Is Peanut Oil Heart Healthy?

Published on Mar 16 2010, in the categories: Eating plans, Guide, Healthy foods, oils, Useful Info

Lately , many people have developed heart affections so nutritionists and doctors have developed different types of personal eating plan and more and more we hear speaking of a so called “ healthy heart diet “ . The main purposes of this diet is to keep your blood cholesterol low and to decrease the risk of developing heart diseases or to help a patient who already has a heart disease to improve his quality of life .



The main principles are : 8% or even 10% of the total calories a person eats per day must be from saturated fats , less than 30% must come from the fat you eat each day ,  you must not eat more than 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol  , you have to limit your sodium intake at 2400 milligrams per day and  you have to be extremely careful at the number of total calories that you each day . You should eat enough calories to maintain your weight and to reduce your cholesterol level .


Because of thess principles , it is very important to take care with what type of oil you prepare your food . So it has been proven that indeed is peanut oil heart healthy . The peanut oil is healthy because it has a  content which is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and it is also rich in monounsaturated fat . If it is consumed , it can be helpful to lower the cholesterol level and triglycerides.

There have been carried out some research and the results pointed out that people who have enriched their heart diet with peanut oil had a 11% reduction in total blood cholesterol and a 14 % reduction in triglycerides . So it advisable to introduce the peanut oil in your healthy heart diet .  Of course , it can heal you completely but it can sure help you accomplish the principles and establish a balanced diet based on discipline , control and healthy aliments .

Excepting the principles above , the doctors also give us some rules to respect  : we should eat regular meals  , cut down on high-sugar foods and drinks , you must keep a low level of saturated fat , eat as many as possible fruits and vegetables each day and keep alcohol intake to moderate levels . One important substance that helps to reduce the risk of heart diseases is oily fish . Why ? ! The explication is simple : oily fish contains omega-3 fatty acids . These substances hel to regulate the frequency of heart beating and also to reduce the level of triglycerides – which are responsible of the high level of cholesterol .


In addition to that , it is important to go often to see the doctor , to make your cholesterol and triglycerides test , to ask for specialized treatment and assistance for establishing which are the suitable means for you to follow in order to improve your quality life and to avoid any other heart complications or other sorts of affections that can develop as a result of the heart disease .

Is Palm Oil A Healthy Oil

Published on Feb 17 2010, in the categories: oils, Useful Info

Originally from Africa, where there are now still numerous wild plantations of palm trees, and this type of oil has been used for over 5000 years for food, palm oil is the third in world consumption of oils. But is palm oil a healthy oil? Palm oil is obtained from the flesh that surrounds the seed by crushing and pressing it. Pits are separated, and after being broken and peeled, it can be processed in turn, resulting in oil palm kernels, which represents about 10% of total production obtained from palm oil.



Essence oil is processed separately because the composition and use are different. The oil can be used for the preparing various food products and nowadays it seems like palm oil will replace sunflower oil. Why? Because palm oil is resistant to very high temperatures - 230 degrees Celsius, it does not smell and it also does not make smoke when cooking.  Research in the U.S. has shown that palm oil is rich in vitamins A and E, characteristic that makes palm oil a healthy oil.

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These vitamins are powerful antioxidants and have an important role in preventing early aging. But according to nutritionists, palm oil's main asset is the strength of the toast. Palm oil does not degrade during roasting and does not form toxic substances, as is it happens in the case of other oils. You should not encourage the consumption of fried food, but if you do, however, it is recommended to use a high temperature resistant oil. Unrefined palm oil can resist at temperatures up to 230 degrees Celsius, while olive oil - 180 degrees and sunflower oil just 160 degrees.

Palm oil has major advantages over other vegetable oils: it is not absorbed in food, it doesn’t smell, it doesn’t make smoke and it maintains its color. Sunflower oil, though, is very sensitive to roasting. Therefore, it is safe to assume that palm oil should be used than for frying more often than sunflower oil.

Palm oil contains 40% - mono unsaturated fatty acids, 10% - 50% polyunsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids in a smaller percentage. The first two categories of acids - the unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids - remain liquid at the room temperature, while those saturated at the same temperature are solidifying. This explains the fact that palm oil is solid at room temperature.

Many people say that palm oil promotes atherosclerosis’ development, due to the high amount of saturated fatty acids, but it was found that palm oil does not increase the level of blood fats, although rich in saturated fatty acids. As evidence, think about the situation in Asia, where palm oil is commonly used for cooking, the incidence of cardiovascular disease is very low. You should keep in mind that during roasting, the food is releasing a substance that affects the central nervous system and promotes cancer.

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Acrylamide appears especially during roasting of non-fat potatoes at high temperatures: sunflower oil, margarine, butter. During roasting foods high in protein - meat, fish - are generated smaller quantities than in those rich in carbohydrates: potatoes, bread. But even if we use only palm oil, specialists advise us to limit consumption of fried foods. Large amounts of acrylamide found in fried commercial products: peanuts, almonds, cereal, chips are in any way recommended for our healthy. As a conclusion, I hope I have managed to present a few of the benefits of using palm oil in your daily meals and also I believe I have answered the question “Is palm oil a healthy oil?”.