Some of the health benefits of Palm oil for kids include high energy levels, vision improvement, ensures healthy cardiovascular system, prevents cancer, relieve alzheimer’s disease, ensures healthy hair growth, abundant in vitamin K and enables bone development.
These days, the shelves of most grocery stores have palm oil bottles competing with other oil types. Why is this so? Because, more and more, people are coming to know of this great African tree’s nuts that give out a very healthy oil that could save us from a lot of illnesses. If children are started off on this oil in childhood, they can benefit a lot too.
Overall, they will enjoy much better health, stamina and immunity than others of their age who subscribe to other cooking mediums. So, here’s to good health and palm oil!
Palm kernel oil is extracted from the kernel or nut of the African palm tree. This oil is rich in fatty triglycerides, and consists of about 80% saturated fats and 20% unsaturated fats. Palm kernel oil is contained in several food products such as creamers, margarine, chocolate, vegetable oil, shortening and ice cream. Depending on the quantity of each serving, this oil offers various health benefits, even to children.
Benefits of Palm Oil to Children
Boosts energy levels
Palm oil is rich in beta-carotene, which explains its orange-red color. It boosts energy levels and hormonal balance in the body.
Improves Vision
Palm oil contains beta-carotene which helps improve vision. It also contains several antioxidants that serve as defence mechanisms for the body. These healthy by-products of cellular metabolism help to protect the body from the harmful effects of free radicals. Free radicals are known to break down cells and therefore cause damage, including damage to vision. Replacing cooking oil with palm oil can therefore help negate or lower the possibility of cataracts and macular degeneration.
Ensures a healthy cardiovascular system
Palm oil is rich in good cholesterol or HDL and bad cholesterol or LDL, so it can create a healthy balance in your child’s body. Whereas high levels of HDL cholesterol lead to a decreased chance of coronary heart disease, high levels of LDL cholesterol can increase your risk of atherosclerosis, making your child more prone to heart attacks and strokes. However, a regular intake of palm oil can help maintain a healthy balance of both HDL and LDL and give your child an overall healthier cardiovascular system.
Prevents cancer
There are certain types of Vitamin A called tocopherols, that are natural antioxidants. These are very strong defence mechanisms that can work to prevent cancer building inside your child by combating and defeating the ill-effects of free radicals. These free radicals cause healthy cells to transform into cancerous cells, making the need for tocopherol and palm oil essential ingredients in your child’s good health plan.
Relieve Alzheimer’s Disease
Palm oil is rich in Vitamin A, which helps relieve Alzheimer’s Disease, retinal diabetes, night blindness, hazy vision, cancer, brain disease, malaria, etc.
Abundant in Vitamin K
Palm oil contains a high content of Vitamin K, the body’s most important fat-soluble vitamin. It helps increase bone health and is a good blood coagulant. Since palm kernel oil has high content of this vitamin, it is recommended that children make it part of their daily diet.
Good for skin and bone development
Palm oil is a wonderful source of healthy unsaturated fats and medium chain fatty acids. For these reasons, it is not only a healthy cooking medium but is also very good for developing healthy skin and bones for growing children.
Ensures healthy hair growth
Though your child can get healthy hair by eating a nutritious diet and drinking large amounts of water daily, yet the hair needs fat soluble vitamins A and E to nourish the scalp and roots. Red palm oil can do this best as it is extremely rich in Vitamin E and beta-carotene. When consumed, the body converts beta carotene to Vitamin A.
Palm oil for the hair can give astounding results. Not only does the hair grow well, but it is also a good conditioner, thickens hair and reduces the volume of hair fall substantially, thereby strengthening it. When palm oil is warmed and massaged into the hair, it gives enviable results.
Aids weight loss
Palm oil has zero trans-fat, so it is considered the best cooking oil that helps shed fat and maintain a steady weight. Obese children can benefit from eating food cooked in this oil by losing extra weight and coming down to their natural weight level.
Highly nutritious
Palm oil is packed with nutrients such as fat-soluble vitamins, and other nutrients that aid good health. It contains palmitic acid, which is known to be a 16-carbon saturated fatty acid, which sets it apart from other cooking mediums.
Conclusion
Palm oil provides wide-ranging benefits that are sadly overlooked. Right from providing benefits to the hair and skin to the rest of the body, its contribution can never be underestimated.
