So what is a review of palm shortening and a giveaway of coconut oil doing on a supposedly “healthy” food blog? Aren’t those fats really bad for you? Don’t they clog your arteries? Raise your cholesterol? Give you a heart attack?
The short answer to all those questions is: no.
The long answer is: there is no real short answer to those questions, but blaming traditional fats for the heart disease issues in this nation is misled at best and illogical at worst. I have been reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food lately, and he explains so well how we as a nation became duped by the “lipid hypothesis” that affected our diets so drastically to our great detriment. Do fats play a part in heart disease? Possibly. But to say so is to ignore all the many other factors in the Western diet that affect every organ in our body, including our heart: high amounts of refined sugar and flour, low levels of Omega-3s, increased consumption of corn and soy, and on and on and on. Furthermore, this nation first saw unprecedented rates of heart disease when margarine was introduced early last century, and has not improved since then, no matter how much harder we try to avoid saturated fats. Whereas our ancestors, who ate lard and butter to their hearts content, suffered from heart disease at a normal proportion to the population, we avoid saturated fats like the plague and still find that heart disease is our number one killer. While it’s true that deaths from heart disease have been reduced in the past few decades, just as many people - if not more - are being diagnosed with heart disease as they have been since that fatal introduction of margarine. (Most of this information comes from Michael Pollan’s book, but I’ve seen these statistics elsewhere.)
Contrast this situation with that of the tropical nations, whose people consume a diet rich in highly saturated vegetable fats like palm and coconut oils. Tropical countries do not even appear on the World Health Organizations list of the top 25 countries with high mortality rates from heart disease. Once again, boiling down the issue of heart disease to one aspect alone - fat - would be misleading and illogical, and yet it’s an element that cannot be ignored. Certainly, unlike “developed” countries that avoid saturated fats like the plague, those fats don’t seem to be doing any harm to tropical populations who consume them regularly.
One thing to remember, it’s highly unlikely that those countries mentioned are manufacturing and processing those oils beyond recognition, which is what happens here in the United States when those oils are used in food production. This is why Tropical Traditions is such a valuable source of healthy, whole fats, like palm shortening and coconut oil.
Here’s some information about how Tropical Traditions produces their palm shortening:
Tropical Traditions Organic Palm Shortening comes from small scale family farms in South America. These farmers are certified by ProForest, which ensures that they meet strict social, environmental and technical criteria. With regard to environmental criteria, the assessments are carried out at the landscape and operational level at both the farms and processing facilities. These assessments cover environmental impact on the soil, water, air, biodiversity and local communities.
Palm shortening is derived from palm oil. In its natural state, palm oil is a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, with most of the unsaturated fat being monounsaturated fat. Palm shortening is palm oil that has some of its unsaturated fats removed, giving it a very firm texture, and high melting point. The melting point of our Organic Palm Shortening is 97 degrees F., making it very shelf stable. It is NOT hydrogenised, and contains NO trans fats!
I had the opportunity to try this Organic Palm Shortening recently. In a word (or 3): I love it! For someone who never used vegetable shortening because of its definite lack of nutrition, it’s wonderful to have a healthy version to use in baking and frying. Palm oil shortening adds no taste, so you can use it in a broad spectrum of applications, like:
- Grandma’s Biscuits
- Whole Wheat Tortillas
- Gingersnaps
- Pie Crust/Pastries
- French Fries
- Donuts
If you’ve never tried palm shortening before, give it a try! From now until Monday, September 12, you can get 10% off your order through Tropical Traditions by using the code 120911. With this sale and the current price, you can get palm shortening for even cheaper than the brands available in the grocery store! Plus, for first time customers, you will receive a free copy of Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil book.
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
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