Is Palm Oil a Saturated or Unsaturated Fat

The word ‘fats’ comes with a great deal of speculation around it, some negative and some positive. Many of us think that all fats are bad! After all, the daily media would have us convinced so. We see a lot many green tea and honey commercials telling us to cut down on fats. Not even mentioning that some fats are helpful and needed by our bodies. Healthy fats are elements that assist our bodies to utilize vitamins effectively and keep us healthy. Fats are our bodies’ way to store energy.

What is food made of

All foods have, some or the other kind of, fats. These fats could be saturated fats, unsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and the most dreaded – trans fats – too. This raises many questions:

• Which of these fat groups are the good ones, and which ones are bad for our heart, and thus, our overall health?
• What do we need to avoid and what do we need to include in our diet?
• Are neutral refined oils like canola palm from the grocery healthier than the raw ones from the organic aisle?
• Are vegetable oils like palm oil carcinogenic or do they potentially trigger the chances of cancer?

Palm fruits have always been a subject of discussion among consumers as well as experts.

Before we get into saturated and unsaturated fats and their constitution in a regular palm oil, let us first understand what are these sub-groups.

They are dietary fats. Dietary fat is a name given to fats that are organically present in animal and plant-based foods. Since the advent of cooking in human civilization, human beings have been using various dietary fats for cooking, drizzling, and processing of food.

What are saturated fats

Saturated fat is a kind of dietary fat that is found in the most commonly used food items. Chemically speaking, saturated fats are just fats that do not have any double bonds in between the carbon molecules. This is because they are saturated with molecules of hydrogen. One physical property of saturated fats is that they stay solid when they are at room temperature. Fats like butter, coconut oil, and, even palm oil can be categorized as saturated fats. Food items like red meats and cheeses are also rich in saturated fats. The general view of saturated fats is that they are unhealthy. This is how the chemical structure of saturated fats looks:

Saturated fats could be bad for our health in many ways.

Saturated fats are known to increase the risks of heart diseases. It is true that your body needs the energy that comes from fats. However, if your primary source of energy is saturated fats, it might put your health at risk.

A high intake of saturated fats could let cholesterol settlement and deposition in the arteries. This could elevate LDL cholesterol, more popularly referred to as bad cholesterol. Higher values of bad cholesterol put the heart at risk while increasing the risk of heart ailments and strokes.

The picture shows arteries getting blocked as a result of over-accumulated bad cholesterol!

Obesity: Most of our favorite foods like pizza, pasta, bread, cookies, confectionery goods, and above all, deep-fried foods have saturated fat in abundance. If our food has too high a quantity of saturated fats, we end up consuming many extra calories that can make us obese. 

Here are some foods that are rich in saturated fats:

• Vegetable oils like Coconut oil and palm oil
• Sweet treats that we buy at the stores like chocolates, candy, cakes, pies, and cookies.
• Red meats like beef and lamb. 
• Frozen meats like ham, patties, bacon and sausages.
• Dairy and animal fats like butter, lard, ghee, margarine, and duck fat.

Cutting down on saturated fats can help us maintain a normal weight while keeping the heart healthy and keeping us away from diabetes, hypertension, and other lifestyle-driven diseases. As far as palm oil is concerned, it is rich in saturated fats. However, there is more to it. We will discuss that in detail. In comparison to saturated fats, unsaturated fats are known to be healthier for us. So, let us learn more about unsaturated fats.

What are Unsaturated fats

These are the healthy fats that absorb better and are a great source of energy and good health. Including healthy fats in our diet is important as they boost heart health. Unsaturated fats help in keeping cholesterol levels under check. These are fatty acids that have double bonds in their carbon chains, in contrast to the saturated ones that have no double bonds as shown in the picture below. Unlike saturated fats, these fats don’t solidify at room temperature. Most cooking oil advertisements talk about the oils being rich in MUFA and PUFA and make it sound like it’s a great thing. However, is that just a marketing plan or facts? Let’s dive in a little more.

Polyunsaturated fats

These are fats with double carbon bonds in their molecules and are known to reduce risks of strokes and other serious heart ailments. Unsaturated fats have nutrients that are helpful in the development of cells in our body. Oils that have polyunsaturated fats provide vitamin E to the diet which is responsible for good skin. Polyunsaturated fat-rich oils give us the fats that our body cannot self-generate naturally. These nutrients are mainly omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are important for various body functions. Omega 3 and Omega 6 are known to protect the heart in numerous ways. They can lower blood triglyceride levels and hypertension too. To boost polyunsaturated fats, including the following foods in your diet:

Here is a chart that shows details and food sources of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids:

Monounsaturated Fats

These good fats have a single carbon-to-carbon double bond. Compared to saturated fats, monounsaturated fats have two fewer hydrogen atoms. Like polyunsaturated fats, these fats too, stay liquid at room temperature. Monounsaturated fats are found in abundant quantities in oils like olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocado oil; and palm oil too is rich in monosaturated fats. Most nuts are also a great source of monounsaturated fats.

Palm oil and the confusions around it

Palm oil has a certain reputation around it. To begin with, palm oil garnered a lot of backlash over the deforestation it has triggered in many Asian countries like Malaysia, where the wildlife, especially Orangutans, are in danger of losing their habitat because of it. Serious concerns have been raised over the increasing consumption of afore-mentioned vegetable oil. However, the concerns aren’t entirely over the environment also.

