Palm Oil Health Benefits and Side Effects

Written by: Christopher Karam ｜ ✔️ Medically Reviewed by: Dr. Riad M., M.D - G.P and Micheal B., M.D ｜ Last Updated: 2020 May 20

What Is Palm Oil?

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil made from the palm fruit, not to be confused with palm kernel oil which is an oil extracted by the palm seed.

The palm fruits come from the palm tree family (Arecaceae), which produces the palm fruit. It’s used to make both palm kernel oil and palm oil.

Palm oil is the extract from the fruit’s pulp, while the kernel oil is extracted from its seed. Palm kernel oil is generally used in cosmetic and beauty products, palm oil is used in cooking and manufactured food products.

These oil palm trees have two different species:

• Elaeis guineensis: Elaeis guineensis is native of West Africa and is the primary source of palm oil. The countries that naturally grow plants from the guineensis family are New Guinea, Colombia, South America, Ghana, Africa, and Malaysia and Indonesia, Southeast Asia.

  The fruits of the Elaeis guineensis trees were used in trading during 3000 B.C, mostly sold to the Egyptians.

  West Africa has used palm oil for cooking for traditional foods for thousands of years. It’s a staple in West African cuisine.

• Elaeis oleifera: Elaeis oleifera is native to South America and Central America. Both of these species are generally found in tropical areas.

  European merchants often bought palm fruits and oil as it was cheap and light to carry. The slave-trading era made red palm oil a rare food outside of West Africa, like black peppercorns.

Red palm oil uses the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruits grown on palm trees, it has a strong red color due to it being rich in antioxidants, especially carotenoids including β-carotene.

History of Palm Oil

When the Atlantic slave trade started declining in the 19th century, African states had to look for new ways of making trade revenue.

Palm oil is one of the first traded commodities in West Africa. Palm oil became West Africa’s primary export in the 1870s before it declined in the 1880s because of the increased cocoa powder production.

Palm oil became a greatly sought-after resource and cooking ingredient for British traders. They used palm oil to lubricate machinery and throughout Britain as an industrial lubricant. Palm was also used for making dish soaps like Palmolive.

Back in the Egyptian era, palm oil was used to bury people with palm oil-filled tombs, in cosmetics, and for culinary purposes.

This made the Elaeis guineensis tree valuable. The very first commercially-sized plantation for palm trees was established in Malaysia during 1917.

In the 1900s, palm oil and naphtha were both used to make napalm in WW2 and the Vietnam War.

Additionally, in 1992 the Government of Malaysia pledged to limit the expansion of palm oil plantations. In response to concerns about deforestation, Malaysia required that a minimum of half the nation's land be retained as untouched forest, which promoted the cultivation of palm oil.

Nutrition Facts of Palm Oil

Both palm and palm kernel oil are full of healthy essential fatty acids. Palm oil is a good source of palmitic acid and oleic acid, while only palm kernel oil has lauric acid and is a good source of myristic acid.

Palm oil is the largest natural source of tocotrienol, part of the vitamin E family. Palm oil is also high in vitamin K and dietary magnesium.

Here’s the list of all nutritional fatty acids found in palm oil:

• Saturated fats (49 g)

• Monounsaturated fats (9 g)

• Polyunsaturated fats (37 g)

• Myristic Acid (1%)

• Palmitic Acid (43.5%)

• Capric Acid (2.8%)

• Caprylic Acid (2.7%)

• Stearic Acid (4.3%)

• Linoleic Acid (9.1%)

• Oleic Acid (36.6%)

Here’s the list of all nutritional fatty acids found in palm kernel oil:

• Saturated fats (82 g)

• Monounsaturated fats (1.6 g)

• Polyunsaturated fats (11 g)

• Lauric Acid (48.2%)

• Myristic Acid (16.2%)

• Palmitic Acid (8.4%)

• Capric Acid (3.4%)

• Caprylic Acid (3.3%)

• Stearic Acid (2.5%)

• Linoleic Acid (2.3%)

• Oleic Acid (15.3%)

Palm oil is also rich in phytonutrients that are all proven to be beneficial for your brain, can prevent cancer, is anti-inflammatory, and boosts your immune system as well as your cardiovascular system. The list of phytonutrients in palm oil include:

• Tocotrienols and tocopherol

• Carotene

• Phytosterols

• Squalene

• Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

• Polyphenols

• Phospholipids

How Is Palm Oil Used In Cooking?

