Healthy Oil for a Healthy Heart
Palm oil is one of the 17 edible oils cited by Codex Alimentarius, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAQ) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as an edible oil suitable for human consumption.
As an oil of plant origin, palm oil is cholesterol free. It has a balanced fatty acid composition – saturated (palmitic 45% and stearic 4%) and unsaturated fatty acids (oleic 40% and linoleic 10%) as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Fatty Acid Composition of Common Edible Oils
Palm oil has a high content of Vitamin E, both tocopherols and tocotrienols. Crude as well as red palm oil are also rich sources of provitamin A carotenoids. These constituents in palm oil help in promoting a healthy lifestyle.
