0monnakoda:

You are right the truth is somewhere in between.If you eat moderate amounts of palm oil I think i is fine and in my view better than margarine,butter ,ghee or lard. The other thing is freshness. If you live abroad you could be using oil a few years old. I guess this is not the best but perhaps research is needed.
Anyway our diet in Nigeria is generally not based on fried foods and so we are more likely to use palm oil in Yam Pottage,Beans and Soups.

I was able to find a study by Ibegbulem and Chikezie, both biochemists, but which involved work with rats fed with palm oil, palm kernel oil, and a third control group.

They opened by stating that palm oil contains 50% saturated fats, and 50% Unsaturated fats. Hence, said it was not atherogenic.

But the work was headed for controversy as the rats fed with palm oil diets, and those fed palm kernel oil showed a lower HDL (good cholesterol) than those in the control group, with Palm Kernel oil effecting a greater reduction.

But, LDL (bad cholesterol) levels in the rats fed palm oil were the same as for the control group, while showing a 22% rise for the palm kernel oil group.

The researchers conclude that " the seeming non-atherogenic nature of palm oil may have been due to it's greater array of antioxidants"


If I've learnt anything from the study, it's to avoid palm kernel oil.

More work needs to be done, no doubt.


http://docsdrive.com/pdfs/academicjournals/ajb/0000/37553-37553.pdf

yea right! the same america were every body eats MACDONALD burger, DOUGHTNUT,COCACOLA DRINKS,CHOCOLATE, FRY UPS,COFFEE,ENERGY DRINK,PORK and E.T.C why is CNN not reporting all this, instead they telling africans palm oil is not good for them since when has americans cared about nigerians or africans, unless its for financial gain, CNN hypocrites!

not just palm oil, any thing you eat too much is not good for you, even water

If you eat any food high in poly saturated fat like palm oil, you should please not drink cold water. Cold water causes the palm oil to clog and then it blocks the arteries leading to heart attack. drink lukewarm water.

I'm now afraid of food.
We must live to eat and not eat to live!

No mind oyibo people, it is their business strategy to first scare you before they sell you something.

I have heard of this, palm oil is bad for you, research and there have been similar research/scares on palm-wine, pounded yam and garri. It was said that alcohol and pounded yam constitute to make a potent poison. All of these research are probably lies bent on depriving Nigerians of their food stuff so that Nigerians become absolute consumers of European and Asian commodities.

Here's a remarkable thing - after i read the stuff on palm oil being bad for you, my girlfriend one day returned with a very sophisticated designed bottle of palm-oil which was made in Scotland (i think) and marketed as premium palm oil,listing its health giving values. That's oyibo for you.

passion007: The arguments are supported by "facts" on both sides.
The US report would likely mask their vested interest, as would the Malaysia report. Both countries have a lot at stake if the world is convinced to dis/continue palm oil.

Where is the Nigerian report? Please provide a link to one.
We have food scientists, clinical dietitians, nutritionists and physicians.
Their honest take on this should be all that matters.

How can Nigerian scientists do research when they are busy looking for money and fighting for who's 'professional' and who's not.The real research scientists are the ones tagged 'non professionals' and cut out from employment while the so called 'professionals' get all the jobs and support from government,but are more concerned about their pockets and care less about research.

All this yeye documentary and story self haba, don't eat this don't eat that wetin make we come eat way dem no go complain abi

All this yeye documentary and story self haba, don't eat this don't eat that wetin make we come eat way dem no go complain abi.....

0monnakoda: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1836037Med J Malaysia. 1991 Mar;46(1):41-50.
Effects of palm oil on cardiovascular risk.
Chong YH, Ng TK.
Source

Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
Abstract

A major public health concern of affluent nations is the excessive consumption of dietary fats which are now closely linked to coronary heart disease. Against this scenario, the tropical oils and palm oil in particular, have been cast as major villains in the U.S.A., despite the fact that palm oil consumption there is negligible. The unsuspecting public may not realise that the call to avoid palm oil is nothing more than a trade ploy since in recent years palm oil has been very competitive and has gained a major share of the world's edible oils and fats market. Many also lose sight of the fact that, palm oil, like other edible oils and fats, is an important component of the diet. The allegation that palm oil consumption leads to raised blood cholesterol levels and is therefore atherogenic is without scientific foundation. Examination of the chemical and fatty acid composition of palm oil or its liquid fraction should convince most nutritionists that the oil has little cholesterol-raising potential. The rationale for these are: it is considered cholesterol free. its major saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid (16:0) has recently been shown to be neutral in its cholesterolaemic effect, particularly in situations where the LDL receptors have not been down-regulated by dietary means or through a genetic effect. palm oil contains negligible amounts (less than 1.5%) of the hypercholesterolemic saturated fatty acids, namely lauric acid (12:0) and myristic acid (14:0). it has moderately rich amounts of the hypocholesterolaemic, monounsaturated oleic acid (18:1, omega-9) and adequate amounts of linoleic acid. (18:2, omega-6). It contains minor components such as the vitamin E tocotrienols which are not only powerful antioxidants but are also natural inhibitors of cholesterol synthesis. Feeding experiments in various animal species and humans also do not support the allegation that palm oil is atherogenic. On the contrary, palm oil consumption reduces blood cholesterol in comparison with the traditional sources of saturated fats such as coconut oil, dairy and animal fats. In addition, palm oil consumption may raise HDL levels and reduce platelet aggregability. As with all nutrients, there is a need to obtain a balance of different fatty acids found in fats in edible oils and other food sources. There is no single ideal source of fat that answers to the recent American Heart Association's call to reflect a 1:1:1 ratio of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in relation to the recommended dietary fat intake of 30% of calories or less.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

PMID:
1836037
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

You see Oyinbo people with their petty 419(only dem get authentic)..na so dem go tell you say 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' so that dem go sell wella..yet dem still dey sick and die like ant with all the apple wey dem don chop. The minute an African country introduces something beneficial, they shoot it down with stewpid negative research. "An Agbalumo a dey keeps d borry gim gim o" unfortunately our scientist here are not really into research..I know there are local fruits around us that are more nutritional and beneficial than their "apple" but we choose to ignore them because 'oyinbo haff said' (I know am guilty)

We itsekiri have been eating banga soup, owo, egun obobo(pounded ripe plantain with palm oil), yam and palm oil with pepper soup and red oil for centuries before the white men came and we have very little incident of heart attack. In fact you will hardly find heart disease in itsekiri villages where palm oil is consumed everyday.

So many things can lead to heart disease especially a modern lifestyle where we eat lots of fatty food or high cholesterol diet, with salt and spices, have very little exercise and undergo lots of work related stress.

ASUU pls end dis strike our student are lossin their conscience goin about publishin fake reports in d name of science...

Henry praise: D documentary claiming dat Abraka holds d world record of heart disease may not be tru, d reason: Eku is a town in abraka were d famous Eku baptist hospital is. The hospital was so famous in d 70s - 90s cos it provided d medical needs of almost all everybody living in d old bendel state most especially amongst d urhobos, Ijaws n itsekiris. The hospital was deligent in record keepin and dia services were almost free.
My point, abraka/ eku attracted all sick pple hence dey were registered at Eku babptist hospital in Abraka.

My take on palm oil: palm oil might not be d major cause of hrt related diseases, however, d cos of heart disease amongst pple who were treated at Eku baptist hospital in abraka may not be far from dia choice of diet as des 3 tribes eat almost same diet which are usually salty n spicy.

I even stopped takin pepper soup at home cos I can't n don't knw d essence n composition of d spices employed.
I didn't watch d documentary however, one of my American co worker once mentioned to me dat d worst tin Nigerians eat is palm oil.

is eku a town in abraka?

temisukanmi: Wetin we no go hear!! Thought vegetable oil was bad, now its palm oil.. All dis stop dis, stop dat stuff is getting out ☀̤̣̈̇f hand. I once read dat palm oil is gud for the eyes..

You're very right,that's why I actually started eating foods made with palm oil,because I heard its good for the eyes and vegetable oil ain't

kingsley Mbang: yea,my Grand dad feeds on palm oil daily n yet he lived for 116yrs. can u reconcile that wit ur research

your grand dad was always going to farm and he works very hard unlike you that will Js sit in the office and work with computers.

see me c health na wating we
go use nw

Take a look this:

Pesticides limit the action of beneficial microbes in soil that help plants draw in nutrients. Fertilizers focus on certain key chemicals and don’t take into account the trace minerals, organic components, or beneficial microbes. Genetically modified foods have made their way into our food supply, and we don’t know how they will affect us long term.

