Is palm oil in many snacks really unhealthy?

There is such an oil that most people have not used in their homes, but almost everyone has eaten it. This kind of oil that sounds mysterious but is very common is palm oil. Just pay a little attention to the ingredient list of chocolate, ice cream, instant noodles, and puffed foods, and its not difficult to find its presence. For a long time, many voices on the internet have accused palm oil of promoting cancer metastasis. So, can palm oil and food with palm oil added be consumed with confidence?
Interpretation 1: Why is palm oil commonly used in processed foods?
Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director and Associate Research Librarian of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, introduced in an interview with China Consumer News that palm oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the palm fruit of oil palm trees and has a long history of use in Africa and Southeast Asia. At present, palm oil, soybean oil, and rapeseed oil are among the three most widely used vegetable oils in the world, and they remain at the top. The sales of familiar peanut oil, corn oil, sunflower seed oil, sesame oil, etc. are far lower than those of palm oil.
Palm oil is widely used in the field of food processing, mainly due to its unique advantage - the content of saturated fatty acids can reach about 50%, which is no less than lard. Due to the high proportion of saturated fatty acids, palm oil is less prone to severe oxidation reactions at high temperatures and is more suitable for high-temperature cooking such as frying. It is widely used in fried foods. This characteristic also makes palm oil a good substitute for hydrogenated vegetable oil containing a large amount of trans fats in food processing.
From the perspective of food processing, when saturated fatty acids in palm oil come into contact with starch and various types of cellulose, fatty acids can enter the interior of the spiral structure of starch, ultimately forming a stable complex with better viscosity and toughness. Therefore, palm oil can be stored in a solid state in food at room temperature, unlike other vegetable oils that may leak out at room temperature. It can bring a delicate taste, It wont make people feel too greasy.
Interpretation 2: Will palm oil promote cancer metastasis?
When it comes to palm oil, many people say it is a cheap industrial raw material and synonymous with unhealthy health. There are even reports that palm oil can promote cancer metastasis. Ruan Guangfeng believes that these statements actually exaggerate the harm of palm oil.
The claim that palm oil promotes cancer metastasis comes from a study by Spanish scientists. In this study, scientists first briefly added fatty acids to human oral or skin cancer cells when cultivating them, and then transplanted these cancer cells into the corresponding tissues of mice. The results showed that several fatty acids did not have an impact on the primary tumor, but palmitic acid significantly increased the ability of cancer cells to metastasize to the lungs. Another group of experiments directly fed the tumor mice a diet rich in palm oil, even after only 10 days, the cancer cells transplanted into the mice showed stronger metastatic ability. However, this study is only an animal study, which is completely different from human clinical research. The experimental results are actually very preliminary, and there are also significant differences from the actual dietary situation, so there is no need to worry too much.
However, the saturated fatty acids contained in palm oil are a double-edged sword. From a food processing perspective, it has many advantages, but from a nutritional perspective, it is not conducive to cardiovascular health.
Ruan Guangfeng explained that the content of saturated fatty acids in palm oil is generally above 50%, and the proportion of saturated fatty acids in commercial (purified) palm oil can reach over 80%. The current mainstream opinion in the scientific community is that excessive intake of saturated fatty acids increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Interpretation 3: Can palm oil be consumed with confidence?
Ruan Guangfeng stated that as a type of oil, palm oil has its nutritional advantages, such as providing fatty acids and energy for human activities. In addition, palm oil also contains a significant amount of tocotrienol, which is a type of vitamin E. Meanwhile, palm oil also contains a high amount of carotene, which can be converted into vitamin A in the body.
When discussing whether palm oil can be eaten, one cannot deviate from "quantity". In fact, not only palm oil, but also excessive intake of any oil, even olive oil, is detrimental to health.
The Chinese Dietary Guidelines for Residents (2022) recommend a total daily intake of 25-30 grams of edible oil. In addition, it is recommended that adults provide 20% to 30% of their total energy with fat every day, which means that the total amount of fat intake for an adult should be controlled between 50-70 grams per day, with saturated fatty acids not exceeding 8% of the total fat intake. Under this recommended amount, eating palm oil appropriately does not pose a health risk.
In general, palm oil itself is harmless, and foods containing palm oil are not just wild beasts. The key is to pay attention to a reasonable diet, develop healthy eating habits, and strive for a balanced diet.