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Palm oil is widely used in African cooking, especially in soups and sauces. If you are the health conscious type, you probably already avoid heavy palm oil as much as you can.

Not yet avoiding or reducinge palm oil? Here is why you should;

While palm oil is trans-fat-free. Half of its fat is saturated, adding about 1.5 grams saturated fat to each 2-tablespoon serving. A diet high in saturated fat has been linked to elevated cholesterol levels and increased risk for heart disease. Though you may have heard that palm oil has less of a cholesterol-raising effect than other tropical oils, the research isn’t conclusive.
Research shows that palmitic acid, a saturated fat found in palm oil (and beef, butter and cheese), caused mice to become resistant to the appetite-suppressing hormones leptin and insulin, which in theory could make them eat more.

A tablespoon of palm oil has;

 Calories 120.2
  Total Fat 13.6 g
      Saturated Fat 6.7 g
      Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 g
      Monounsaturated Fat 5.0 g

 

To put things in perspective, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup palm oil, that means you have  955 calories and 108 grams of  fat from the oil alone.

 

What to use instead:

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat and research shows that monounsaturated fats help keep “bad” LDL cholesterol low and boost levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. In addition, extra-virgin olive oil is high in antioxidants called polyphenols that have been linked to heart health. “Pure” olive oil (i.e., not virgin) doesn’t contain these “bonus” antioxidants.

 

Canola Oil

Canola oil generally doesn’t have many antioxidants, as olive oil does, but it does have a relatively long shelf life. In addition, canola is the richest cooking-oil source of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat that has been linked to heart health.

 

Coconut oil

Although high in calories and fat, coconut oil has a lot of health benefit, I personally haven’t done enough research to convince myself to use it in my cooking, it is also something to consider though.

 

Note: I am not asking you to give up palm oil or any type of oil. Fat and oil is an essential part of any diet. Moderation is however very necessary.