Palm oil is in about half of all packaged goods, yet most people can’t say whether it’s harmless, unhealthy, or an environmental disaster. This article lays out what the evidence actually says — from heart health risks to rainforest loss — so you can decide for yourself.

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Saturated fat content in palm oil: 50% ·
Global annual palm oil production: 70 million tons ·
Tropical deforestation attributed to palm oil: 15% ·
LDL cholesterol increase from palm oil consumption: Up to 10% in some studies ·
Countries relying on palm oil imports: Over 50 countries

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
4What’s next
  • EU implementing stricter contamination limits on refined palm oil (Medical News Today (health media outlet))
  • Consumer demand shifting toward certified sustainable palm oil (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal))

Five key facts at a glance, one pattern: palm oil’s high saturated fat content and its environmental costs are well-documented, while the long-term health effects of current consumption levels remain debated.

Fact Value
Saturated fat content 50%
Global production 70 million tons per year
Deforestation attribution 15% of tropical deforestation
Primary producers Indonesia and Malaysia (85% of global supply)
LDL cholesterol increase Up to 10% in some studies

What this means: palm oil’s high saturated fat content is clearly linked to higher cholesterol, but its global prevalence makes it hard to avoid entirely for most consumers.

What is the problem with palm oil?

Why is palm oil considered unhealthy?

  • Palm oil contains 50% saturated fat, more than butter (52%) but less than coconut oil (87%) — and significantly more than olive oil (14%) (World Health Organization (global dietary guidance body)).
  • A systematic review published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization found that palm oil consumption increased blood levels of atherogenic LDL cholesterol (Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO journal)).
  • The same review reported that palm oil has been associated in some studies with higher ischaemic heart disease mortality (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).

Should you avoid eating palm oil?

Bottom line: Palm oil is undeniably high in saturated fat and raises LDL cholesterol. For most adults: moderate intake as part of a balanced diet is unlikely to cause harm, but replacing it with unsaturated oils is a better choice for heart health.

The catch: the same saturated fat that makes palm oil a cholesterol raiser also makes it cheap and shelf-stable — which is exactly why manufacturers use it in the first place.

Is palm oil worse than olive oil?

The comparison, one pattern: olive oil delivers mostly monounsaturated fat with proven benefits, while palm oil’s saturated fat content places it in the same category as butter and coconut oil for heart health.

Oil Saturated Fat Monounsaturated Fat Polyunsaturated Fat Heart Health Evidence
Palm oil 50% 39% 11% Mixed — raises LDL, unclear on antioxidants (CSPI (consumer advocacy))
Olive oil (virgin) 14% 73% 11% Strong — reduces cardiovascular risk (CSPI (consumer advocacy))
Canola oil 7% 63% 28% Strong — lower LDL (CSPI (consumer advocacy))
Coconut oil 87% 6% 2% Negative — raises LDL significantly (CSPI (consumer advocacy))

The pattern: palm oil’s saturated fat content is 3.5 times higher than olive oil’s. For anyone choosing a daily cooking oil, the health evidence clearly favors olive or canola over palm.

What are the top 3 healthiest oils?

  • Olive oil: 14% saturated fat, 73% monounsaturated fat. Associated with reduced cardiovascular risk (Center for Science in the Public Interest (consumer advocacy group)).
  • Canola oil: 7% saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat (Center for Science in the Public Interest (consumer advocacy group)).
  • Avocado oil: 12% saturated fat, high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (GoodRx (health information platform)).

What are the 7 bad oils?

  • Oils often considered less healthy due to high saturated fat or processing: palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil (when hydrogenated), partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), and palm olein (Center for Science in the Public Interest (consumer advocacy group)).
  • Palm oil appears on this list primarily because of its saturated fat content (50% saturated) — not because it contains trans fat (GoodRx (health information platform)).

Is palm oil cancerous?

Is palm oil inflammatory?

