The Palm Oil Miracle

Palm oil has been used as both a food and a medicine for thousands of years. It was prized by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt as a sacred food. Today palm oil is the most widely used oil in the world. In tropical Africa and Southeast Asia it is an integral part of a healthy diet just as olive oil is in the Mediterranean. Palm oil possesses excellent cooking properties. It is more heat stable than other vegetable oils and imparts in foods and baked goods superior taste, texture, and quality. Palm oil is one of the world's healthiest oils. As a natural vegetable oil, it contains no trans fatty acids or cholesterol. It is currently being used by doctors and government agencies to treat specific illnesses and improve nutritional status. Recent medical studies have shown that palm oil, particularly virgin (red) palm oil, can protect against many common health problems. Some of the health benefits include: Improves blood circulation; Protects against heart disease; Protects against cancer; Boosts immunity; Improves blood sugar control; Improves nutrient absorption and vitamin and mineral status; Aids in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition; Supports healthy lung function; Supports healthy liver function; Helps strengthen bones and teeth; Supports eye health; Highest natural source of health promoting tocotrienols; Helps protect against mental deterioration, including Alzheimer's disease; Richest dietary source of vitamin E and beta-carotene.

A completely revised and updated guide for maximizing the health and beauty benefits of coconut oil For years, The Coconut Oil Miracle has been a reliable guide for men and women alike. Now in its fifth edition, this revised and updated version has even more information on the benefits of coconut oil and shows readers how to use it for maximum effect, including a nutrition plan with 50 delicious recipes. Coconut oil is much more than just a fad. It is a uniquely curative elixir that has been shown to have countless health benefits. When taken as a dietary supplement, used in cooking, or applied directly to the skin, coconut oil has been found to: • Promote weight loss • Help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's, and many other degenerative diseases • Strengthen the immune system • Improve digestion • Prevent premature aging of the skin • Beautify skin and hair Dr. Bruce Fife is widely recognized as one of the leading authorities on the health benefits of coconut oil. This newest edition of The Coconut Oil Miracle is updated with crucial information, including the latest studies on links between coconut oil and benefits relating to heart function, Alzheimer’s prevention, bodily detoxification, weight loss, and many other hot topics.

The rapid development of oil palm cultivation feeds many social issues such as biodiversity, deforestation, food habits or ethical investments. How can this palm be viewed as a ‘miracle plant’ by both the agro-food industry in the North and farmers in the tropical zone, but a serious ecological threat by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) campaigning for the environment or rights of local indigenous peoples? In the present book the authors – a biologist and an agricultural economist- describe a global and complex tropical sector, for which the interests of the many different stakeholders are often antagonistic. Oil palm has become emblematic of recent changes in North-South relationship in agricultural development. Indeed, palm oil is produced and consumed in the South; its trade is driven by emerging countries, although the major part of its transformations is made in the North that still hosts the largest multinational agro industries. It is also in the North that the sector is challenged on ethical and environmental issues. Public controversy over palm oil is often opinionated and it is fed by definitive and sometimes exaggerated statements. Researchers are conveying a more nuanced speech, which is supported by scientific data and a shared field experience. Their work helps in building a more balanced view, moving attention to the South, the region of exclusive production and major consumption of palm oil.

When taken as a supplement, used in cooking, or applied directly to the skin, coconut oil has been found to promote weight loss, help protect against many diseases, strengthen the immune system, improve digestion, and prevent premature aging of the skin.

Whether you realize it or not, you are likely consuming palm oil every single day. Palm oil is the most widely used oil in the world. You will find it in the majority of the packaged foods you buy at the grocery store. You are likely eating it every time you go to a restaurant. Even the foods you get at health food stores contain palm oil. The amount of palm oil used in our foods has dramatically increased over the past few years. In an attempt to reduce the amount toxic trans fats in our foods, food manufacturers have been replacing hydrogenated vegetable oils with other oils, principally palm oil. However, is this a wise move? Palm oil contains a high percentage of saturated fat. Some people have questioned the addition of more saturated fat into the diet. What effect will it have on our health? Some say it will increase the risks of heart disease and obesity, while others claim it will protect against these conditions and promote improved health. The media has loudly sounded the alarm against palm oil citing massive deforestation and the destruction of native wildlife as virgin land is cleared for oil palm cultivation. Yet, others claim the media’s attack against palm oil is nothing more than a cleverly orchestrated publicity campaign spearheaded by the competing seed oil industry. With all of the conflicting information in the media and on the Internet, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. What is the truth? Is palm oil destroying our health and the planet or is it of benefit to us and the environment? This book exposes the lies and who is behind them, and reveals the facts.

Finalist, Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism In the tradition of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, a groundbreaking global investigation into the industry ravaging the environment and global health—from the James Beard Award–winning journalist Over the past few decades, palm oil has seeped into every corner of our lives. Worldwide, palm oil production has nearly doubled in just the last decade: oil-palm plantations now cover an area nearly the size of New Zealand, and some form of the commodity lurks in half the products on U.S. grocery shelves. But the palm oil revolution has been built on stolen land and slave labor; it’s swept away cultures and so devastated the landscapes of Southeast Asia that iconic animals now teeter on the brink of extinction. Fires lit to clear the way for plantations spew carbon emissions to rival those of industrialized nations. James Beard Award–winning journalist Jocelyn C. Zuckerman spent years traveling the globe, from Liberia to Indonesia, India to Brazil, reporting on the human and environmental impacts of this poorly understood plant. The result is Planet Palm, a riveting account blending history, science, politics, and food as seen through the people whose lives have been upended by this hidden ingredient. This groundbreaking work of first-rate journalism compels us to examine the connections between the choices we make at the grocery store and a planet under siege.

The oil palm industry has transformed rural livelihoods and landscapes across wide swathes of Indonesia and Malaysia, generating wealth along with economic, social, and environmental controversy. Who benefits and who loses from oil palm development? Can oil palm development provide a basis for inclusive and sustainable rural development? Based on detailed studies of specific communities and plantations and an analysis of the regional political economy of oil palm, this book unpicks the dominant policy narratives, business strategies, models of land acquisition, and labour-processes. It presents the oil palm industry in Malaysia and Indonesia as a complex system in which land, labour and capital are closely interconnected. Understanding this complex is a prerequisite to developing better strategies to harness the oil palm boom for a more equitable and sustainable pattern of rural development.