Introduction
In common knowledge, the concept has become consolidated that diets rich in animal fats and low in polyunsaturated fatty acids are associated with a tangible increase in the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease in general, both in laboratory animals and in humans.
Different markers, such as apolipoprotein A1 and B or homocysteine, offered further hints for a more careful assessment of the actual cardiovascular risk and its dependence on dietary habits. In this scenario of great attention given to the effects of saturated fatty acids on the cardiovascular health status, there are numerous suspicions relating to palm oil and its repercussions on the state of health.
Palm oil
Today, palm oil is the world leader in terms of food oils and fats.
Produced mainly in Malaysia, a state that is the world's leading exporter of this food, palm oil is sold in over 150 countries worldwide, enjoying enormous success due to its extremely competitive price and excellent suitability for use. food and industrial .
However, despite the enormous commercial success, the chemical composition of palm oil, especially in recent years, has been at the center of numerous controversies regarding the potential side effects on the cardiovascular health status .
In fact, unlike many other vegetable oils, such as olive oil, palm oil consists of:
- for almost 50% from saturated fatty acids, with a clear prevalence of palmitic acid;
- 39% from monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid;
- for 11% from polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid;
- for less than 1% from biologically active elements such as carotenoids, tocopherols, sterols, squalene, coenzyme Q10, phospholipids and polyphenols.
It is also important to remember that this composition differs significantly from palm kernel or palm kernel oil (a co-product that is widely used in the industrial sector), made up of over 80% saturated fatty acids, although mostly in the medium chain.
Palm oil: yes or no?
Leaving aside the negative effects of the intensive cultivation of palm trees on biodiversity and on the faunal ecosystem, a clearly overlapping problem for any other intensive cultivation, many questions are asked about the effects of palm oil on the state of health.
Although in recent times there has been a general alarmism regarding the use of palm oil, partly justified by a decidedly different chemical composition than that of other vegetable oils, only a few scientifically valid studies have investigated the specific effects of palmitic acid on coronary and cardiovascular risk.
Fortunately, this huge gap has been partially filled by an Italian research group of Mario Negri, which with a very recent article published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has reviewed the state of the art regarding the biological effects of palmitic acid in a meta-analysis.
From the literature currently published, considering the presence of numerous studies financed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, with obvious conflicts of interest, it emerges how the substitution of dietetic palmitic acid with other fatty acids could have both positive and negative effects on some markers of cardiovascular risk, such as serum concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides, Apolipoproteins and Homocysteine.
Although further studies are needed, from these evidences the cardioprotective role of a low-lipid diet with a higher concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids would emerge, compared to the saturated and trans-hydrogenated ones.
Considerations
Despite public opinion has already widely expressed its negative opinion on the effects of palm oil on the state of health, so much as to push some states like India to introduce a tax on products containing palm oil, with inevitable repercussions of nature socio-economic, scientific literature in general seems much more cautious in expressing itself.
However, the benefits of a more careful diet in preserving the state of cardiovascular health would be indisputable. In this sense therefore it would be appropriate:
- Reduce the consumption of saturated fatty acids, especially of animal origin;
- Reduce the consumption of trans-hydrogenated fatty acids;
- Reduce the lipid content of the diet;
- Promote the consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid;
- Preserve the correct ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Pending further studies, the substitution of palm oil with vegetable oils with a higher concentration of oleic acid, therefore seems to represent a noteworthy preventive move.
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