Palm oil is found in almost every packaged food product, from desserts to pre-made meals. Around 33% of all packaged food products in the supermarkets and cosmetic products contain hydrogenated palm oil.

Manufacturers that make chocolates, doughnuts, pizza, lipstick, toothpaste, shampoo, and deodorant all use modified palm oil.

Palm kernel meal is a byproduct of producing palm oil, which is used as animal feed as well as biofuel. Palm oil has many unique applications and culinary uses, which is what makes it widely accepted worldwide.

Palm is also used to make palm stearin, a solid fraction of palm oil that has been crystallized, highly hydrogenated and refined. Palm olein is another refined byproduct of fractioning palm oil.

Palm stearin is a solidified fat used to make palm mid fractions (PMF), palm olein, which is the base ingredient for making cooking fats such as:

• Margarine

• Shortening

• Vanaspati

Partially hydrogenated and heavily hydrogenated cooking oils and fats are terrible for your health and have many side effects.

There are a few ways palm oil was used to make traditional cuisine, as a frying or cooking oil, shortening, confectionery and margarine fats.

You’ll see palm oil in both the liquid cooking sector and solid fat goods, it’s even sometimes used for oxidation resistance (increased shelf life).

Palm oil has between 20 to 22% solid fat content (SFC) which is primarily composed of triglycerides. This makes it a strong base for margarine and shortening as it crystallizes beta-prime crystals.

Palm oil has been thoroughly studied and researched for creating new kinds of food products, which includes consumer and emulsion-based powdered foods such as:

• Imitation cheese

• Soup-mixes

• Mayonnaise

• Pourable food mixes

• Micro-encapsulation

• Salad dressings

How Is It Used In Cosmetics?

Palm oil has uses in products other than foods as well, especially in oleochemistry, cosmetics products, pharmaceutical products, detergents, and soaps.

Among all of these uses, palm oil is necessary for soap production, used as a lathering agent. Palm oil can be made into:

• Methyl esters

• Glycerine

• Fatty acids

Since both palm oil and palm kernel oil have similar fatty acids to coconut oil and beef tallow, they can both be used as alternatives.

These fatty acids are also used to make cosmetics, candles, and used in rubber processing. Here’s a list of cosmetic chemicals that are derived from palm’s triglycerides:

• Fatty amides

• Fatty amines

• Fatty alcohols

• Fatty esters in the derivatives.

These chemicals are used in:

• Biodiesel

• Plastic

• Pharmaceutical drugs

• Cosmetics

• Textile manufacturing

• Softening agents found in detergents

• Anti-caking agent

• Biocides (used in pesticides, algicide, and fungicide)

Lifestyle changes and demands have fueled the scientific studies on palm oil. This has led to formulating new products for meeting the ever-increasing demand for cosmetics and the creation of new niche products.

Palm oil is high in tocotrienol, which is a form of vitamin E, dietary magnesium, and vitamin K which are potent antioxidants.

There are many health benefits of using palm oil for improving heart health, brain health, as well as hair and skin health. Palm oil has been extensively studied and has hundreds of research papers with experiments conducted using animals as well as humans.

Some of the health benefits of palm oil include:

• Decrease in atherosclerosis and arterial thrombosis risks (blot clot in the arteries)

• Reduces oxidative stress

• Platelet aggregation (blood coagulation)

• Cholesterol biosynthesis inhibition (lowers bad LDL cholesterol)

• Reduces blood pressure

Multiple research studies have shown that palm oil increases good (HDL) cholesterol levels while decreasing the amount of bad (LDL) cholesterol in your bloodstream.

Diets high in palm oil will help reduce your risk of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) due to it’s omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Most of palm oil’s health benefits stem from its nutritious antioxidants, phytonutrients, and healthy plant-based compounds.

In case you have a deficiency of vitamin A or are at the risk of it, consuming palm oil regularly can improve vitamin A reserves in the liver and bloodstream.

This is highly beneficial for breastfeeding mothers, making sure their milk is highly nutritious for their infants. Taking 2 to 3 tablespoons of palm oil every day can help anyone, from adults to children.

1. Boosts Brain Health and Function

Regular palm oil and red palm oil are both great for improving brain health and brain function. 15 to 20% of the brain is composed of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAS), and 32 to 41% of neurons and nerve terminals.

The healthy fats and antioxidants protect cerebral fatty acids, this slows the progression of dementia and prevents the growth of brain lesions which are usually caused by injuries.

