I have collected 5 of the most popular myths and will try to explain on my fingers why not all the evil that is called a “palm tree”.
I've done a lot of reviews on various sweets lately, and I've often found palm oil in the formulations. After I mentioned this in the article, there were always people who wrote in the comments that “palm” is evil.
I wondered if this was really so, and I decided to understand the topic in more detail. I began to study the materials on the topic and realized that there are a lot of myths around palm oil that demonize it, although this is not the case.
Contains trans fats
This is not true. The main source of trans fats is hydrogenated vegetable oils. Hydrogenation is a process that converts liquid vegetable fats into solid form.
But palm oil itself has a semi-solid consistency, so there is no need to hydrogenate it. It is for this palm oil that confectionery and bakery manufacturers have fallen in love with.
But the harm of trans fats has already been proven by the World Health Organization.
Causes obesity
Not really. Saturated fats, such as palm oil, are primarily a source of energy for the body. But if there is an excess of energy, then the body begins to store it.
On a note. In palm oil, saturated fat is only 50%, while in butter it can reach 66%.
Obesity causes malnutrition and excess calories. It is important to make sure that you burn more calories than you consume, and then you will be fine. Otherwise, any food will cause obesity.
By the way, in countries where the consumption of vegetable oils is higher, the mortality rate is lower.
Palm Oil is cheap and therefore of poor quality
Palm oil is really cheap. But it is not cheap because it is somehow economized on its quality. The point is high yield and high yield of oil from 1 hectare of land.
Oilseeds yield in tons per hectare of land:
• soybeans - 0.4 t / ha
• coconut - 0.7 t / ha
• sunflower - 0.7 t / ha
• rapeseed - 0.7 t / ha
• palm oil - 3.3 t / ha
The low cost of palm oil is, on the contrary, its competitive advantage. For this, manufacturers of dairy products do not like him: after all, on the basis of vegetable fats, including palm oil, they make useful analogues of traditional dairy products.
Technical Palm Oil is used in Russia
It is a myth. All palm oil supplied to Russia is controlled by special regulations.
Since palm oil is an imported product, it undergoes very strict control. At customs, samples of its quality are taken without fail, and this is done by independent laboratories.
Not digestible due to high melting point
This is not true. Palm oil is easily digested by our body. And, like any other oil or fat, it breaks down into glycerin and fatty acids during digestion.
Of course, if the body is healthy and the pancreas produces enough lipase, then palm oil will be digested by the body. If the lipase is less than necessary, then you will leave the excess in the toilet, excuse me for the details.
This myth was popular some time ago, and many people said that since palm oil is hard, it is more difficult for the body to digest. But what about products that contain cocoa butter, which in its normal state is much harder than palm oil?
I believe that palm oil is undeservedly used in various horror stories. And recently, the “palm” in the line-up has become something of a household name. And since there is a “palm” in the line-up, then it is dangerous. But if you look closely, it turns out that they are talking about palm oil in vain.