Why add to food and infant formula palm oil? What is this product made from, what is its use and harm?

Palm oil is a product that deserves a rather ambiguous evaluation. Producers assure that it can be used in the food industry, cosmetology. It is widely used in industry. Often it is recommended for fighting various ailments. However, there are opponents of palm oil. They believe that this component should not be included in food. So, let's understand what the palm oil is. What is the component produced from? And what is its use and harm?

Product Manufacturing

Where did the palm oil come from? What is the product of such a product? In the people there is an opinion that it is extracted from the trunk of a palm tree. It is not known who initiated such a judgment, but it is completely untrue.

Palm oil is a product of plant origin. It is widespread in Africa and South Asia. It is quite obvious what palm oil is made of (the photo allows you to view the tree) - from the fruit. The latter look a little like dates. The fruit of the oil palm, about 3-4 cm in size, grows in the form of a bunch.

Composition of the product

The main substances that determine the melting point of palm oil are olein and stearin. Consider what these components are:

1. Stearin - is a solid fat. It melts at a sufficiently high temperature - 45-55 C.
2. Olein has a more liquid structure. The melting point of this component is 20-23 ° C.

That is why it is important to consider, thinking about whether palm oil is useful, from which it is produced. In other words, it is necessary to study the percentage content of stearin and olein in the product. In low-cost varieties, the first component predominates.

But these are not the only substances contained in the product.

Composition of palm oil:

• Phytosterol - vegetable alcohol;
• Squalene - a hydrocarbon related to carotenoids;
• lecithin;
• Coenzyme Q10 - an excellent source of energy, takes part in most biochemical reactions, a natural antioxidant;
• Vitamins A, E - the strongest antioxidants, prevent aging, improve vision;
• fatty acid;
• Vitamin D;
• minerals.

However, one should not forget about one feature: the harder the palm oil, the worse its useful substances are assimilated. It is a product in which the stearin content is high. Therefore it is important to consider, if palm oil is used, from what this product is made. After all, the harm and benefit of it depends not on the number of useful components, but on the possibility of their assimilation by the body.

Product types

There are several varieties of palm oil. Each of them is intended for certain purposes. In addition, it is different and the production of palm oil.

So, let's look at the main types.

Product from pericarp

This is the most useful palm oil. From what produce the product? Of the fruit of a palm tree, but use an exceptionally soft part. The oil is obtained by cold pressing. When cooled, the component freezes, but becomes warm in the heat. The color of the product is yellowish orange. In this color, oil is given carotenoids.

It has a pleasant smell and is considered a valuable food product.

Refined oil

This kind is most often used for frying. Such palm oil is produced as follows. Special chemicals are introduced into the freshly squeezed product. This leads to the fact that the active components precipitate. It is removed and the product is deodorized to eliminate the taste of the reagent.

This is not the most useful kind of product. After all, along with the sediment from it "leaves" a lot of vitamins and nutrients.

Palm oil

The name of the product characterizes it perfectly. It becomes clear when they say about such palm oil, from what they make it. For production, a solid part of the fruit, the kernel, is used.

The oil has a white color, sometimes with a yellowish tinge. Such raw materials are used for the production of confectionery products, margarine. It is used to make soap, shampoos, gels. Palmmonuclear oil is a raw material for the production of glycerin.

Red Oil

This is the most valuable product. It is made by a certain technology, which allows you to store almost all useful substances in the oil.

If we consider its composition, then in such a product an extremely low percentage of stearin. In red oil, olein predominates. Accordingly, the melting point of the product is sufficiently low.

The oil has a high content of carotene. That is why its color is red-orange. The product smells nice, tasty, but has a short shelf life and a high price.

The Benefits of Oil

When it comes to this product, there are several questions. The main one is: "What is palm oil made from and what is it useful for?" The first question was discussed in detail above. So let's stop on the second one.

So, what is the use of palm oil?

Doctors state the following:

1. The product has a positive effect on the blood vessels and heart. Often this component is recommended for the prevention of strokes, heart attacks, inflammatory pathologies, cardiomyopathy, hypertension, ischemia, atherosclerosis, heart failure.
2. Oil is able to make up vitamin A deficiency in the body. Thanks to such a component, it is useful for various eye diseases. In addition, the product provides protection for the cornea, retina, lens. It promotes normalization of intraocular pressure, improves blood supply. This product is recommended for patients who have been diagnosed with cataract, glaucoma, conjunctivitis.
3. Oil has a beneficial effect on the work of the digestive tract. It prevents inflammation, provides healing of mucous membranes. The product prevents the accumulation of fats in the liver, stimulates the formation and extraction of bile. It is considered useful for dyskinesia of bile ducts, ulcers, colitis, enteritis, cholecystitis, gastritis.
4. The product is recommended for use in diabetes, obesity, frequent colds. He is advised to patients suffering from bronchial asthma, tuberculosis.
5. Oil is useful for the female body. It stimulates the process of combating numerous pathologies.
6. Benefit brings the product to children. Since oil actively participates in the formation of joints, teeth, bones, as well as nervous, brain tissues and organs of vision.

Harmful to the product

However, the same physicians argue that palm oil brings the body a minimal benefit. And at the same time they give a whole list of negative influences that this product can provide with excessive consumption.