Both versions of palm oil are full of tocotrienols, which are a type of vitamin E. Tocotrienols are just a few of the antioxidants that are found in palm oil, some of which include:

• Vitamin E

• Vitamin K

• Vitamin A

• Carotenoids

• Phytosterols

• Beta-carotene (if using red palm oil)

• Squalene

• Ubiquinone

Many research studies performed on both humans and animals found that α-tocotrienol as well as arachidonic acids also helped protect the sensitive polyunsaturated fats and cerebral fatty acids found in your brain.

Palm oil is the best natural source for vitamin E and α-tocotrienol, which have powerful heart-protective and neuroprotective properties, such as:

• Protects against ischemia

• Reduces the risk of stroke-related brain damage

• Improves symptoms of metabolic syndrome

• Reduces the risk of cancer

• Has anti-ageing properties

• Reduces inflammation

These benefits additionally helped slow the rate of dementia, prevent the growth of brain lesions as well as stroke lesions, and decreased the risk of strokes.

2. Can Improve Vision and Eye Health

Around 13.4% of the global population suffers from some type of vision impairment or blindness, most of which is caused by presbyopia which affects over 830 million people worldwide.

Presbyopia is a form of farsightedness, where people can see well from far while close objects are blurry. This is caused by a loss of elasticity of the lens of the eyes, usually age-related around the age of 40.

Palm oil is full of vitamin A, vitamin E, and beta-carotene are essential for maintaining good vision and a healthy cornea. Carotenoids improve the production of rhodopsin, a light-sensitive pigment in your eye that lets you see in low-light conditions.

Consuming foods high in beta-carotene is very important for improving vision. The antioxidants in palm oil also improve immune system strength, further protecting the eyes from oxidative damage and free radicals.

Free radicals cause mutations, age-related macular degeneration, and promotes cellular breakdown, and which is primarily what damages your vision.

Palm oil will help prevent cataracts and macular degeneration, along with other foods rich in vitamin A and beta-carotene such as:

• Meats: beef, chicken, fish, fish oil and cod liver oil

• Organ meats

• Eggs

• Cheese

• Yogurt

• Fortified milk and plant-based milk such as: whole cow’s milk, skim milk, almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, and hemp milk

• Fruits such as: papaya, tomatoes, apricots, peaches, melons, avocado, mangoes, lemons, and cantaloupe

• Vegetables such as: broccoli, spinach, bok choy, carrots, kale, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, brussel sprouts, garden cress, green and red cabbage, lettuce and romaine lettuce, jalapenos, and peas

• Herbs and spices such as: garlic, paprika, cayenne pepper, dill weed, black pepper, bay leaf, chilli, parsley, cilantro, marjoram, coriander, sage, basil, savory, thyme, oregano, peppermint, spearmint, mint, rosemary, cumin seeds, mace, allspice, saffron, star anise seeds, and cinnamon

3. Improves Heart Health

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of deaths, estimated to be around 31% worldwide. CVDs include:

• Heart and blood vessel disorders

• Coronary heart disease

• Cerebrovascular disease

• Rheumatic heart disease

Palm oil has many healthy plant-based compounds that protections again various forms of heart disease. Making it difficult for cholesterol and plaques to form in your arteries.

Palm oil’s effects on heart health have been thoroughly studied, with many scientific papers showing mixed results. In most cases, red palm oil had the best results in terms of reducing heart disease risk factors.

A diet high in palm oil can have antihypercholesterolemic effects (reducing levels of cholesterol) in people who have a history of high blood pressure and cholesterol.

According to a medical article by the World Journal of Cardiology (WJC) showed that palm oil was able to decrease the amount of bad (LDL) cholesterol by 13% after 16 weeks, which resulted in an increased level of good (HDL) cholesterol.

Additionally, the antioxidants found in palm oil has the following heart-related health benefits:

• Prevents myocardial damage

• Has multiple cardioprotective effects

• Lowers LDL cholesterol

• Radioprotective, helps prevent cell damage caused by radiation

• Anticancer

• Antiangiogenic (angiogenesis inhibits the growth of new red blood cells)

• Antiatherosclerotic (plaquing)

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) nutrient database, palm oil has 9 grams of polyunsaturated fat and 37 grams of monounsaturated fat.

Palm oil is full of omega-3s, omega-6s, and omega-9s which are all good for your heart, reduces overall inflammation, and lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease.

4. Increases Energy Levels

Red palm oil is rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A, which are used to boost energy levels and improving the hormonal balance inside the body. Since the oil is a natural source for antioxidants, it can also help you to protect yourself from oxidative damage.

