ICMR dietary guidelines 2024 highlight Palm Oil as a better dietary choice
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The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) have recently released the "Dietary Guidelines for Indians-2024," highlighting the nutritional significance of using a diverse variety of oil seeds, nuts, and whole grains for providing a balance of all fatty acids (lipids).
The guidelines underscored the essential role of dietary fats in nutrition. Fats provide concentrated energy, aid in the absorption of nutrients, and enhance the overall diet satisfaction. Among the oils recognized for their health benefits, palm oil was highlighted due to its balanced composition of fatty acids and rich nutrient profile. It is included alongside other beneficial oils such as groundnut, cottonseed, sesame, and olive, which are all noted for their high content of monounsaturated fatty acids.
Palm oil, in particular, helps lower blood cholesterol levels and these benefits are attributed to the oil's minor components like tocopherols and sterols, which are largely antioxidants. While palm oil and other plant-based oils are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, they also contain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic (n-6) and linolenic (n-3) acids, found only in plant foods.
“Like all vegetable oils, palm oil does not contain cholesterol, which is found only in animal-based foods. Instead, plant oils include beneficial substances such as lignans, sterols, tocopherols (vitamin E), oryzanol, and carotenoids, which are known to reduce cholesterol and oxidative damage associated with aging and chronic diseases,” stated the guidelines.
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