  • Some studies suggest that processing palm oil at high temperatures can create glycidol, a potential carcinogen. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has raised concerns about these contaminants (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).
  • However, the inflammation link is not well-established. Current evidence does not conclusively show that palm oil directly causes inflammation at typical dietary levels (Medical News Today (health media outlet)).
  • Refined palm oil undergoes higher processing temperatures than virgin red palm oil, which may increase contaminant levels (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).

Is palm oil bad for your stomach?

  • There is limited evidence that palm oil directly harms the stomach. Most concerns focus on cardiovascular effects rather than digestive issues (GoodRx (health information platform)).
  • Some people report bloating or discomfort after consuming fried foods made with palm oil, but this is likely due to the fat content overall rather than palm oil specifically (Medical News Today (health media outlet)).
Bottom line: Current evidence does not confirm that palm oil causes cancer in humans at normal dietary intake. The potential risk comes from processing contaminants (glycidol), not from palm oil itself. For consumers: choosing less processed or certified sustainable palm oil may reduce exposure.

The implication: the cancer concern is real for refined palm oil used in processed foods, but it’s a manufacturing issue, not an inherent property of the fruit itself.

Is palm oil bad for you in peanut butter?

Is palm oil bad for you in chocolate?

  • Palm oil is added to peanut butter and chocolate spreads for texture and stability — it prevents separation and gives a smooth mouthfeel (Medical News Today (health media outlet)).
  • Small amounts in peanut butter (typically less than 2 grams per serving) may not be harmful for most people, especially if the rest of the diet is low in saturated fat (GoodRx (health information platform)).
  • Alternatives include cocoa butter for chocolate products, or shea butter for spreads — both have lower saturated fat content (Medical News Today (health media outlet)).

Why does M&S use palm oil?

  • Marks & Spencer, like many retailers, uses palm oil because it is cheap, stable at high temperatures, and gives products a longer shelf life (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).
  • The company has committed to using only Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil (Medical News Today (health media outlet)).
  • Retailers argue that boycotting palm oil entirely could shift demand to other oils with even higher land-use impacts (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).
The trade-off

For peanut butter buyers: a serving with palm oil adds about 1.5 grams of saturated fat — roughly 7% of the daily recommended limit. Choosing palm-oil-free peanut butter cuts that to zero, but the product may separate and require stirring.

The catch: palm oil in peanut butter is a small contributor to total saturated fat intake for most people. The bigger concern is cumulative intake from multiple processed foods throughout the day.

Is palm oil bad for the environment?

Environmental costs in perspective: palm oil production is responsible for roughly 15% of tropical deforestation globally, with damage concentrated in Indonesia and Malaysia.

  • The World Health Organization’s Bulletin describes palm oil’s cultivation practices as detrimental — linked to deforestation, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and respiratory illnesses from slash-and-burn clearing (Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO journal)).
  • The 2015 haze episode from burning Indonesian peatlands was estimated to cause about 100,000 premature deaths across Southeast Asia (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).
  • Slash-and-burn practices for oil palm expansion have been linked to increases in respiratory, eye, skin, and cardiovascular diseases (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).

Is organic palm oil bad for you?

  • Organic palm oil may reduce pesticide and chemical fertilizer use, but it does not address deforestation — organic palm plantations still clear rainforest for new plantings (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).
  • From a health perspective, organic palm oil has the same saturated fat content (50%) as conventional palm oil (GoodRx (health information platform)).
  • Organic certification does not guarantee lower processing contaminants — glycidol can still form during high-temperature refining (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed medical journal)).

Is palm oil a seed oil?

  • No. Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis), not from the seed (Journal of Oleo Science (academic journal)).
  • Palm kernel oil, which comes from the seed inside the fruit, is different from palm fruit oil and has even higher saturated fat content (82%) (Center for Science in the Public Interest (consumer advocacy group)).
  • Classifying palm oil as a seed oil is a common misconception — it is technically a fruit oil, like olive oil (Medical News Today (health media outlet)).
The paradox

Palm oil is the most land-efficient vegetable oil (4× more oil per hectare than soybean or rapeseed), but its expansion is concentrated in high-biodiversity tropical forests. Boycotting it could shift demand to oils that need more land — possibly causing even more deforestation overall.

