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by Betty Kamen, Ph.D.
A New Dietary Oil For The New Millenium
RED PALM OIL
With America becoming even more health conscious, now there’s another choice in cooking oil. Red palm oil is a cholesterol-free, trans-free, non-genetically modified, tasty alternative for cooking, baking and food preparation. In comparison with several other vegetable oils, red palm oil comes out on top in terms of its phytonutrient content and its frying qualities.
Red palm oil is derived from the fruit of the palm tree (the red color is due to the same compounds that are found in tomatoes). It has been used for thousands of years as a healthy cooking oil throughout the world. As a savvy consumer you may ask, “Why palm oil? What makes red palm oil different from other cooking oils?” There are several reasons to choose red palm oil. Most importantly, it doesn’t just taste good, it’s good for you. “An oil that’s good for you?” Yes. Red palm oil, a non-GMO (genetically modified), cholesterol-free, trans-free oil that’s loaded with phytonutrients such as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, vitamin E tocotrienols (a powerful antioxidant), lycopene and other carotenoids.
“A daily dose of vitamins from a cooking oil?”
One of the great things about cooking with red palm oil is that when heated, it does not lose its valuable phytonutrients. Red palm oil is naturally rich in carotenoids. It is 15 times richer in carotenes then carrots, and 50 times richer than tomatoes. It is also the richest natural source of a powerful form of vitamin E called tocotrienols. Tocotrienols have been studied for years and the research demonstrates that it prevents arteriosclerosis and lowers cholesterol.1,2 The bioavailability of its nutrients is excellent as these fat soluble vitamins are embedded in the oil medium. One tablespoon of red palm oil exceeds the U.S. recommended daily allowance of beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E.
“What are tocotrienols?”
Tocotrienols are a super antioxidant of the vitamin E family. Current research suggests that antioxidants fight heart disease, cancer and may even slow the aging process. There are two antioxidants in the vitamin E family, tocopherols and tocotrienols. While all vegetable oils have tocopherols, red palm oils have tocotrienols in abundance. In fact, among vegetable oils, red palm oil is the only rich source of tocotrienols.
Recently palm tocotrienols have been found to have several medical uses. Studies have found that tocotrienols may combat heart disease, lower bad cholesterol levels, neutralize free radicals and even fight cancer.
A heart healthy diet.
The studies conducted on palm tocotrienols all had one thing in common: the beneficial results. Palm tocotrienols were found to decrease arteriosclerosis.3 Arteriosclerosis is the hardening of arteries which can ultimately lead to heart disease. This miracle antioxidant also acts as an anti-thrombotic by reducing unhealthy blood clotting. A diet rich in palm tocotrienols can assist in dilating blood vessels and inhibiting human platelets from “sticking” to one another, thereby potentially lowering the risk of a stroke or heart attack.4
Dr. Paul Sylvester of the University of Louisiana says, “Unfortunately many people do not understand the benefits that palm tocotrienols can offer. Therefore, often they have an inadequate amount of this powerful antioxidant in their diet.” He goes on to say, “I encourage everyone to consider adding red palm oil to his/her diet.”
Palm oil and cancer prevention.
Palm tocotrienols may play a major role in cancer prevention and treatment. Only second to heart disease, breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women today. Most women are not aware of preventive measures they can take. Preliminary research completed at the University of Louisiana and University of Wisconsin in the United States, University of Reading in the United Kingdom and the University of Western Ontario in Canada, suggests palm tocotrienols to be a chemopreventive agent, inhibiting the growth of breast cancer cells.5 Another study found palm tocotrienols to be just as effective as tamoxifen, the drug used to treat breast cancer patients. When used in combination with tocotrienols, tamoxifen was 45 percent more potent.6
Palm oil and palm kernel oil.
“But isn’t palm oil full of saturated fat?” you ask. No, unfortunately palm oil has been confused with palm kernel oil. Palm oil is derived from the fleshy portion of the palm fruit, while palm kernel oil is derived from the seed or the kernel. Palm oil however, is used worldwide (more than 100 countries) for cooking and other food preparations. Palm oil is currently the number two edible oil in the world.
A non-genetically modified, trans-free oil.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, thanks to palm oil’s natural consistency, it does not need to go through the hydrogenation process. One great benefit of not requiring hydrogenation is the cooking odor or lack thereof. Where other oils would smoke or scorch, palm oil leaves no unpleasant odor. In some food preparation, most vegetable oils require hydrogenation because it offers a longer shelf life by changing the consistency to semi-solid. During hydrogenation, oil is heated with gaseous hydrogen and nickel to create the desired consistency. Palm oil is naturally semi-solid so hydrogenation is unnecessary.
The “hardening” of oils through hydrogenation creates trans-fatty acids. These have been shown to lower the good cholesterol and raise the bad. Because of this the FDA will, in the future, require food manufacturers to list the trans-fatty acid content on food labels. Palm oil is trans-free, i.e., has no trans-fatty acids.
Pramad Khosla, Ph.D. of Wayne State University confirms that research on palm tocotrienols is giving women and men many good reasons to include palm oil in their diet. “Most Americans don’t understand the devastating effect a vitamin E deficiency can have on their bodies,” he said. “Now people are beginning to understand how vitamin E in palm tocotrienol form can help their day-to-day health and increase their longevity.”
Summary
It is easy to see why red palm oil has become one of Malaysia’s top exports. With red palm oil free of trans-fatty acids and high in phytonutrients, it is fast becoming the healthful choice of American consumers.
One popular brand endorsed by the Swiss Vitamin Institute and the Australian, South African and Singapore National Heart Foundation is Carotino®. Carotino palm oil is one of Malaysia’s leading exports of red palm oil. In the last 25 years the production and exportation of palm oil has quadrupled. This year Malaysia will export over eight million tons of palm oil. Red palm oil is used throughout the world for healthful cooking, baking and food preparation.
Valuable tocotrienols and carotenoids have been extracted from palm oil and used for medical research, supplements and multi-vitamins. So if you are not able to incorporate red palm oil into your diet, there is another way to get these benefits. The brand names of these raw ingredients that are sold in the United States are Tocomin®, Tocobeads® and Caromin®.
For more information about red palm oil, please visit the Malaysian Palm Council of America at http://www.malaysianpalmusa.com.
References:
1. Bierenbaum, M. L., “Palm oil antioxidant effects in patients with hyperlipidemia and carotid stenosis—2 year experience,” Asia Pac J Chin Nutr, (1997) Vol. 6(1), pp. 72–5. Bierenbaum, M. L., “Tocotrienol in patients with carotid stenosis,” Lipids, (1995) Vol. 30, pp. 1179–83.
2. Coleman, Dr. Rosalind, et. al. “Palm tocotrienols ApoE+/-Mice from diet induced atheroma formation,” J. of Nuti. (2000) Vol. 130: pp. 2420–6.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. McIntyre, B. S., Sylvester, P. W. et.al. “Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of tocopherols and tocotrienols preneoplastic mouse mammary epithelial cells.” Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. Vol. 224 pp. 292–301.
6. Carroll, K. K., et.al., “Inhibition of proliferation of estrogen receptor-negative MDA MB-0435 and positive MCF-7 human breast cancer cells by palm oil and tocotrienols and tamoxifen, alone and in combination,” J. Nutr. (1997) Vol. 127 pp. 544S–8S.
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