Palm And Coconut Oil

[Ulysses G.]

Years ago, it was thought that Palm and coconut oil were terrible for the human body, but eventually it was found that the evil white man (who own other types of oil companies) has been substituting hydrogenated oils for healthy natural oils when they were tested. Hydrogenated oils contain trans-fats and are artificial.

As far as I can tell, most of the inexpensive oils used cooking in Asia are all hydrogenated. Does anyone know if there are any cheap oils that are NOT hydrogenated or any restaurants that use non-hydrogenated oils for cooking Thai food?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Rice Bran Oil. Not quite as cheap as the cheap stuff, but a lot cheaper than imported olive oil, etc.

Makro has it.

[Patriciachas]

Rice Bran Oil. Not quite as cheap as the cheap stuff, but a lot cheaper than imported olive oil, etc.

Makro has it.

Rice and Bran is supposed to be the best type of oil to use ?,any comments

[daoyai]

U.G., you are confused, hydrogenated oils are solid to semisolid and are found mainly in baked goods where one would traditionally use butter.

[daoyai]

It helps to know the "smoking point" of the oil you use, olive oil has a low smoking point so is not good for hot frying, palm oil can take the heat.

[Ulysses G.]

U.G., you are confused, hydrogenated oils are solid to semisolid and are found mainly in baked goods where one would traditionally use butter.

What you say makes total sense to me, but I have heard foreigners say over and over again how terrible the oil is that Thais use for cooking - that it was hydrogenated or partially hydogenated or even fractionated oil which seems like it would even be worse.

Do you think that they actually use unrefined coconut and palm oil for stir-frying? That would be good news indeed.

[getgoin]

U.G., you are confused, hydrogenated oils are solid to semisolid and are found mainly in baked goods where one would traditionally use butter.

What you say makes total sense to me, but I have heard foreigners say over and over again how terrible the oil is that Thais use for cooking - that it was hydrogenated or partially hydogenated or even fractionated oil which seems like it would even be worse.

Do you think that they actually use unrefined coconut and palm oil for stir-frying? That would be good news indeed.

It is the saturated fats that stiffen RBC membranes and increase blood viscosity thereby hindering blood flow. It also reduces the ability of the blood to release oxygen and take up carbon dioxide. They also increase the risk of blood clots and artery blockage. This has nothing to do with the refining. Palm oil, used in most Thai cooking because it is cheaper, is 51% saturated. To put that into perspecdtive, beef fat is 44% saturated and lard is 42% saturated. Only butter is more saturated than palm oil.

Hydrogenated oils have their own problems. When hydrogenated oil is made, healthy fats are converted into a new type of fatty acid, known as a trans fat. Trans fats are not at all good for one's health. In some highly hydrogenated oils like margarine, trans fats can make up almost half of the total fat content. Trans fatty acids work to increase LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and they also decrease HDL cholesterol, which is "good" cholesterol. This means that the fats in hydrogenated oil are far more damaging than even saturated fats, which medical professionals have already determined to be harmful. There is also evidence to suggest that trans fatty acids may bioaccumulate in the body, because the digestive system has difficulty figuring out what to do with them. Trans fats are increasing thought to be worse than saturated fats. Thus the return of it's sweet cousin, butter.

Hydrogenated oils are made by forcing hydrogen into the oil at high pressure. A lot of oils that are used to fry food in are hydrogenated to improve their shelf life and increase the melting point. All types of fats can be hydrogenated. Probably the worst example, hydrogenated palm oil. I'm not sure of it's prevelance in Thai cooking but the Thai margerine that is used in a lot of the baked goods is a good example of bad hydrogenated oil. I'm not sure what it's made of but I love the artificial butter flavor, think most locally (Thai bakery) made croissants.

[daoyai]

.......and the bright yellow "butter" the roti makers use, I try to resist roti stands most of the time because that stuff just looks so nasty. We are all doomed.

[Ulysses G.]

This is the new thinking on NATURAL coconut oil. Not all types of saturated fats are unhealthy:

Coconut Oil: Why it is Good For You

by Lita Lee

12/14/2001

In this article, fats and oils are used interchangeably but in a strict sense, oil usually means liquid at room temperature and fat usually means solid at room temperature. However, coconut oil is solid at temperatures under 76 degrees F. So if you live at temperatures of 76 degrees F or more, coconut oil is liquid; if less than 76 degrees F, coconut oil is a fat.

