Palm Oil: Oil of the future?
What are the major issues that our future is facing? Global
warming, pollution, soil erosion, exhaustion of fossil fuels, etc etc. While
much of it is not in our hands, a lot can be managed judiciously too. No wonder
the process is long and tedious, but baby steps only can help us preserve our
future. One small step which we can take in this path is by switching to palm
oil altogether. But how?
What is Palm Oil?
Palm oil is derived from the palm fruit. It's a vegetable oil and
is of two types: the one derived from the mesocarp is called Crude palm Oil and
the other from the kernel is called the Palm Kernel Oil. Both these variants
are nutritionally and chemically different from each other.
Is Palm oil new?
No, not at all! Palm oil is one of the most widely used
ingredients in all the substances that we use in our day to day lives. Palm oil
is present in lipsticks, ice creams, snacks, food items like margarine, coffee
whitener, biscuit cream, soaps, toothpastes, medicines, animal feed, biofuel,
etc etc.
Palm oil has been widely used in cooking too. It's very nutritious
as it contains a high amount of Vitamin E.
How can it solve environmental issues to a large extent?
Help curb Global Warming: Palm trees have a perennial green canopy that provides a
tropical rainforest like cover. Flora and fauna thrive underneath. The palm
trees are an excellent absorber of green house gases, hence they would help
assimilate CO2 and other gases. Also palm plantations are double as efficient
as rainforests in doing so.
Oxygen yield: Palm trees have a greater surface area of the leaves and hence
produce more oxygen during photosynthesis. That means greater CO2 absorption
too, which is great for the environment.
Efficient Land utilization: Palm plantations provide more yield per hectare than any other
oilseed crop, hence land is utilized more efficiently. Also measures are taken
to prevent soil erosion during their plantation. Leguminous cover underneath
fixes nitrogen and makes the soil rich and fertile.
Positive energy balance: Studies have shown that palm oil processing require a lesser
input of fertilizers, pesticides and fuel energy as compared to other oilseeds.
Is Palm oil good for health?
Palm oil is rich in tocotrienols ie one of the components of
Vitamin E. It is cholesterol free and Trans fatty acid free. It's semi solid at
room temperature because of saturated fats in it. It is rich in carotenoids
too. Since it's a vegetable oil it's vegan and is an excellent substitute for
Vanaspati.
Is Palm oil suitable for cooking?
Palm oil is excellent for cooking. It has a high smoking point
which means it is perfect for Indian cooking. It enhances the flavour of Indian
food.
Palm oil is very rich in calories.
Palm Oil and Food security: Poverty is a rising concern in the developing nations. And land
is becoming scarce for food cultivation. Since palm oil requires less land,
fertilizers and pesticides as compared to other oilseeds, it would be helpful
in establishing food security.
Socio Economic Development: Palm cultivation has helped in reducing rural poverty in
countries like Indonesia and Malaysia.
There are so many other facets to this wonderful vegetable oil
that needs to be tapped. Why don't we use palm oil more widely? I mean it's
already present in so many items in our day to day life. Why not embrace it
wholeheartedly so that our environment and ourselves are both healthy and happy.
11 comments
What a thorough post. I have read about the health benefits of palm oil but did not know of its benefits for the environment.
ReplyDeleteNoor Anand Chawla
i just enjoyed reading this post as it give me a detail review with some beautiful pictures. wonderful post
ReplyDeleteYou explained a lot about palm oil .. I don' know so many facts about it.. This detailed review is amazing
ReplyDeleteAmazing and insightful post. Palm oil is best for the hair growth and has many health benefits. That's a great way to creating awareness about palm oil. Great thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the informative post on palm oils. As a Dubai Expat can relate well
ReplyDeletePalm oil health benefits i knew of. Have been listening to it all my life. But palm oil in lipsticks and conservation of nature, that was new to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is really good information regarding palm oil. I wasn't aware of its properties at all.
ReplyDeletePalm Oil is indeed a really healthy cooking medium. We have shifted to healthy cooking oil option for quite some time now. This is a detailed and informative post with great and good to know facts about Palm Oil.
ReplyDeleteToday market is flooded with oils, but I am so impressed with palm oil benefits that I will only use palm oil now
ReplyDeletePalm oil is so underrated, mainly because it has not been marketed well. Thanks for letting us about its benefits, Mandira.
ReplyDeletewww.rahulprabhakar.com
Love the way you right and surely Palm oil is very good, we have started using the oil few months back
ReplyDeletewww.alwaysbhukaa.com