws in Force
(ARA)
- For years, nutrition experts have been advising us to avoid foods
containing trans fats because of their link to an increased risk of
heart disease. Until recently, that warning fell on deaf ears because
for the most part, the ingredient remained hidden. Not anymore. The
federal government's Jan. 1 deadline to get that information on food
labels is in effect.
So the next time you pick up a loaf of bread, a container of
margarine or any kind of snack food, the label on the back should tell
you if artery-clogging transfat, created during the hydrogenation
process, is one of the ingredients. Trans fats are dangerous because
they lower your good cholesterol (HDL) and raise your bad cholesterol
(LDL).
The labels haven't been out long, but they're already having an
effect on the food industry. Kraft, Kellogg, Frito-Lay and other large
food manufacturers have responded by announcing plans to reduce or
eliminate their use of trans fat. Many restaurant chains are following
suit. In many cases, the companies are switching from partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil to palm oil.
"Its greatest benefit is that palm oil has the same functional
properties as hydrogenated oil -- thus it may be effectively
substituted -- but without the health problems," says Stacey Day, MS,
RD, a nutrition consultant from Redford, Mich. "In fact, human studies
have shown palm oil to have a favorable effect on cholesterol."
Palm oil extracted from the pulp of the fruit grown primarily in
Malaysia has approximately 35 percent less saturated fat compared to
both coconut oil and palm kernel oil, also grown in tropical regions.
Some human studies compared olive oil and palm olein, the liquid
fraction of palm oil, and found the same beneficial effects on
cholesterol levels. Studies suggest palm oil increases the good HDL
cholesterol levels while having a neutral to beneficial effect on the
bad LDL cholesterol levels, thus promoting cardiovascular health.
Furthermore, palm oil is a nutrient dense oil containing many potent
antioxidants including beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A and
tocotreinols, a potent form of vitamin E.
It has been the oil of choice overseas for generations, used as a
cooking oil, in baking, for frying foods, to make margarine and as a
component in many processed foods. So why did American companies
replace palm oil with unhealthy trans fats back in the 1960s?
"They didn't know any better," says Day. "People were told that
saturated fats like palm oil were bad for them so they started looking
for alternatives. Well turns out, the alternative was even worse."
Now realizing its many benefits, several major food manufacturers
have started using palm oil in their products again. You'll find it in
Nabisco's Golden Oreo cookies, Kellogg's Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal,
Pepperidge Farm Oatmeal Cranberry cookies, Voortman Vanilla Wafers,
Cadbury Finger Dark Cookies and many products sold at "health food"
stores.
You can also find palm oil for sale in your grocery store to cook
with at home. It is a very versatile oil. Palm oil has a high smoke
point so it is great for stir-fries, sautéing, grilling, and frying.
The red color of palm oil beautifully enhances any salad dressing
recipe. Palm oil is tasteless and odorless so it may also be used for
baking.
So the next time you see palm oil on a food label, don't hesitate.
You now know it's a good oil to consume. For more information about the
benefits of palm oil, or to find a list of distributors in your area,
visit www.americanpalmoil.com or call (877) ASK-PALM (275-7256).
Courtesy of ARA Content
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