Palm Oil in Africa

Palm oil, historically one of the top two produced edible oils is being used in everything these days —in soaps, body-care items and found in many of our favorite foods; it’s even been used to treat wounds. Humans have eaten the oil palm for 5000 years, so it’s no wonder we’re still enthralled with it.  It’s consumed all over the world in more than one hundred countries. It’s best known, of course, as wonderful cooking oil high in beta-carotene. It’s used in a variety of foods like baby formula, breakfast bars, cake mixes, crackers and many of our other favorite snacks. It’s playing more and more of a part of in a healthy, balanced diet.

Oil from the palm comes in two distinct types: palm kernel oil, which is made from the palm seeds; and palm oil, which is made from palm fruit. Both are high in saturated fat, but of the two, palm kernel oil is higher with an 80/20 ratio of saturated vs. unsaturated fat. Palm oil, on the other hand has a ratio of only half and half. If there’s any bad connotation attached to palm oil, it’s derived from the palm kernel oil and not palm oil, so it’s important not to confuse it.

While the arguments are keen on avoiding palm oil because of the saturated fat content when discussing this point in a health argument, others suggest that it’s a better and an even safer bet for cooking because these fats don’t oxidize or fail with heating. Oxidized fats are being studied now with findings leaning towards damage to blood vessels and plaque buildup; definitely a bad call when it comes to your health. These findings are helping to promote palm oil as the better choice for cooking since their vitamin compounds and antioxidants protect the oil from failing, causing oxidization. Unrefined palm oil, designated by its red color, is the way to go here, since refining the oil detracts from that benefit.

Palm oil’s personal care uses are skyrocketing in a variety of markets. Because of its rigidity, it’s perfect when used in lip and body balms, and creamy body butters. Both hard and soft soaps benefit from palm oil as well since they resist melting. It also saponifies (converts into soap) quickly, a great benefit when crafting soaps from it. Add the organic stamp onto it and there’s an instant added earth-friendly value.

Palm candles are also a welcome retreat from the old days of chemically distilled, genetically modified, commercially grown soy wax.  Many candle manufacturers offer 100% palm oil candles that, since they do not contain any Petroleum, burn without smoke or soot. That’s such a welcome and aesthetically pleasing change for avid candle burners.  Palm oil uses a fraction of the land when compared to soy production. It is also a sustainable tree crop that enhances biodiversity. It’s a win-win situation — gorgeous luxury products from an environmentally friendly source.

All in all, palm oil is a wonderful product with infinite uses; Food, personal products, candles and all with a sense of environmental responsibility that we can all feel good about.