Saturated fat - one that has a small degree of unsaturation or double bonds and tends to be more solid at room temperatures lower than 76 degrees F. Example: butter, coconut oil.

Monounsaturated oil - Contains some saturated fat but is largely oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated oil, which contains only one double bond. Example: Olive oil.

Polyunsaturated oils - poly means many, so this means that the fat has more than one double bond. Example: linoleic (omega-6) acid has two double bonds; alpha-linolenic (omega-3) acid has three double bonds; arachidonic acid has four double bonds.

The following information comes from the research of Ray Peat, Ph.D. and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. References are given where applicable.

I recommend only three types of fats to my clients: extra virgin olive oil, organic or, preferably raw butter, and organic coconut oil. Most people understand the first two but cringe at the thought of eating coconut oil. Here's why I recommend coconut oil to everyone.

Coconut oil has been used as cooking oil for thousands of years. Popular cookbooks advertised it at the end of the 19th century. Then came the anti-saturated fat campaign and the promotion of polyunsaturated fats, such as flaxseed, canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils plus their partially hydrogenated counterparts (margarine, "I can't believe it's not butter", etc.) as the way to go. Indeed, saturated fats have been supposedly causally linked to high cholesterol and heart disease, multiple sclerosis and other bad health conditions. I don't know how anyone came to this conclusion, since it would be hard to find a person in America who has a high saturated fat diet. Why? Because nearly all commercial foods, including bread, crackers, chips, dips, many candies, zero cholesterol coffee creamers, all mayonnaise and all salad dressings, many pastries and ice creams, most dietetic (for weight loss or diabetes) "foods", many cereals, and nearly all crunchy snacks contain either polyunsaturated or partially hydrogenated fats (which contain some margarine and some of the unsaturated fat mixed together). These foods are often advertised as healthy "all vegetarian," "no-cholesterol" foods. Even the so-called saturated fat in commercial meat is partly unsaturated because most cows are fed corn and soybeans, both of which contain unsaturated oils.

Are there any people who live on saturated fats who are healthy? Yes! People who live in tropical climates and who have a diet high in coconut oil are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer, colon problems and so on, than unsaturated fat eaters. Two such groups of people include those from Melanesia and the Yucatan. These people are slightly hyperthyroid because of the thyroid stimulating effects of coconut oil plus a diet which includes protein (fish) and adequate fruit (stimulates thyroid function).

Can you eat unsaturated fats and get away with it? It all depends. The Eskimos ate cold-water fish, high in unsaturated oils BUT they also ate the whole animal, including the animal head, brain, thyroid glands, etc. and got the hormones from these glandulars. This caused them to become hyperthyroid, 25% higher than Americans, and they were classified as "pathologically hyperthyroid" by standard medical definition.

However, this so-called pathological condition allowed them to burn the unsaturated fats in the foods they ate. If you are not an Eskimo and eat mainly an unsaturated fat diet, you may be in trouble.

Now you know why I wonder how anyone can associate high cholesterol or saturated fats with heart disease, multiple sclerosis or any disease. Over the past 40 years, Americans have increased their consumption of unsaturated fats and partially hydrogenated fats and have decreased their consumption of saturated fatty acids and butter. Lauric acid, the major fatty acid in coconut oil and breast milk, is rarely present in the American diet. Yet saturated fats are still being called the health culprits while grocery stores abound with many kinds of seed and nut oils. Many have been told that if the unsaturated oil is unprocessed, it is safe. This is untrue. The harmful effects of unsaturated oil lie in their unsaturation, or the presence of many double bonds, which are very labile and easily peroxidized (become rancid inside the body). Details of this are given in the report on unsaturated oils.

Here is a summary of the health benefits of coconut oil. In general, coconut oil stimulates thyroid function and has wonderful antiseptic properties.

The Stability of Coconut Oil

Unsaturated oils in cooked foods become rancid in just a few hours, even in the refrigerator, one reason for the "stale" taste of leftovers. However, according to Peat, eating fresh unsaturated fats is even worse, because once inside the body, they will oxidize (turn rancid) very rapidly due to being heated and mixed with oxygen. Not so with coconut oil. Even after one year at room temperature, coconut oil shows no evidence of rancidity even though it contains 9% linoleic (omega - 6) polyunsaturated acid. Peat theorizes that coconut oil may have antioxidant properties, since the oil doesn't turn rancid and since it reduces our need for vitamin E, whereas unsaturated oils deplete vitamin E.

