Do you know the benefits of Palm Oil?

2019 is here and we all are committed to a healthier lifestyle and a better world. Aren't we? So why not switch to things that sustain both the economy and the environment more?

One of my resolutions this year is to opt for natural things. Something which is non biodegradable won't make the cut in my lifestyle. Secondly, we all should stand up for small scale industries. We should do everything and anything that supports the farmers of developing nations. In that way (even if slowly and gradually) we can expect a (sort of) equilibrium in this world.

2019 started pretty promising. The first event that I attended seemed to resonate with my New Year Resolutions. I was invited to be a part of the Palm Oil Gourmet Delights Event, organized by Malayasian Palm Oil Council. It promised to be an informative as well as an entertaining afternoon, and the event turned out way more fun filled than that!

Dr Bhavna Shah, country representative of MPOC India/Srilanka opened our eyes about the benefits of Palm oil. This event took place in Ardor 2.1 Connaught Place.

Now coming to the key points: 

 Palm helps in economic and environmental sustainability. But how?

It is a global product with global benefits.

Palm cultivation provides employment to poor people in the developing world especially Asia and Africa.

Not only that, it benefits importing countries too. It provides around 2.8 million jobs in importing countries like the United States, Europe, China etc.

It has contributed 38 billion USD growth in global GDP.

It also benefits the environment as:

It's the world's most efficient oil seed crop.

It uses less land, less pesticides and less fertilizers than any other oilseed crop.

Palm oil has plethora of health benefits too.

It is rich in tocotrienols which has a big role in maintaining our health. Tocotrienol is one of the components of Vitamin E. Palm Oil is one of the richest sources of  Vitamin E.

There is a misconception prevailing that saturated fatty acids present in palm oil or any other vegetable oil cause heart disease. However it's not at all true. Recent studies have established that SFA have nothing to do with heart diseases.

In fact palm oil helps in lowering the blood levels of cholesterol and also inhibits the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the vessels. In short, it protects our heart.
As we all know that Vitamin E plays a major role in the well being of our skin and hair. It helps reducing wrinkles by increasing moisture content of our skin. It brings glow in our face. It also aids in the growth of our hair.
Since palm oil reduces oxidative stress in our body, it has anti cancer properties. It protects from prostatic cancer.

They are neuro protective, ie they protect our nerves.It prevents gastric ulcer diseases too. 

Last but not the least, it boosts immunity.

In a nutshell, it is equally healthy as olive oil. It yields much more than other vegetable oils like rapeseed, requires less land and pesticides and fertilizers. Hence it helps in sustaining the economy by providing employment to farmers of developing countries like that of Asia and Africa. Last but not the least, it is already a part of our lifestyle as its present in almost everything we use like frozen desserts, toothpaste, soap, detergent, pizza, bread, lipstick...and the list is endless.
So why not embrace palm oil whole heartedly?

After the amazing presentation, we went on a food Hunt where we were given clues and we had to locate the place and perform the activities there.

Our first clue led to Paandey Paan. We had a paan there which had palm oil in it. It was delicious.

Our second clue led to Punjabi By Nature. There we answered a quiz that was based on the Palm oil presentation.

Our third clue led to My Bar Headquarters. There we created a salad in which palm oil was present as one of the dressings.

After that we came back to Ardor 2.1 and had a blind tasting event where we had to guess the ingredients of the dish. I think it was Kadhai paneer. It was cooked entirely in palm oil. Then we had the winners announced and had a hearty lunch! What a great afternoon!