Beta-carotene and vitamin A are both stored in the liver until needed, which are used for recovering from daily activities and exercise.

Your liver drastically determines your energy levels, the list of liver functions include:

• Stores vitamins, minerals, and glycogen (glucose)

• Manages insulin sensitivity and secretion

• Blood sugar levels

• Cholesterol levels

• Creates hormones, such as IGF-1 (cell growth hormone) and angiotensinogen (blood pressure regulation)

• Responsible for metabolism (basal metabolic rate)

• Activates enzymes throughout the body

Every function of the liver highly impacts your energy levels. Foods high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals are optimal for keeping your liver healthy and your energy levels up. This prevents liver diseases such as:

• Hepatitis A, B, C

• Liver cyst

• Cancer

• Cirrhosis

• Galactosemia

• Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP)

• Alagille Syndrome

• Autoimmune Hepatitis

• Biliary Atresia

5. May Improve The Health of Nursing Mothers

Many pregnant women and their infants are at risk for serious health conditions, such as:

• Vitamin deficiencies

• Anemia

• Urinary tract infections (UTI)

• Mental health condition including: changing moods, loss of interest in activities, appetite changes, sleep cycle changes, overthinking, and in extreme cases, depression

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)

• Obesity and weight gain

• Weakened immune systems

• Heightened risk of contracting STDs and HIV

Red palm oil is rich in vitamin E, D, and A which are healthy antioxidants and nutritious vitamins that help reduce the risk and severity of many pregnancy-related complications.

As your body doesn’t produce these nutrients naturally, you need to include healthy, fibrous, and nutritious foods in your diet, especially during pregnancy. This eliminates having any vitamin deficiency-related issues by including healthy foods in your diet.

A study conducted on pregnant women and nursing mothers found that taking palm oil daily for 2 weeks was able to increase the vitamin A levels in their bloodstream, benefiting the infants as well.

Red palm oil yields the best results, other cooking oils that are healthy to use during pregnancy, including:

• Avocado oil

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Sesame oil

• Soybean oil

• Coconut oil (moderately)

• Peanut oil (moderately)

While palm oil use has some great health benefits, there are many serious side effects of taking palm oil regularly.

Palm oil is highly oxidized and hydrogenated which harms biochemical and physiological functions in the body. This creates free radicals which cause numerous illnesses and diseases such as:

• Increasing your risk of cancer

• Increased oxidative stress on the body

• Trouble sleeping

• Accelerated ageing

• Cardiovascular disease

• Chronic inflammation

• Organ toxicity in the heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys

This negatively affects plasma lipid profiles (cholesterol and triglyceride levels), phospholipids (cell membranes), free fatty acids (FFAs), cerebrosides (nerve cell membranes), and organ toxicity.

It’s also comparable to other harmful vegetable-based cooking oils such as:

• Canola oil

• Vegetable oil

• Soybean oil

• Corn oil

• Palm kernel oil

Consuming palm oil regularly will cause your cholesterol levels to increase due to all of its saturated fatty acids, this can lead to plaques building within your arteries and potentially lead to developing heart disease or a stroke.

Palm oil is also very high in calories as it’s pure liquid fat, there are 120 calories in a tablespoon of palm oil, and 117 calories for the same amount of palm kernel oil, with 13.6 grams of fat in each serving.

1. Harms The Cardiovascular System

The typical North American, South American, and Asian diets are full of foods high in saturated fat and sodium, which raises bad (LDL) cholesterol levels.

Any food or diet that’s high in saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease and hypertension, promoting plaque buildup in the arterial walls.

There is no dietary cholesterol in either palm oil or palm kernel oil, but the fatty acid profile of these cooking oils raises the cholesterol levels in your bloodstream. Foods high in healthy cholesterol include:

• Eggs

• Shellfish and seafood

• Organ meats

• Dairy

• Beans and legumes

• Fruits, especially berries

• Fibrous vegetables

One tablespoon of palm oil has 7 grams of saturated fat, which is 34% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for a 2000 calorie diet.

Since palm oil is in high amounts, in many packaged and retail food products, you will most likely exceed your daily saturated fat limit. This is when serious side effects can start to develop.

A scientific study conducted over 2 weeks compared palm oil, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) rich vegetable oil, hydrogenated vegetable oils, and animal fats (such as lard).

