Hi,I am Dr. Carol Rogala (Emergency Medicine). I will be looking into your question and guiding you through the process. Please write your question below.
Does Palm Oil Or Red Oil As It Is Known Contain Cholesterol ?
Does palm oil or red oil as it is known contain cholesterol?.if it does how much of it. is it bad for health.? red oil is got from a tree called palm and is grown in africa, especially in nigeria, west africa. from the tree, palm wine is tapped, from the nuts, red oil is extracted. it is said that africans are proned to hypertension and heart related diseases, and science has proved that there is a relationship beween excess cholesterol and heart attack. my question then is to find out if red oil contains cholesterol since it is a staple food of Africans.
In my understanding (I'm not an expert), it doesn’t contain cholesterol, but is high in saturated fatty acids which have the effect of raising the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Unsaturated fats have the effect of lowering the amount of cholesterol in one's blood.
The World Health Organisation says that there is convincing evidence that Palm Oil increases levels of heart disease.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#Blood_cholesterol_controversy
There seems to be a certain amount of disinformation out there. On this site,
http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/september/redpalmoil.htm
the article implies by its title ‘Can Red Palm Oil Protect the Heart?’, and stylistically within it, that the oil is good for your heart generally. However, what it actually says it that it can be good for a heart in protecting it from further damage during reperfusion immediately after a heart attack. Presumably, not having the heart attack in the first place would actually be the best way to protect your heart.
There seem to be plenty of other reasons for avoiding a world-wide increase in consumption of this oil as its production is causing deforestation.
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/forests/palm-oil
Edit: Razzz R and Augusta I, who asked this question, would appear to be one and the same person.
You found this answer helpful
Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer.
For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service
[Sample answer]
We use cookies in order to offer you most relevant experience and using this website you acknowledge that you have already read and understood our
Privacy Policy
Does Palm Oil Or Red Oil As It Is Known Contain Cholesterol ?
In my understanding (I m not an expert), it doesn’t contain cholesterol, but is high in saturated fatty acids which have the effect of raising the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Unsaturated fats have the effect of lowering the amount of cholesterol in one s blood. The World Health Organisation says that there is convincing evidence that Palm Oil increases levels of heart disease. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#Blood_cholesterol_controversy There seems to be a certain amount of disinformation out there. On this site, http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/september/redpalmoil.htm the article implies by its title ‘Can Red Palm Oil Protect the Heart?’, and stylistically within it, that the oil is good for your heart generally. However, what it actually says it that it can be good for a heart in protecting it from further damage during reperfusion immediately after a heart attack. Presumably, not having the heart attack in the first place would actually be the best way to protect your heart. There seem to be plenty of other reasons for avoiding a world-wide increase in consumption of this oil as its production is causing deforestation. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/forests/palm-oil Edit: Razzz R and Augusta I, who asked this question, would appear to be one and the same person.