Red Palm Oil: not a PARIAH!

Palm oil is being made out to be a pariah in these current times but our fore fathers knew better. Thankfully, what our fore fathers could not prove scientifically when they prescribed palm oil for the treatment of certain ailments, research is proving for us today.

Using traditional oil like red oil has a lot of benefits compared to the perceived disadvantages: it has been known to be used traditionally in managing some diseases including Vitamin A deficiency, diabetes etc. and since they can be subjected to high temperatures without turning toxic or rancid (through oxidation and the destabilization of the fragile bonds of its chemical composition), they are still a better option for cooking. The red palm oil is packed with a lot of nutrients, vitamins and carotenes all of which have health benefits. The fat in red oil aids the conversion of carotenes to Vitamin A in the body, it is a highly antioxidant food enabled by the presence of tocotrienols, Vitamin E, carotenes and other antioxidants. In essence, given the benefits of palm oil, the trade off between the perceived disadvantages of using it relative to its advantages is one that should be made by everyone especially in these times of over processed foods and their resultant health problems.

The most important information to take away here is that there are a lot of health benefits in using palm oil (because of the high concentration of certain nutrients and vitamins which are not so readily available to the whole population especially the poor) so we should not perceive it as a pariah that it isn’t. Also, when it comes to cooking, since it is a very stable oil and therefore can withstand very high temperatures with a smoke point of 225 degrees Celsius, it is the better choice for cooking and frying at high temperatures and even baking.

2 thoughts on “Red Palm Oil: not a PARIAH!”

  1. All these oils have their benefits. The thing to watch out for is which oil is better under which conditions. The oils that are made up of monosaturated fats are better than the ones that contain poly unsaturated fat. Some oils like soybean oil are the healthier option as long as they are not subjected to any heating. Olive oils are healthier but not very affordable for the average Nigerian. Red oil is and has a lot of health benefits too.

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