Can Palm Oil Be Part Of A Healthy Diet?
During my days as a student of dietetics decades ago, red palm oil was introduced to us in a dispassionate manner—highlighting both its benefits and drawbacks
Today's world is driven by black-and-white narratives; food items are either demonised or glorified, caught in a whirlwind of dietary fads and health trends. Currently, misconceptions like "gluten is harmful for everyone" or "dairy is bad for children" dominate discussions, pushing a vegan lifestyle even onto young ones. This binary approach overshadows the time-tested principle of a balanced diet, which has always emphasised balance, moderation, and variety. With that in mind, let’s revisit palm oil from a nutritional perspective.
Palm Oil: A Nutritional Perspective
Palm oil often gets a bad rap due to its high saturated fat content. The landmark Seven Countries Study first linked saturated animal fat with cardiovascular risk, scrutinising all saturated fats. However, it's crucial to differentiate between saturated fats from plant sources like palm oil, cocoa butter, and coconut oil and those from animal sources. There is also a difference in the saturated fatty acid profile of each of these saturated fats (i.e. a difference in the C-length of the fatty acids), hence the health effects vary. This aspect defines the uniqueness of each of the oils, and not all saturated fat are alike.
Palm oil offers a mix of 10 per cent polyunsaturated fats and 40 per cent monounsaturated fats along with the 50 per cent saturated fats. It's important to note that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting saturated fat to 8-10 per cent of total calorie intake.
Palm Oil in the Food Industry
Palm oil is favoured by the food industry for its stability, versatility and economical benefits. It accounts for 56 per cent of India's edible oil imports. This has prompted government initiatives to reduce imports, enhance food security, and tackle unemployment. Its stability and high smoking point make it ideal for various applications, particularly in convenience foods, helping extend product shelf life without trans fat formation—a significant benefit.
The WHO advises keeping trans fat intake below 1 per cent of total energy intake daily. As industries shift toward trans fat-free products, palm and palm kernel oils are increasingly valuable for their semi-solid properties at room temperature, free from trans fats.
Sustainability and Future Perspectives
As we aim to meet nutritional needs, sustainability cannot be overlooked. The food industry must ensure that palm oil imports come from sustainable sources adhering to standards like the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification schemes for responsible production. This approach aligns with global efforts to conserve natural resources and promote sustainability.
In 2018, a symposium in Madrid brought together experts to discuss palm oil’s role as a food ingredient and formulate consensus regarding its use. A study in BMC Nutrition 2024 titled "The effect of coconut oil and palm oil on anthropometric parameters: A clinical trial" indicated no significant impact on BMI and some other indices which are linked to cardiovascular risk, suggesting that sources like palm and coconut oil deserve unbiased scrutiny.
Additionally, it would be worthwhile to revisit other significant studies, such as "A plant-based diet and animal protein: questioning dietary fat and considering animal protein as the main cause of heart disease" from the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology in 2017 and "Coconut oil and palm oil's role in nutrition, health and national development: A review" by Laurence Boateng et al., published in the Ghana Medical Journal in 2016. These studies contribute to a broader understanding of dietary fats and their complex role in human health, emphasising the need for comprehensive evaluations beyond conventional wisdom.
Conclusion
Understanding the nuances of fats and oils is part of the overall picture of health. Refining of oils and practices such as repeated reheating of oils are also points that cannot be overlooked from the health perspective.
It is critical to focus on overall healthy eating patterns without exaggerated emphasis on any one food or nutrient. In practice, this translates into consuming a predominantly plant-based diet with an informed and appropriate use of oils.
