Benefits of Vegetable Oils
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), recent changes in diet and lifestyles have contributed to major shifts in patterns of disease. We have witnessed a new epidemic over the past fifty years; an epidemic of cardiovascular diseases, which is now on the rise, for the most part, in developing countries. Cardiovascular diseases are diseases of the heart and blood vessels that can cause heart attacks and strokes. WHO attributes one-third of all global deaths (15.3 million) to cardiovascular diseases, with developing countries, low-income and middle-income countries being the ones that will bear the increasing burden of CVD in the next two decades.
Recent studies have shown that transfatty acids contribute to heart disease by raising levels of so-called “bad cholesterol” (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL), lowering levels of “good cholesterol” (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL), and damaging the cells in the linings of blood vessels, contributing to inflammation, blockage, which can lead to a heart attack. Recently, in different parts of the world, but of course mostly in the advanced industrialized nations, health officials have introduced many initiatives to eliminate trans-fats or transfatty acids from food supplies. In the meantime, various food producers including Kraft Foods and Wendy’s in the United States and Unilever in Europe have voluntarily begun removing transfats from their products. Also recently, experts at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urged cooperation between health officials and private producers to accelerate the process of eliminating transfats from the western hemisphere.
According to PAHO, 20.7 million people will die of cardiovascular disease only in the Americas in the next ten years if the level of intervention does not change. Yet at least 80% of premature deaths from cardiovascular heart disease and strokes could be prevented through a healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoiding the use of tobacco. “Trans Fat Free Americas” is part of the larger PAHO effort to address the growing burden of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of premature death throughout the Americas, as well as stroke and diabetes, which are increasing at alarming speed.
In fact, worldwide efforts to reduce and remove trans-fats from food supplies led to the emergence of new, competitive markets, greatly increasing consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Eurohealth recently devoted a whole edition to health issues, recommending European Union-wide reforms to reduce consumption of saturated fats and increase consumption of vegetable oils, fruits and vegetables to fight the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases not only in the European Union, but also in the world.
Vegetable oils, including olive oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, corn oil, and canola oil have been in use for thousands of years, and their benefits as part of a balanced diet are countless. Most vegetable oils are rich in Omega 3, the polyunsaturated fatty acids that are found in meat and dairy, seafood, nuts and seeds.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids, aka Omega 3, balance hormones, strengthen the immune system, and prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, and all types of inflammation. Some polyunsaturated fatty acids are so important to health that they are called essential fatty acids, or EFAs — you literally can’t be healthy without them. Polyunsaturated vegetable oils are also the safest fats for cooking, especially deep-fat frying, and they’re the key ingredients in healthful salad dressings. Canola oil, flax seed oil, soy oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and other polyunsaturated vegetable oils are today’s true health foods.
Fully aware of the benefits of vegetable oils, with 15 years of experience in the Oils and Fats trade, the Saranabu Sa, a Lebanese family business based in West Africa has earned its reputation as reliable suppliers to both industries and merchants in the region. Mr. Ramses Najem, one of the co-founders of the company states, “Oils and fats are always a base product in a range of products the customers in the West African region require on a regular basis. Therefore it is always advisable to outsource or leave this import to a reliable supplier who can provide the quality, service, logistics, finance and expertise needed to fulfill their needs.”