Palm oil, health, safety and sustainability reviewed
What it found
A group of Spanish experts reviewed the science on palm oil as a food ingredient.
They say a moderate intake within a healthy diet was not linked to health problems in people.
What they found
Studies in people
Heart risk and deaths
The authors say there is no real scientific evidence linking palm oil intake to heart problems. Death rates from heart disease are similar in countries that use palm oil for frying and in importing countries.
Cholesterol in people
A two-month trial in China gave 120 adults 48 g of olive oil or 48 g of palm oil daily. There were no differences in body fat or blood lipid profile between the two groups.
Palm oil vs trans fats
Palm oil raised HDL cholesterol, while trans fats lowered it. The rise in LDL cholesterol was greater with trans fats than with palm oil.
Cancer risk
The authors found no evidence linking palm oil consumption to higher cancer risk, incidence or mortality in humans.
Animal and lab studies
Gut bacteria in mice
In mice, a high-fat diet changed the gut bacteria and their metabolic capacity. Mice fed palm fat developed more GLP-1 producing cells, which could explain better glucose tolerance in these animals.
Other findings
Contaminants in refining
Tolerable daily intakes for 2- and 3-monochloropropanediols and glycidyl esters have been set by JECFA and EFSA. The European Commission has changed its contaminants regulation for glycidyl esters and is still working on 3-MCPDs.
Sustainability
The RSPO was founded in 2004 to address the environmental impact of palm crops. The Amsterdam Declaration aims for 100% sustainable palm oil in Europe by 2020.
What the authors conclude
“evidence shows that a moderate intake of PO within a healthy diet presents no risks for health”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that a moderate intake of palm oil within a healthy diet presents no risks for health.
- They state that no evidence justifies any change to fat intake recommendations.
- They advise that there is no evidence associating palm oil consumption with higher cancer risk, incidence or mortality in humans.
How it was done
Consumers were worried about palm oil's effects on heart health, pollutants formed during refining, and whether growing it is sustainable. The authors wanted to give an evidence-based reference point, because public messages were often skewed and incomplete.
Ten Spanish experts in food, nutrition, toxicology, sustainability and veterinary science met in Madrid in July 2018. Each gave a presentation reviewing the literature in their area, followed by group discussion, and these were used to write the document.
What it can’t tell you
- The paper is a consensus report based on expert discussion, not a new set of experiments.
- The findings on gut bacteria come from mice, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The authors note that many studies on palm oil and heart health did not account for physical activity or the position of fatty acids in the fat molecule.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Spanish Founation for Sustainable Palm Oil (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
- Authors work at
- Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
The paper
- Title
- Palm Oil on the Edge
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Gesteiro E, Guijarro L, Sánchez-Muniz FJ, et al (2019). Palm Oil on the Edge. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu11092008Free full textPubMed 31454938DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error