Thyroid-Stimulating, Anti-Aging Effects of Coconut Oil

Many researchers have reported that coconut oil lowers cholesterol (Blackburn et al 1988, Ahrens and colleagues, 1957). In 1981, Prior et al. showed that islanders with a diet high in coconut oil showed no harmful health effects. When these groups migrated to New Zealand and lowered their daily coconut oil intake, their total cholesterol and especially their LDL cholesterol - the so-called evil one - increased. The cholesterol-lowering properties of coconut oil are a direct result of its ability to stimulate thyroid function. In the presence of adequate thyroid hormone, cholesterol (specifically LDL-cholesterol) is converted by enzymatic processes to the vitally necessary anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. These substances are required to help prevent heart disease, senility, obesity, cancer and other diseases associated with aging and chronic degenerative diseases.

Weight Loss Stimulating Properties of Coconut Oil - a Direct Result of Thyroid Stimulation

In the 1940's farmers tried coconut oil to fatten their animals but discovered that it made them lean and active and increased their appetite. Whoops! Then they tried an anti-thyroid drug. It made the livestock fat with less food but was found to be a carcinogen (cancer causing drug). In the late 1940's, it was found that the same anti-thyroid effect could be achieved by simply feeding animals soybeans and corn.

Anti-Cancer Effects of Coconut Oil

In 1987 Lim-Sylianco published a 50-year literature review showing the anti-cancer effects of coconut oil. In chemically induced cancers of the colon and breast, coconut oil was by far more protective than unsaturated oils. For example 32% of corn oil eaters got colon cancer whereas only 3% of coconut oil eaters got the cancer. Animals fed unsaturated oils had more tumors. This shows the thyroid-suppressive and hence, immuno-suppressive effect of unsaturated oils. (Cohen et al. 1986).

When Albert Schweitzer operated his clinic in tropical Africa, he said that it was many years before he saw a single case of cancer. He believed that the appearance of cancer was caused by introduction of the European diet to the Africans. Many studies since the 1920's have shown an association between consumption of unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer.

Antimicrobial (Antiseptic) Effects of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids such as lauric (C-12), caprylic (C-10) and myristic (C-14) acids. Of these three, coconut oil contains 40% lauric acid, which has the greater anti-viral activity of these three fatty acids. Lauric acid is so disease fighting that it is present in breast milk. The body converts lauric acid to a fatty acid derivative (monolaurin), which is the substance that protects infants from viral, bacterial or protozoal infections. This was recognized and reported in 1966 (Jon Kabara). Work by Hierholzer and Kabara (1982) showed that monolaurin has virucidal effects on RNA and DNA viruses, which are surrounded by a lipid membrane. In addition to these RNA and DNA viruses, in 1978, Kabara and others reported that certain medium chain fatty acids, such as lauric acid have adverse effects on other pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast and fungi. These fatty acids and their derivatives actually disrupt the lipid membranes of the organisms and thus inactivate them (Isaacs and Thormar 1991; Isaacs et al. 1992). This deactivation process also occurs in human and bovine milk when fatty acids are added to them (Isaacs et al. 1991).

http://www.coconut-info.com/coconut_oil_wh...ood_for_you.htm

[wjmark]

.......and the bright yellow "butter" the roti makers use, I try to resist roti stands most of the time because that stuff just looks so nasty. We are all doomed.

Thai margerine that is used in a lot of the baked goods is a good example of bad hydrogenated oil. I'm not sure what it's made of but I love the artificial butter flavor, think most locally (Thai bakery) made croissants.

Some of the best french fries I've ever had were at the night 'food and cheap-shoe' market on Huay Keow near CMU. Thin, crispy, golden brown, and potato flavour galore.

Went there one day and saw them dumping Thai margarine into the oil...

Aha, and sigh.

[elektrified]

U.G., you are confused, hydrogenated oils are solid to semisolid and are found mainly in baked goods where one would traditionally use butter.

What you say makes total sense to me, but I have heard foreigners say over and over again how terrible the oil is that Thais use for cooking - that it was hydrogenated or partially hydogenated or even fractionated oil which seems like it would even be worse.

