The Truth About Palm Oil

Have you noticed Palm Oil appearing in our supermarkets & food stores? Perhaps you've noticed it being touted as new & improved, healthy, and budget friendly? Hmmm.......truth is, Palm Oil is highly processed (extracted and treated with heat and / or chemicals). If solvents are used in extraction, the oil may contain chemical residues. Although it is low in unsaturated fatty acids & thus  less prone to oxidation, its oxidized portions are highly inflammatory in the body. Worst of all, it is very environmentally costly. In Indonesia, thousands of acres of forests are being clear cut and burned to plant palms for production of palm oil, creating pollution, reducing forests' carbon sequestration, and destroying native rain forest habitats. 

Using FOOD to Reduce Inflammation

Many things in the standard American diet (SAD) stimulate inflammation in the body. Avoiding these foods or food components can be an effective way to reduce inflammation in our joints and throughout our bodies. Here are some of the main “culprits:”

SUGAR in any form, including honey.

DAMAGED (oxidized or chemically altered) FATS & OILS including hydrogenated oils, which have trans fats (found in margarine, shortening, & many packaged or processed foods such as pastries, cookies, and chips). Damaged oils include vegetable (soy, corn, sesame, etc.) or nut oils, (except coconut) which oxidize at room temperature. Exposure to heat (even cooking at low temperatures) causes accelerated oxidation. Oxidized oils are highly inflammatory.

GRILLED FOODS and foods cooked at high temperatures or “blackened.”

WHEAT products, including white, whole wheat,&  sourdough breads, pasta, cereal, pretzels, crackers, or any product made with wheat flour, which includes most desserts and packaged snacks. Exception is any food made with heirloom wheat, which has not been hybridized.

Diet high in MEATS, which contain inflammation-promoting prostaglandins. Use healthy meats in moderation.

Surprising Secrets About Palm Oil

P

Have you noticed Palm Oil appearing in our supermarkets & food stores? Perhaps you've noticed it being touted as new & improved, healthy, and budget friendly? Hmmm.......truth is, Palm Oil is highly processed (extracted and treated with heat and / or chemicals). If solvents are used in extraction, the oil may contain chemical residues. Although it is low in unsaturated fatty acids & thus  less prone to oxidation, its oxidized portions are highly inflammatory in the body. Worst of all, it is very environmentally costly. In Indonesia, 1,000s of acres of forests are being clear cut and burned to plant palms for production of palm oil, creating pollution, reducing forests' carbon sequestration, and destroying native rain forest habitats. 

Why NOT to Bake With Most Nut "Flours"

 It has become popular to bake cookies, cakes, etc. with almond “flour” or other nut “flours,” particularly in the Paleo community, which advocates avoiding grains. With the exception of coconut flour, which does not readily oxidize, using nut flours for baking is hazardous, because all nuts contain unsaturated oils. These oils readily oxidize at room temperature when nuts are ground into flour.

Oxidized oils (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils take on oxygen across their carbon-carbon double bonds) are highly inflammatory and very unhealthy.

When dough is made by grinding nuts into flour in a cookie, etc., recipe, and baking it, the heat of the oven accelerates oxidation of these oils.

What can you do if you don’t want to use grain flours for baking?

All nuts contain some combination of saturated, MONOunsaturated, and POLYunsaturated oils. Baking with coconut flour, which contains almost 100% saturated oil, is safest, because saturated oils will not oxidize. 

    

Surprising Truth About Three Popular Oils

Canola oil, rice bran oil, and grapeseed oil---commonly considered to be healthy, are, in fact, all highly processed oils. Processing is necessary to extract the oil from rapeseed (canola), rice bran, and grape seeds, and may include extraction with heat and solvents, as well as chemical bleaching, degumming, and deodorizing. Because the raw oils have monounsaturated and polyunsatured components, when exposed to heat, they readily oxidize. Oxidized oils are toxic and highly inflammatory.