Why this matters: for environmentally conscious consumers, the choice is not simply “palm oil vs. no palm oil.” The real question is which palm oil — certified sustainable or not — and whether the alternatives actually have a smaller footprint.

Confirmed facts

  • Palm oil is 50% saturated fat and raises LDL cholesterol (WHO (global dietary guidance body))
  • Palm oil production drives 15% of tropical deforestation (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed journal))
  • WHO continues to recommend limiting saturated fat intake (WHO (global dietary guidance body))
  • Slash-and-burn clearing causes harmful haze and respiratory diseases (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed journal))

What’s unclear

  • Whether palm oil processing contaminants (glycidol) cause cancer at typical intake levels (NIH/PMC (peer-reviewed journal))
  • Whether palm oil’s tocotrienol antioxidants offset saturated fat effects (Medical News Today (health media))
  • Whether organic palm oil meaningfully reduces health risks (GoodRx (health information))

“Palm oil is high in saturated fat, which directly increases LDL cholesterol — the same type of cholesterol linked to heart disease.”

— Harvard Health Publishing (academic medical publication)

“The palm oil industry is causing large-scale deforestation, habitat destruction for critically endangered species like the orangutan, and contributing to climate change.”

— World Wildlife Fund (international conservation NGO)

“A systematic review found palm oil consumption increased blood levels of atherogenic LDL cholesterol, but evidence on cardiovascular outcomes remains mixed.”

— Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO journal — authors of the palm oil review)

For anyone shopping for groceries, the choice between health and environmental impact is not straightforward. Palm oil raises bad cholesterol and drives deforestation, but it is also the most land-efficient vegetable oil on the market. Replacing it with other oils could, perversely, require more agricultural land overall. The clearest step: reduce reliance on ultra-processed foods where palm oil is most concentrated, and when buying packaged goods, look for RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil as a minimum standard.

Additional sources

palmoilis.mpob.gov.my, verywellhealth.com, www-ng.bpdp.or.id

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Frequently asked questions

Is palm oil vegan?

Yes, palm oil is plant-based and suitable for vegan diets. It comes from the fruit of the oil palm tree.

Can palm oil be part of a healthy diet?

In moderate amounts, yes — but it is high in saturated fat (50%), so replacing it with unsaturated oils like olive or canola is healthier for most people.

What foods commonly contain palm oil?

About half of all packaged goods contain palm oil: peanut butter, chocolate spreads, crackers, instant noodles, margarine, cookies, and many personal care products like soap and toothpaste.

How is palm oil processed?

Fresh palm fruit is sterilized, pressed for crude oil, then refined and bleached at high temperatures to remove color and odor. Refining can create contaminants like glycidol.

Is red palm oil healthier than refined?

Red palm oil is less processed and retains more antioxidants (carotenoids, tocotrienols) than refined palm oil, but it still contains 50% saturated fat. It is a marginal improvement, not a health food.

Does palm oil contain trans fat?

Naturally, no. But during partial hydrogenation (rare for palm oil), trans fats can form. Most palm oil in packaged foods is not hydrogenated.

What is the difference between palm oil and palm kernel oil?

Palm oil comes from the fruit’s pulp (50% saturated fat). Palm kernel oil comes from the seed (82% saturated fat). Palm kernel oil is closer to coconut oil in composition.

The upshot

For consumers trying to reduce their intake: cutting ultra-processed foods is more effective than hunting down and eliminating palm oil ingredient by ingredient. For environmentally motivated shoppers: RSPO-certified palm oil is a meaningful step above conventional, but does not solve deforestation entirely.

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