Do you think that they actually use unrefined coconut and palm oil for stir-frying? That would be good news indeed.

It is the saturated fats that stiffen RBC membranes and increase blood viscosity thereby hindering blood flow. It also reduces the ability of the blood to release oxygen and take up carbon dioxide. They also increase the risk of blood clots and artery blockage. This has nothing to do with the refining. Palm oil, used in most Thai cooking because it is cheaper, is 51% saturated. To put that into perspecdtive, beef fat is 44% saturated and lard is 42% saturated. Only butter is more saturated than palm oil.

Hydrogenated oils have their own problems. When hydrogenated oil is made, healthy fats are converted into a new type of fatty acid, known as a trans fat. Trans fats are not at all good for one's health. In some highly hydrogenated oils like margarine, trans fats can make up almost half of the total fat content. Trans fatty acids work to increase LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and they also decrease HDL cholesterol, which is "good" cholesterol. This means that the fats in hydrogenated oil are far more damaging than even saturated fats, which medical professionals have already determined to be harmful. There is also evidence to suggest that trans fatty acids may bioaccumulate in the body, because the digestive system has difficulty figuring out what to do with them. Trans fats are increasing thought to be worse than saturated fats. Thus the return of it's sweet cousin, butter.

Hydrogenated oils are made by forcing hydrogen into the oil at high pressure. A lot of oils that are used to fry food in are hydrogenated to improve their shelf life and increase the melting point. All types of fats can be hydrogenated. Probably the worst example, hydrogenated palm oil. I'm not sure of it's prevelance in Thai cooking but the Thai margerine that is used in a lot of the baked goods is a good example of bad hydrogenated oil. I'm not sure what it's made of but I love the artificial butter flavor, think most locally (Thai bakery) made croissants.

Thanks for an extremely informative post. Do you know which are the healthiest cooking oils available in Thailand? I really like olive oil but it's a little pricey here. When I lived in the south of Spain I would buy 5 liters of olive oil in the village Saturday market that had just been pressed for about 7 Euros! It would last a very long time. I recently bought Crisco brand canola oil at Carrefour because it advertises "0 grams trans fat per serving".

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Thanks for an extremely informative post. Do you know which are the healthiest cooking oils available in Thailand? I really like olive oil but it's a little pricey here.

See post #2.

[Ulysses G.]

Back to the original question. Does anyone know what most Thais use for stir-frying in restaurants or street stalls? Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil?

Edited June 3, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[daoyai]

They use "refined" palm oil, whatever that means.

[Ulysses G.]

Unrefined palm oil is supposed to be somewhat healthy.

[gatorhead333]

Back to the original question. Does anyone know what most Thais use for stir-frying in restaurants or street stalls? Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil?

is this a trick question?

this is t-land where you buy 20-30 baht dinners off the side of the street.

they use the cheapest oil can possibly be bought and some buy even cheaper old, used cooking oil from big restauants, filter it and use it for another few weeks.

walk into macro go to cooking oil section look for the cheapest bulk oil ,now go to front of store and watch what the people are dragging ou tof the store in bulk on carts..

Edited June 3, 2009 by gatorhead333

[anonymouse]

Back to the original question. Does anyone know what most Thais use for stir-frying in restaurants or street stalls? Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil?

is this a trick question?

this is t-land where you buy 20-30 baht dinners off the side of the street.

they use the cheapest oil can possibly be bought and some buy even cheaper old, used cooking oil from big restauants, filter it and use it for another few weeks.

walk into macro go to cooking oil section look for the cheapest bulk oil ,now go to front of store and watch what the people are dragging ou tof the store in bulk on carts..

gatorhead has hit the nail on the head, they will go for the cheapest oil and I imagine it's not just confined to the Thai restaurants or street stalls

[Ulysses G.]

Is the cheapest oil hydrognated or partially hydrogonated? How unhealthy is "refined" palm oil?

Anyone know?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I know it's not hydrogenated.. It remains a liquid after all. Margarine would be an example of hydrogenated fats.

How bad it is though.. I don't know.

