In many countries, the consumption of products containing palm oil has recently been banned, as the scientific community has discovered that «palmitic acid» promotes and stimulates the appearance of cancer in the body.
However, palm oil is present in countless cookies, cereals, ice cream, chocolate cream and industrial pastries.
The funny thing is that until just a few years ago, palm oil was considered a beneficial substance for health, since it is a compound rich in vitamin E and vitamin A, which are essential vitamins for the body.
In addition, palmitic acid is a fatty acid much less saturated than butter and does not contain the so-called «trans fat». Still, it’s not healthy and it’s proven.
Last year, a group of doctors headed by Dr. Salvador Aznar, belonging to the Biomedical Research Institute of Barcelona, found a link between a diet rich in palmitic acid and the aggressiveness of cancer.
In this research they identified a protein called “CD36” capable of initiating and promoting metastasis, and whose activity is enhanced by the usual intake of saturated fats. Different tests with mice with cancer showed that this ingredient caused the frequency of metastasis to go from 50% to 100%.
Therefore, following this discovery, many countries of the European Union began to prohibit the sale of products with palm oil.
Moreover, the European Union has even considered to stop using palm oil completely as a biofuel by 2020, after knowing that the extraction of this product results in the destruction of a million hectares of forest per year.
Soraya Andreina Pérez