Know2eat

Palm oil

Elaeis guineensis

What palm oil has been studied for

2 associations assessed — 1 with at least some human evidence behind it. Strongest first.

  • 1 Moderate
  • 1 Insufficient
4 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About palm oil

Oil pressed from the orange flesh of the oil palm fruit, semi-solid at room temperature because roughly half of its fatty acids are saturated, chiefly palmitic acid. Unrefined red palm oil is carotenoid-rich and strongly coloured; the refined, bleached and deodorised oil used in most food manufacturing is pale and carries almost none of that fraction.

Also known as Palm fruit oil, Red palm oil (unrefined), Dende oil

Heart Health

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Moderate

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Moderate evidence

Research suggests palm oil raises LDL cholesterol relative to unsaturated vegetable oils supplying the same energy, a direction reported consistently in controlled feeding trials and meta-analyses. This is a statement about which way the marker moves rather than a benefit, and the comparison that matters is against the oil it would replace.

What may be going on: Palmitic acid reduces hepatic LDL receptor activity and slows LDL clearance from the circulation.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Cardiovascular risk markers

Heart Health
Insufficient evidence

Evidence is limited for palm oil and cardiovascular events. There are no outcome trials, ecological and cohort analyses are heavily confounded by what palm oil is eaten alongside, and the argument rests almost entirely on extrapolating from its effect on LDL cholesterol.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Palm oil

Ask about Palm oil

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories884 kcal44%
Protein0 g0%
Total fat100 g128%
Carbohydrate0 g0%
Fibre0 g0%
Total sugars0 g—
Water0 g—
Fats
Saturated fat49.3 g247%
Monounsaturated fat37 g—
Polyunsaturated fat9.3 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)9.1 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Vitamin E15.9 mg106%
Vitamin K8 µg7%
Thiamin (B1)0 mg0%
Riboflavin (B2)0 mg0%
Niacin (B3)0 mg0%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0 mg0%
Vitamin B60 mg0%
Folate0 µg0%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Choline0.3 mg0%
Minerals
Calcium0 mg0%
Iron0.01 mg0%
Magnesium0 mg0%
Phosphorus0 mg0%
Potassium0 mg0%
Sodium0 mg0%
Zinc0 mg0%
Copper0 mg0%
Selenium0 µg0%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene0 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash0 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Oil, palm (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 171015).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • rawPreserves carotenoids and tocotrienols

    Unrefined red palm oil retains carotenoids and tocotrienols that refining removes; it is used unheated or gently heated in West African and Brazilian cooking. Refined palm oil has effectively none of them.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Too much

    Palmitic acid raises LDL cholesterol

    Palmitic acid is one of the saturated fatty acids with the clearest LDL-raising effect in controlled feeding trials, and palm oil is roughly half palmitic. Replacing it with an unsaturated oil lowers LDL; this is among the more consistent findings in diet and lipid research.

  • Worth knowing

    Refining contaminants: 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters

    The high-temperature deodorising step in refining generates 3-monochloropropanediol and glycidyl fatty acid esters, and palm oil forms substantially more of them than other refined oils. European food safety authorities have assessed glycidyl esters as genotoxic and carcinogenic and have set limits, with infant formula the population of most concern. Industry has since lowered levels by modifying refining conditions.

  • Worth knowing

    Sustainability is not a health question

    Oil palm expansion is a major driver of tropical deforestation and habitat loss, and certification schemes exist to address it. That is an environmental and land-use issue and is recorded here so it is not mistaken for a nutritional one — it says nothing about what the oil does in a human body.

  • Too much

    Energy density and ubiquity

    Pure fat, the most produced vegetable oil in the world, and present in an enormous range of packaged foods precisely because it is cheap and solid at room temperature.