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Tropical Oils

• ℹPalm Oil

  Palm oil is pressed from the fruit of the oil palm; palm kernel oil comes from the seed inside that same fruit. Neither is a typical seed oil: the concerns people cite when avoiding seed oils are a high omega-6 linoleic acid load and the oxidation that polyunsaturated fats are prone to during refining and heating, and both palm oils are mostly saturated fat, with very little omega-6 and much greater oxidative stability. Palm oil is around half saturated fat, mostly palmitic acid, and a meta-analysis of controlled trials found it raises LDL cholesterol compared with vegetable oils low in saturated fat; palm kernel oil is more saturated again. Both stay solid at room temperature without hydrogenation, which is why coatings use them.

  Sun et al., Journal of Nutrition (2015)

Emulsifiers & Thickeners

• ℹCellulose Gum

  Also called carboxymethylcellulose, a thickener. A randomised controlled feeding trial in healthy adults found it altered gut bacteria and reduced the protective mucus layer of the gut. The trial was small and short.

  Chassaing et al., Gastroenterology (2022)
• ℹCarrageenan

  A seaweed extract used to stop drinks separating. Animal and cell studies report inflammation and irritation of the gut lining. Human evidence at the levels used in food is limited, and regulators currently consider it safe.

  Tobacman, Environmental Health Perspectives (2001)