More information is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil

Specifically:

Blood cholesterol controversy

Many health authorities state that palm oil promotes heart disease, citing research and metastudies that go back to 1970.[24] For many years now, it has been established that the primary cholesterol-elevating fatty acids are the saturated fatty acids with 12 (lauric acid), 14 (myristic acid) and 16 (palmitic acid) carbon atoms with a concomitant increase in the risk of coronary heart disease.[73] The World Health Organization (WHO) states there is convincing evidence that palmitic oil consumption contributes to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.[74] Research in the US and Europe support the WHO report.[75]

In a response to the WHO report, the Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council has argued that there is insufficient scientific evidence to produce general guidelines for worldwide consumption of palm oil and cited a research study in China comparing palm, soybean, peanut oils, and lard (all of which contain saturated fat) showing that palm oil increased the levels of good cholesterol and reduced the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, and that palm is a better solid fat to use in products where trans fats would otherwise be chosen.[76]

These findings are supported by a previous study of various oils and cardiovascular health.[77] However a study by the Departments of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science and Medicine, University of Alberta showed that although palmitic acid had no hypercholesterolaemic effect if intake of linoleic acid was greater than 4.5% of energy, if the diet contained trans fatty acids, LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") increases and HDL cholesterol ("good cholesterol") decreases.[78]

The studies supporting the Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council only addressed the issue of the effect of palm oil on blood cholesterol levels and not its total effect regarding cardiovascular diseases.[citation needed]

The palm oil industry emphasizes that palm oil contains large quantities of oleic acid, the healthful fatty acid also found in olive and canola oil, and claims that palmitic acid also affects cholesterol levels much like oleic acid. Monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid are as effective in reducing serum total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels as polyunsaturated fatty acids such as alpha-linoleic acid.[79]

[Ulysses G.]

I do not think that partially hydrogonated oils would be solid in this heat. I have a gallon of virgin coconut oil which is highly saturated fat and liquid in this heat, but is solid in a cooler environment.

[getgoin]

Thanks for an extremely informative post. Do you know which are the healthiest cooking oils available in Thailand? I really like olive oil but it's a little pricey here.

See post #2.

The best oil is canola but some purists shy from it making claims of genetic manipulation. Safflower, sunflower, corn, olive and soybean in that order. I'm not sure about rice bran but it sound healthy. Sunflower oil is readily available in Thailand.

[tracker]

- check out the benefits of coconut oil on www.earthclinic.com. Nothing is sold there. Just info about a lot of health stuff. The coconut oil section is huge!

- Palm oil, in it's unrefined red color is sometimes available on local markets in area's with palm plantations.

[kimincm]

Back to the original question. Does anyone know what most Thais use for stir-frying in restaurants or street stalls? Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil?

Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil? If only they did,the old girl who has a small shop and daily food in our soi uses "nemun moo", "mai pang" as well as sells it to all the locals for home cooking.

In the colder times you can see it start to solidify,bottom of the bag white fat, oil on top.Food, looks great,smells great,but just can't bring myself to give it a run.So for you people who said they understood that Thais would use the cheapest oil they could find you had better factor "nemun moo" as a possibility.

[getgoin]

Back to the original question. Does anyone know what most Thais use for stir-frying in restaurants or street stalls? Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil?

Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil? If only they did,the old girl who has a small shop and daily food in our soi uses "nemun moo", "mai pang" as well as sells it to all the locals for home cooking.

In the colder times you can see it start to solidify,bottom of the bag white fat, oil on top.Food, looks great,smells great,but just can't bring myself to give it a run.So for you people who said they understood that Thais would use the cheapest oil they could find you had better factor "nemun moo" as a possibility.

Pork fat. Probably the tastiest. Like cooking Chinese food in chicken fat. Makes the best fried rice. Nothing wrong with it. Better than using palm oil or hydrogenated palm oil.

[kimincm]

Back to the original question. Does anyone know what most Thais use for stir-frying in restaurants or street stalls? Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil?

Do they use hydrogenated or natural palm and coconut oil? If only they did,the old girl who has a small shop and daily food in our soi uses "nemun moo", "mai pang" as well as sells it to all the locals for home cooking.

In the colder times you can see it start to solidify,bottom of the bag white fat, oil on top.Food, looks great,smells great,but just can't bring myself to give it a run.So for you people who said they understood that Thais would use the cheapest oil they could find you had better factor "nemun moo" as a possibility.

Pork fat. Probably the tastiest. Like cooking Chinese food in chicken fat. Makes the best fried rice. Nothing wrong with it. Better than using palm oil or hydrogenated palm oil.

Funny that,have been treated for high cholesterol,don't eat animal fats and coconut oil was the doctors recommendation.