Khaberni -Recent studies conducted in the past years have shown that myristic and palmitic acids in palm oil do not increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Professor Oleg Medvedev, head of the Department of Pharmacy and the first dean of the Faculty of Basic Medicine at Moscow University, and founder of the Center for Research in Healthy Nutrition states: "Recent studies indicate that palmitic acid found in vegetable fats does not raise total cholesterol or 'bad' cholesterol (LDL) levels. High cholesterol is primarily related to excess intake of saturated fats—when it exceeds 10% of the total diet. For instance, butter contains about 60% saturated fat, while palm oil has a lower rate, about 50%."
He adds: "It was previously thought that all saturated fatty acids formed a single group with similar health effects. However, over the past two decades, several comparative studies have shown that the health impact differs among types of saturated fatty acids, especially in regard to biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases."
Professor confirms that most studies do not support the common notion that palmitic acid directly harms cardiovascular health, especially when cholesterol levels in the blood are within normal limits.
He concludes: "True, palm oil can raise cholesterol levels, but it does not do so to the extent previously believed, and it has a much lower impact than butter, for example."