On top of these problems, we refine and process our food so it lasts longer, tastes better, and is more addictive. We strip and destroy vital nutrients as we do so. Much of the food we find in grocery stores barely resembles what humanity has been eating for thousands of years. There’s no wonder we have so many auto-immune disorders, food allergies, and growing epidemics with obesity. Our bodies don’t know what we’re ingesting; they aren’t finding the nutrients they need; and they are begging for us to eat more, so we do and get fat
http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/natural-vs-synthetic-vitamins/



In other words, your Nigerian roadside roasted yams, corns, your cow-skins (kpomo) your Agidi, isam, Moimoi, palm-oil's, Eba, Nigerian soups, I.E Nigerian traditional foods are far, far, far healthier and better for you than imports.

If you're lazy, better you give your small child soaked garri or Akamoo, as in the old days, than give them Noodles. Those packet noodles are virtually worthless; your child is likely to grow up short, if you feed them contemporary oyigbo food in their formative years.

Elmos:

What frightening people about Palm Oil is the issue of Cholesterol. There two types of Cholesterol, good and bad Cholesterol (LDL and HDL). Cholesterol is a type of fat found in human body. The total cholesterol includes LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (High-density Lipoprotein) cholesterol.
LDL is called “bad” cholesterol because it can build up in the walls of one’s arteries and form plaque. Plaque build-up in the arteries can reduce blood flow and increase ones risk of heart disease.
HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol is also known as good cholesterol because it is thought to help remove bad cholesterol from the body.
Nevertheless, research has shown that PALM OIL does not contained the bad Cholesterol.
Palm oil is produced from the fruit of the Elaeis guineensis. It is a vegetable oil, not an animal or dairy product, and therefore does not contain cholesterol. Palm oil sometimes is confused with palm kernel oil, but in fact is different, being derived from the mesocarp of the palm fruit rather than the centre kernel.

Palm oil contains much less saturated fat than palm kernel oil or coconut oil. Palm oil has been used in food preparation for over 5,000 years. Today it is consumed worldwide as a cooking oil, in margarines and shortening, and as an ingredient in fat blends and a vast array of food products. Food manufacturers choose palm oil because it has a distinctive quality, requires little or no hydrogenation, and lengthens the shelf life of products. These advantages are difficult to duplicate at the same cost with polyunsaturated oils, which often have higher market prices and require additional processing for the same characteristics.

Even though palm oil consists of about 45% - 50% saturated fatty acid, the saturated fatty acid is made up of palmitic saturated fatty acid. Palm oil should be classified as both a “saturated fat” and an “unsaturated fat”. It contains equal proportions of saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids. The saturated fatty acids are made up of 44% palmitic acid and 5% stearic acid. The unsaturated fatty acids consist of 39% oleic acid (monounsaturates) and 10% linoleic acid (polyunsaturates). The fatty acid composition in palm oil is entirely different from the so-called “saturated fats” such as coconut oil and palm kernel oil.
In addition, palm oil is non-genetically modified and trans-fat free. It does not need to go through the hydrogenation process. In comparison, most vegetable oils (corn oil, soy oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, etc) require hydrogenation – “hardening of oils”. The “hardening” of oils through hydrogenation creates trans-fatty acid. Trans-fatty acid has been shown to lower good cholesterol and raise the bad cholesterol. In fact, the cholesterol-raising effect of trans-fatty acid is significantly higher than saturated fatty acid. Because of this fact, it has prompted the FDA to require food manufacturers to list trans-fatty acid content on food labels soon.

The saturated fatty acids that have been shown through various epidemiological studies, to increase bad LDL cholesterol level are the C12 Lauric and C14 Myristic saturated fatty acid. These two saturated fatty acid are abundantly found in coconut oil and palm kernel oil. Unfortunately, more often than not, palm oil has been confused with palm kernel oil. Palm oil is derived from the fleshy part of the palm fruits while palm kernel oil is derived from the seed or the kernel. Palm kernel oil and palm oil are two different oils with very distinct fatty acid composition.

Palm kernel oil is used mainly in oleochemical (detergent/surfactant) industry and not as an edible or cooking oil. Palm oil, on the other hand, is used worldwide (more than 100 countries) for cooking and other food preparations. Palm oil is currently the number two edible oil in the world.

Bola Fisayo

I think the above article by Elmos had settled te wgole issue. The western mistaken Red palm oil an Palm Kernel Oil. Red Palm oil is not bad it the palm kernel oil that is bad.

Product Information

1l of palm oil
Expiration Date: 2 years from purchase
Stew made the traditional way

Even though Nigeria has fallen off its perch as the largest producer of palm oil (we're now 3rd), palm oil stew is not waning in its deliciousness and its popularity. Make yours Naakai-style!


for Nigerians looking for NAAKAI PALM OIL in the US, you can get your ingredients here http://www.nigerianfoods.com/products/naakai