Nutrition Better replace unhealthy palm oil altogether

Experts advise against waiving products with palm oil
More and more food industry products contain palm oil. But the "cheap fat" is classified by experts as hazardous to health and harmful to the environment. Consumers are therefore advised again and again to avoid the bad fat as possible. But what are the alternatives? The WDR household check clarifies and shows what consumers should pay attention to.

Health hazard due to low-fat
The number of commercially available foods containing palm oil continues to increase. Whether in Nutella, frozen pizza or baguettes - everywhere lurks the so-called "cheap fat" and is consumed by consumers unnoticed. For the palm oil industry is extremely attractive, because oil palms are the most efficient oil plants worldwide, also the product is solid and tasteless even at room temperature. A problematic situation, because experts repeatedly warn against the risks of palm oil in food. The reason: In industrial processing, the strong heating produces dangerous pollutants (fatty acid esters) which, even in small quantities, can lead to massive health damage such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases and are considered carcinogenic.

Unhealthy palm oil is in every second food. (Image: ThKatz / fotolia.com)

"Palm oil contains a lot of saturated fat and the more saturated the fats, the higher the risk of diabetes," explains Professor Michael Roden of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) in the contribution of the household check. The ZDF business and consumer magazine "Wiso" also reported, for example, that Nutella is harmful to the health of the body.

Every second product affected
In addition, environmentalists have been criticizing the constant increase in the use of palm oil for a long time, as massive rainforest is being cut down, especially in Southeast Asia. to meet the needs. So there are several reasons for avoiding the "bad" fat. But how can that work if it's hidden in so many foods? For the WDR household check, family Neitzel rehearsed a waiver for a week and made terrifying discoveries. Because the oil is found in every other product, which not only food are affected, but also cosmetics or everyday objects such. Scented candles. The purchase was therefore difficult for the family. It lasted almost an hour longer than usual, and in the end they paid about 24 euros more.

Fats must be declared
However, since December 2014, food manufacturers have been required to list the vegetable origin of the oils or fats used in the ingredients list of ingredients. The labels now contain information such as "palm oil" or "vegetable fat (palm oil)", which consumers can use to identify products with unhealthy fats. To avoid palm oil, websites such as Utopia or Umweltblick also help, according to the "WDR household check". Because here you get a lot of important information and find alternative products without bad fats. Even the free app "Codecheck" can make good use of the shopping. With these, consumers can scan the barcodes of products and get a list of all contained ingredients.

A complete abandonment of palm oil but also has a dark side. Many organizations, such as Greenpeace does not think a boycott makes sense, because the cultivation of the palms also ensures the existence of farmers. Greenpeace therefore recommends choosing products with the organic label, as they are very strict on sustainable cultivation. These can be seen either on the EU seal or by proprietary seals such. by Rapunzel or Alnatura, according to the "household check". (No)