How does palm oil affect me?
We encounter palm oil in virtually every trip we make to the supermarket. Palm oil is a very popular commodity in many processed foods we consume and various beauty products such as:
- cookies
- pastries
- chips
- shampoos
- lotions
Most foods advertising 0 grams or no trans fat are using palm oil as a substitute to replace hard fats such as butter or lard. Although using palm oil gets rid of trans fat, it is by no means a healthy alternative. This processed oil contains about as much saturated fat as butter. Saturated fats are the fats that are solid at room temperature and are some of the most harmful to our health. Much of the palm oil we see in food is oxidized, or deeply processed, which can pose health dangers on the psychological and biochemical levels. Palm oil can intoxicate your organs, such as the kidneys and the lungs.
Saturated fats can affect our health by:
- Promoting heart disease
- Causing insulin resistance
- Promoting obesity
Although many are unaware of the detrimental effects of palm oil on the environment, we can relate to the fact that consuming processed foods that are masking their true unhealthy fat content should be kept to a bare minimum, if consumed at all. And if we can help the environment while staying healthy, even better!
