The palm oil is an oil that is extracted majorly from two
types of oil palm fruit, which are:
- Elaesis guineensis, that is common in African regions, and
- Elaesis oleifera, which is found in South America.
Historical account suggest that red palm oil was part of the diet of indigenous populations
especially in African countries. Presently, palm oil have turned out to be the
second most traded oil crop in the world, after soy. Malaysia and Indonesia in
the Asian continent is the main producers of this oil products in the world today.
The red palm oil is more healthy compared to olive oil
and coconut oil, and it has been proven to be potent in reversing the symptoms
of heart disease and protect against certain cancers. In ancient civilization,
the red palm oil has been celebrated as a healing tonic, but in this present
days, it has been overlooked by practitioners as a result of its mistaken
similarities to palm kernel oil. Both of the oils (i.e red palm oil and palm
kernel oil) originates from the same oil palm tree Elaesis guineesis, but whereas palm kernel oil is derived from the
seeds, palm oil is been extracted from the fruit itself. Recent study have
suggested that the two type of oil is not similar as previously thought,
because the red palm oil has shown superior health benefits not only to palm
kernel oil, but virtually every other edible oil in the world today.
Also read: Health benefits of Nigerian local rice
Nutritional Benefits Of Red Palm Oil
The red palm oil is highly rich in phytonutrients, the
majority of its antioxidant superpowers is as a result of its high
concentration of carotenes and tocotrienols. These nutrient poses a lot of
health benefits to humans.
The tocotrienols are superior forms of vitamin E (which
is 40 to 60 times more powerful than tocopherols), that controls free radicals
and inflammation (which is the primary cause of heart disease).
Tocotrienols are also a very powerful anti-cancer agents
which helps in preventing cancers of the skin, pancreas, stomach, liver, lung,
prostate, colon and breast. Over 700 published studies have shown that
tocotrienols possesses huge amount of health benefits when combined with other
super nutrients found in red palm oil.
The red palm oil also carries labels such as
"organic" and "virgin". When it is processed or refined,
the palm oil does not only loses its dark colours, but also all its nutritional
benefits. Whenever you come across a snack food and red palm oil is been
indicated as one of its ingredients, just be sure that such oil is not friendly
to the heart health.
Health Benefits Of Red Palm Oil
The study to investigate the health benefits of palm oil
started about a decade ago, during the early 2000s, in what appears to be an
independent research. Researchers from Monash University in Australia and
University of Uyo in Nigeria started to analyze the key components that make
palm oil to be so unique and both researchers came up with strikingly similar
conclusions. Some of the health benefits
of red palm oil are as follows:
1. Immune system builder
The red palm oil have been termed as an overall immune
system tonic which improves liver detoxification and can help in treating
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NFLAD). It also protects against arthritis
and osteoporosis.
2. Improves the health of the skin
Including red pal oil in your diet can assist in
maintaining a healthy, supple skin. Both the tocotrienols and mixed carotenes
naturally accumulates in the outermost layer of the epidermis, which eventually
shields the hair and skin from harmful ultraviolet rays. This fact can also
explain why red palm oil has been linked to reduced risk of cancers of the
skin.
3. Reduces the risk of stroke
A lot of research have revealed that the red palm oil
significantly reduces the risk of stroke attack. First, as a result of its
anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering properties, it reverts and prevents
plaque build up (atherosclerosis) in the brain's blood vessels, which reduces
the occurrence of ischaemic stroke. Apart from that, the antioxidant
tocotrienol confers significant neuroprotection on the brain. Which is the main
reason it is employed in the treatment of stroke patients.
4. Improves the heart health
The red palm oil have been proven to improve the
cardiovascular heart health in many ways. This benefit is also largely
attributed to tocotrienol and mixed carotenes which is found in great
quantities in fresh palm oil. The unhealthy inflammation that takes place
within the blood vessels has been proven to be the necessary precursor for
plaque formation (atherosclerosis), leading to increased peripheral resistance
to the flow of blood and obstructing its circulation to vital organs,
especially the brain and heart. On the lucky side, the various array of
anti-inflammatory phytonutrients in red palm oil does not only prevents but can
also reverse the process of atherosclerosis and thereby offer protection against hypertension and heart attack.
5. Reduces the risk of cancer
The most potent anti-cancer nutrient known, tocotrienol
in red palm oil, blocks and wards off harmful free radicals, preventing them
from causing oxidative injury to vital body organs. By this act, it fights
against cancers of the pancreas, breast, skin, stomach, liver, liver, prostate
and colon. Apart from hindering the growth of cancer, tocotrienol also
initiates apoptosis (a process that leads to a programmed death of mutated
cells in the body).
6. Improves vision
Night blindness majorly occurs as a result of deficiency
in vitamin A. Red palm oil is loaded with alpha-carotenes which are important
precursors in the synthesis of vitamin A. Studies have also linked red palm oil
to cause a decrease in the incidence of cataracts and macular degeneration,
which are the major leading causes of blindness globally.
7. Protects from degenerative brain disease
Neurodegenerative diseases of the brain like Alzheimer's
disease, Parkinson's diseases and senile dementia can be prevented when we make
fresh red palm oil a regular part of our diet. The oil contains powerful
antioxidants that reduces oxidative stress and improves blood circulation to
the brain. Improved blood flow to the brain provides oxygen and glucose which
are indispensable for proper brain functioning. Therefore, the benefits of palm
oil can be seen in proper brain functioning. Individuals with adequate regular
intake of red palm oil are less likely to suffer cognitive impairment than
others who does not consume it.
Nutritional And Health Benefits Of Red Palm Oil
Reviewed by Chibuzor Aguwa
on
Friday, April 07, 2017
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