The question arises: is palm oil in food useful or harmful? Before you get an answer, let's consider what damage the body can cause this product.

Excess in the body of palm oil leads to the development of the following conditions:

1. Disturbances in the digestive system. The temperature of the human body is 36.6 C. Palm oil, as mentioned above, melts at a temperature above 40 C. This is why, despite valuable nutrients, the body does not digest the oil. In addition, it is very poorly derived. As a result, most of the product "settles" in the body in the form of slags, and "heals" the organs of the digestive tract and many others.
2. Increased cholesterol. In the future, this can provoke the development of atherosclerosis, thrombosis and many pathologies of the cardiac system.
3. The development of numerous serious pathologies. Fatty acids adhere blood cells. It can cause a heart attack, impotence, infertility.

In addition, we should not forget that the product is carcinogenic.

What is it that palm oil is harmful or useful? The use of the product leads to the development of heart diseases. But at the same time, oil is rich in vitamins A, E, which provide excellent prevention of heart disease and oncology. However, the product itself is a carcinogen that increases the risk of developing cancer.

It is precisely these contradictions that make palm oil one of the most incomprehensible products that deserved extremely ambiguous assessment among the population. And everything is much simpler. It is only necessary to remember that this product is of several types. So, describing his favor, they mean red palm oil. And when they talk about harm, they describe the technical product.

Therefore it is important to realize what kind of palm oil we consume. What does this component produce for? We will try to find answers to these questions.

Food

Palm oil has a range of beneficial effects on the human body. Some of the properties of this product are even unique. But we should not forget that this is characteristic only of red palm oil. A technical product is dangerous and harmful.

Unfortunately, the last palm oil differs at a low price. In food, especially cheap, this component is most often contained. Although no one can confidently assert this fact.

Therefore, with special attention should be paid to products that contain this ingredient:

• Sweet pastry - buns, cakes, liver;
• Chips and popcorn;
• Instant porridges and soups;
• Chocolate and chocolates;
• Infant nutrition;
• Sauces and cocktails;
• Ice cream;
• Conserves.

Why add palm oil to the products?

The damage and benefits of this component are considered above. Moreover, it is quite obvious what type of oil manufacturers use most often. There is an urgent question: if the product is so harmful, why is it added to food?

The thing is that palm oil is a fairly cheap plant ingredient. Oil palms are highly fertile and productive. For example, compare them with sunflower - the most common raw material for vegetable oil. The same sites will provide a completely different amount of raw materials. From oil palms it is collected in 8 times more oil than sunflower will give.

In addition, such a culture is completely unpretentious. It does not require specific care and grows quickly on any soil in the tropics.

Such unpretentiousness and yield provided oil with low cost, which was used by modern manufacturers.

Baby formula

Most products for babies contain palm oil. In children's mixtures, it provides palmitic acid, which has breast milk. This allows you to make baby food closest to the natural.

Palm oil does not provoke the development of allergic reactions. In addition, it saturates the mixture with the necessary vitamin A. Babies are happy to use such baby food. After all, it is quite tasty.

However, the imperfect organism is not yet able to process palm oil. In children's mixtures, such an ingredient is more likely to be harmful than useful. After all, it helps to remove calcium from the body. And, as is known, this microelement is vitally important for the formation of bones, teeth of the baby.

That is why pediatricians do not recommend parents to use mixtures containing palm oil.

Doctors say that the consequences of such feeding are often the following:

• Persistent colic;
• Loss of calcium;
• Frequent regurgitation;
• Constipation.

Therefore, several times, weigh whether to give the crumb palm oil in the mixtures. Most scientists argue that the baby's body is not at all ready for the loads that this component will bring to it.

Precautionary measures

How to protect yourself and your child from using a harmful component? After all, this ingredient is a part of most products. Of course, it is unlikely to completely exclude it from the diet. However, you can reduce the amount of palm oil you consume.

Minimize the harm will result if you follow the following recommendations:

1. Be sure to check the contents on the label before buying the product. Manufacturers often indicate which oil was used. If vegetable nameless fats are written, then give up the product.
2. When choosing confectionery, be sure to pay attention to the shelf life. Remember: for a long time only those products that are enriched with technical oil are saved.
3. Try to exclude from the menu fast food.
4. In curd, the presence of palm oil can be determined as follows. Thoroughly consider its consistency. A liquid or excessively dry product indicates its non-naturalness. And, of course, do not forget about the shelf life. A natural product can not last more than 1 week.
5. How to determine the quality hard cheese? The procedure is as follows. Leave the product for a while at room temperature. Natural cheese will wither. The product containing palm oil will crack.
6. It's easy to tell a real ice cream from a fake. To do this, you need to open a pack on the street in the summer. Look closely at the process of melting. The product, rich in vegetable fats, will remain in shape for a long time. This ice cream melts extremely slowly. In addition, it leaves on the lips and mouth a sense of oily film.
7. Condensed milk containing palm oil tastes a bit bitter. In addition, manufacturers almost always point to the packaging, rather than replacing milk fats. As a rule, there is an inscription "palm oil".

And the last. Pay attention to the pricing policy. Remember that only those products that contain inexpensive ingredients can be cheap. As a rule, these are components of low quality.