TROPICAL OILS - SAFER THAN YOU THINK

8621

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

Tropical oils refers to oils made from palm, palm kernel and coconut oils. In the 1980s, the American soybean industry was worried that foreign tropical oils would replace their oils and take money from the American farmer.

So a public relations firm working for the American soybean industry was concerned that "tropical" oil sales were going to surpass soybean oil as the number one fat. So many foods appeared with the label "contains no tropical oils." Later the U.S. Federal Trade Commission made that label illegal because there was an implied health claim that tropical oils are harmful and there is no evidence to back it up. In fact, the total amount of tropical oils in the U.S. diet was about 2%; substituting the most unsaturated fat would have a negligible effect on serum cholesterol. The whole issue was a trade war and not about health effects.

Tropical oils are used in foods for functional reasons. They are excellent for shortening because they don't get rancid easily, they produce flaky pastry and good color on fried foods, and they don't give a greasy feel to crackers. It is difficult to substitute most other vegetable oils for the tropical ones because their polyunsaturated fats have a short shelf life. To prolong the shelf life, manufacturers convert soybean oil in your food to partially hydrogenated which is harmful to your health because it may increase your risk for a heart attack and certain cancers.

The amount of tropical oils in the U.S. diet is so low that there is no reason to worry about it. The countries with the highest palm oil intakes in the world are Costa Rica and Malaysia. Their heart disease rates and serum cholesterol levels are much lower than in western nations. This never was a real health issue.

Checked 5/3/07