Know Your Enemy: Palm Oil

I decided it was time for me to get to know the culprit that is increasingly causing me pain. I found out a lot about where and how the fruit is grown. I could not find much on adverse effects from eating it except for reference to its high saturated fat content. 

Palm oil comes from the fruit of an oil palm tree. This fruit is mainly grown in Malaysia and Indonesia. Palm oil is said to have medicinal properties. It is being used in baked goods and food products,  often as a replacement for dairy such as butter. It can be found in make-up, toothpaste and variety of other personal care products. 

Palm Fruit Oil

Celeste Robb-Nicholson states:
Palm oil, made from the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis), is one of the most widely produced edible fats in the world. The oil palm yields two types of oil: One is extracted from the flesh of the fruit (palm oil), and the other from the seed, or kernel (palm kernel oil). Palm oil is consumed in many countries in vegetable oil, shortening, and margarine.

Webmed.com has a list all the various names used for Palm Oil:
Aceite de Palma, African Palm Oil, Crude Palm Oil, Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis melanococca, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Huile de Palme, Huile de Palme Brute, Huile de Palme Rouge, Huile de Palmiste, Main Ja, Oil Palm Tree, Palm, Palm Fruit Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil Carotene, Palmier à Huile, Red Palm Oil.

According to humanfoodproject.com, palm oil can cause low grade inflammation of the "plasma and adipose tissues:. The article by Jeff Leach in 2013 stated; " We can now add another certainty to that: palm oil causes low-grade inflammation that is linked to insulin resistance, obesity and other metabolic diseases that are partially mediated by our resident gut microbes."  Jeff also mentioned that Orangutans will not eat palm fruit.


For those people that want to know the environment impact of the mass use of palm fruit oil go to : http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php   and
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/8295815/Malaysia-deforestation-Why-is-palm-oil-so-controversial.html

Photos and References: 
http://humanfoodproject.com/palm-oil-maybe-not-such-a-good-idea-after-all/ 
http://www.palmplantations.com.au/oil-palm-trees.htm

http://www.pelicanoilltd.com/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/8295815/Malaysia-deforestation-Why-is-palm-oil-so-controversial.html
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1139-palm%20oil.aspx?activeingredientid=1139&activeingredientname=palm%20oil
http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/by-the-way-doctor-is-palm-oil-good-for-you