Why Is Palm Oil Unhealthy And Harmful To The Environment?

Also known as palm fat, palm oil has come under heavy criticism in recent years. Its popularity is mainly due to its affordable price, but it turns out that this food product is harmful to both health and the environment.

What does palm oil represent and how is it made?

Palm fat is a vegetable oil obtained by hot pressing of the fruits of the oil palm. Cheap to make and easy to process, palm oil finds its place among the ingredients of many foods, especially unhealthy ones. It is also used in cosmetic products (especially for the production of soap) as well as in detergents and even baby food.

The oil palm is native to the rainforest of West Africa and therefore prefers hot and humid climates. But given the existence of this type of climate in other parts of the world as well as the increased demand for production over time, oil palm cultivation has spread outside of Africa..

Palm fat harms the environment

In order to create enough space for palm plantations, which require a lot of space to grow, large areas of the rainforest have been and will continue to be destroyed. As a result, entire ecosystems are permanently lost. Not to mention the release of CO2 emissions caused by fires intended to burn plants.

Why is palm oil unhealthy?

Regardless of whether you consume palm oil from food or absorb it through the skin, all products that contain it are more or less harmful to your health. Like many other vegetable oils, palm oil also contains a large amount of saturated fat causing major health problems. Besides causing obesity, saturated fatty acids are also responsible for the development of heart disease and diabetes.

Is palm fat carcinogenic?

Yes, palm fat is considered carcinogenic. However, palm oil can become dangerous as long as it is heated. Heating allows the emanation of fatty acid esters and more particularly of 3-MCPD and glycidyl, substances classified as carcinogenic. Palm oil also has toxic effects on the liver, queens and testes.

Alternative names to remember

Although every product has a label indicating the presence of palm oil, some manufacturers are quite cunning in using other names that are not well known, making it difficult for consumers to consciously avoid the substance. You can find a detailed list here. Here are some examples:

• Fatty acid
• Glyceryl
• Vegetable fat
• Palm kernel
• Vegetable oil