Some scientists say it has too loaded with saturated fat, and dietitians say it is fattening. However, modern time nutritionists say that responsibly sourced palm oil can have great health benefits. Palm oil is extracted from the flesh of the oil palm fruit. As far as the debate about what kind of fat palm oil is, the straight answer is that palm oil has approximately the same amounts of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. 

A mix of Myristic acid (1%), stearic acid (5%), and palmitic acid (44%) make up the saturated fatty acid component of palm oil, and on the unsaturated side, palm oil has monounsaturated oleic acid (39%), and polyunsaturated linoleic acid (11%).

Alongside fats, the major nutrient which palm oil contributes to the diet, are:

1. Carotenes- Palm oil is a rich source of α-, β- and γ-carotenes. These carotenes are derivatives of Vitamin A, and they are great for our eyes and tissue health. They maintain and boost the growth of human tissues and also safeguard children and adults from night blindness.
2. Phytosterols- Palm oil is a good source of lipophilic sterols like sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol. They are absorbed easily by the gut and they accentuate steroid hormones in the body. This is how they look:

3. Squalene- Squalene is found in palm oil in good amounts. Though it possesses many arrays of uses on its own, combined with the other quality ingredients present in palm oil, this agent is known to boost skin health in human beings. 
4. Vitamin E- The presence of high amounts of Vitamin E makes palm oil a healthy option. Tocopherols and tocotrienols are strong antioxidants that help in controlling cholesterol. These antioxidants also make palm oil a protective agent against cancer. 

The presence of elements mentioned above ensures that palm oil has many great qualities like slowing down the pace of dementia, and lowering down the risk of strokes, and much more. However, palm oil still can’t be counted among the healthiest of cooking oils. Since the oil is total fifty-fifty in terms of saturated and unsaturated fats, researchers are unable to give it a good or bad status entirely.

How to maintain a balance between Saturated oil vs unsaturated oils for a healthy diet

Almost everything we eat is a combination of different kinds of fats. These could be saturated, unsaturated, or trans fats. The rule of the thumb is to always choose unsaturated fats such as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. A simpler way to look at this could be to always pick up those oils that are liquid at room temperature. If you see the fat is typically solid at room temperature, there are high chances that it is saturated fat-rich oil, and hence, not the healthiest oil for your heart and overall health. 

Let see some facts about everyday fat consumption? 

• 25% to 30% of your everyday calories’ intake should come from fats.
• Consumption of saturated fat should be limited to less than 10% of your everyday calories.
• For those who have acute heart disease risk because of their genetics and medical conditions like Diabetes, BP; there should be restrictions on their consumption of saturated fats and it needs to be, strictly, less than 7% of their cumulative regular calories.

• In a 2,000-calorie diet, calories coming from saturated fat should be somewhere between 140 to 200 calories. This would mean 16 to 22 grams of saturated fats a day makes health stronger. Here is a detailed calories wise chart for reference:

What can one do

The most helpful approach would not only mean restricting unhealthy saturated fats, but, also the right mantra is to replace them with healthier unsaturated fats.

Easier said than done, right? So, here are some helpful tips for those who are looking forward to making the switch.

1. Try to figure out what is the number of calories that you are getting from saturated fats in your present lifestyle. Many fitness apps can help you calculate this. In case this count exceeds above 10% of your daily calories, it’s time to start making smarter choices.

2. Start reading the labels- The food industry is great at advertising and making us believe that everything labeled organic or natural is healthy. Don’t fall for that! Turn the packaging around and analyze every label before you buy it as all packaged food items have a nutrition description that lets you understand the fat content. Reading food labels carefully might guide you in keeping a record of how much of saturated and unsaturated fat you are consuming.

Always remember the readings are per 1 serving, your meal sizes matter too. So, just read how much is the total fat in each serving. Check the breakdown as it throws light on the amount of saturated fat in one serving. Pick foods with fewer amounts of saturated fat and trans-fat. Just look for this at the back of every packaged food item.

3. Make healthy food decisions- A great way to deal with saturated fats consumption is to substitute foods and beverages that have higher saturated fats with healthfuller selections. 

• Instead of using palm oil, cook your food in olive oil. If you would like to know more about what makes olive oil so sincerely good for your health, click here.
• Always buy your chicken without skin and go for the breast part.
• Order grilled chicken breast instead of fried chicken.
• Choose packaged spreads that are free from commercial refined coconut oil, bleached palm oil, and other seed oils.
• Instead of full-fat dairy products go for low-fat or no-fat dairy options like yogurt, and cheeses.
• Keep desserts at the bay as ice creams, pies, and cakes are full of saturated fats; choose fruit instead.
• Include more fresh foods in your diet such as nuts, vegetables, wholemeal flours instead of processed meats like bacon, ham, and sausage.

So, is palm oil saturated fat or unsaturated fat, and how to choose the right oil?

Virgin palm oil is also known as red palm oil, and is derived from the flesh of palm fruit, which is 50% saturated fat, but it also has similar amounts of unsaturated fats and many unique nutrients, which make it a subjective health choice. If you are looking for oils that are low on saturated fats and offer the same benefits, then you could go for virgin olive oils. However, it is always a good idea to stay away from palm kernel oil, which is more than 85% saturated and is heavily processed. To know more about the processing, head to this article on how is palm oil refined.