Cholesterol vs. Saturated Fat in Palm Oil

Vegetable oils, even tropical oils (and that includes coconut oils as well) never contain cholesterol, which is only found in animal products. However, tropical oils are notorious for the amounts of saturated oil they contain, and that is just as bad for your health. To compare the two, palm oil is 51 percent saturated, palm kernel oil is 86 percent saturated. Coconut oil takes the prize though, as it is 92 percent saturated oil.

 

How dangerous are saturated oils?

Though they were never taken off the market, and are still available, most American manufacturers of food and baked goods, for the most part, voluntarily abandoned the use of tropical oils in 1989. The effects of saturated oils on blood cholesterol levels can be quite serious, even if they themselves do not contain cholesterol. Despite that, there are still a few products, including chocolate covered cookies, coffee whiteners, some brands of potato chips and whipped toppings that contain these oils. You can chose to avoid these products by carefully studying the labels, and selecting only those products that are free of tropical oils.

As for the baking, I am no gourmet cook, but am sure that there are many other baking oil products that can meet with your family's enhanced health priorities and still permit you to prepare your specialty with little change in its flavor or allure.