After the 2 weeks, palm oil significantly increased LDL cholesterol levels by around 10% while increasing HDL cholesterol by 1.4%. Drastically increasing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

2. Causes Weight Gain

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as palm oil and palm kernel oil, have been shown to increase visceral body fat.

Partially hydrogenated oils are full of trans fats which have many side effects such as:

• Weight gain

• Increased risk for type 1 and type 2 diabetes

• Heart disease

• Increases insulin resistance

A scientific study conducted was on African monkeys that took place for 6 years, which had the monkeys on a strict diet full of protein, fruits, fibrous carbohydrates, and trans fatty acids.

After the 6 years the monkeys had gained a significant amount of abdominal fat, developed hyperinsulinemia, and aggressive insulin resistance.

Secondary side effects include accelerated cognitive degeneration, decreased mental health, and an increased risk of colon cancer.

The palmitic acid in palm oil is an additional compound that promotes obesity by decreasing your daily energy expenditure and the ability to burn fat.

A study and trial were conducted with 43 healthy adults that have been given diets that are either high in palmitic acid (PA) or oleic acid (OA).

The group that was fed a diet high in palmitic acid found a reduced ability to burn fat, increased insulin resistance and a lower daily energy expenditure rate (metabolism).

3. Negatively Interacts With Drugs and Medication

Palm oil can drastically change your blood pressure due to its levels of vitamin E and vitamin K. Vitamin E thins your blood while vitamin K increases coagulation and blood clotting.

These effects can have drastic changes on your blood pressure, especially if you’re using blood clotting or blood-thinning medications such as:

• Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid (ASA))

• Warfarin (Coumadin)

• Dalteparin (Fragmin)

• Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)

• Dabigatran (Pradaxa)

• Apixaban (Eliquis)

• Edoxaban (Savaysa)

• Clopidogrel (Plavix)

• Diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam, others)

• Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others)

• Naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn, others)

• Enoxaparin (Lovenox)

• Heparin

• Enoxaparin (Lovenox)

• Fondaparinux (Arixtra)

As always, if you’re under medication consult your medical professional before making any changes to your diet.

4. Causes Cancer and Increases Mortality Rate

Due to palm oil’s fatty acid profile being harmful, as it has 45.5x more omega-6 fats as to omega-3s (45.5 : 1 ratio, respectively).

Too many omega-6 fats cause inflammation which leads to further cardiovascular issues and heart-related diseases.

4 scientific studies and trials study conducted with 2,738 stroke victims and 1,777 suffering from coronary heart disease (CHD) found that palmitic acid, abundant in palm oil, was the leading cause for myocardial infarctions (heart attacks).

Frying food in palm oil was another major contributor to a heightened risk of heart attacks, as compared to soybean oil. Palm oil is made of 22% trans fats while soybean oil has around 5%.

Another study conducted over 17 years, found that for every 1 kg of palm oil consumed annually, increased the risk of mortality by coronary heart disease rose by 0.07%.

Palm oil is a controversial vegetable oil with many studies displaying all of its health benefits as well as its side effects. If you’re going to include palm oil into your diet, red palm oil is highly recommended as an alternative.

Most of the negative effects of palm oil come from its long list of harmful saturated fats, omega-6 fatty acids, and its unlisted trans fats (which are made through hydrogenation).

All of the different forms of palm oil are found in almost every cooking and baking product in the supermarkets, as it’s cheap, inexpensive to process, and highly shelf-stable.

Here’s the full list of the health benefits of palm oil:

1. Boosts Brain Health and Function

2. Can Improve Vision and Eye Health

3. Improves Heart Health

4. Increases Energy Levels

5. Can Improve The Health of Nursing Mothers

Here’s the list of side effects of palm oil:

1. Harms The Cardiovascular System

2. Causes Weight Gain

3. Negatively Interacts With Drugs and Medication

4. Causes Cancer and Increases Mortality Rate

Hydrogenated palm oil also creates oxidation within the body, promoting the formation of free radicals which accelerates ageing, age-related cognitive degeneration, heart disease, and cancer.

Palm oil should not be taken by pregnant women as the excess omega-6 fats and high volumes of vitamins can be transmitted through the infant by breastfeeding.

People suffering from heart complications or have a history with heart-related issues, any form of palm oil should be strictly avoided.

If you’re looking to buy palm oil, go for the red palm oil variation since it’s much healthier as it has much less harmful saturated fats and more phytonutrients than traditional palm oil.

When buying palm oil products make sure it’s sustainable, as sustainable palm oil comes with an RSPO logo.

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