JAKARTA – The statement of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in May 2016 that palm oil is potential to cause cancer had again triggered controversy. Actually, such accusation was not new. The negative campaigns against palm oil have long been launched by western countries, especially when their products of vegetable oils became less competitive at the global market.

In the meantime, those western countries have often mentioned the principles of free and fair trade. But apparently, in practices they applied unfair trade strategies for the sake of protecting their own commodities that were less competitive in their own market, as explained in the report of PASPI (2017).

Accusations From Cholesterol To Cancer Trigger

The negative campaigns about palm oil changed since the 1980s. Initially, the United States of America (USA) accused palm oil of containing high cholesterol, with the aim to lift the competitiveness of their soybean oil at the international market. However, the accusation was dropped after nutritionists and health experts proved scientifically that palm oil does not contain cholesterol.

After failing with the cholesterol issue, they changed their theme of negative campaigns to a claim of trans fatty acids which can trigger heart and blood vessel disease. As a matter of fact, the palm oil is not processed through hydrogenation. On this case, the palm oil is different from other vegetable oils such as soybean, sunflower, canola, or olive oil, which must be hydrogenated to become solid.

 

When the trans fat issue was also debunked, their accusation shifted to heavy metals, peroxides, and finally cancer. The issue of potential cancer trigger was then raised again to instill  negative perceptions of palm oil among consumers.

Free Radicals, Not Palm Oil, Cause Cancer

People are afraid of cancer because this disease is life-threatening and can be fatal. The causes of cancer are very diverse, ranging from radiation exposure, viral infections, to certain chemicals. However, modern theory suggests that one of the main triggers of cancer is free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage body cells and trigger genetic mutations.

So, what’s the solution? The free radicals must be neutralized. And it is in this case, the palm oil can actually show its important role. Palm oil is rich in natural antioxidants such as beta carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin E in the form of tocopherols and tocotrienols, which function to fight free radicals.

Research Proves Palm Oil Can Prevent Cancer Cells

Many domestic and foreign studies have shown the benefits of palm oil in fighting cancer. A study by Chong YH (1987) found that palm oil can inhibit tumor growth, even more effectively than soybean oil.

Research by Muhilal and a team from the Center for Nutrition Research and Development, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (1991), also showed that palm oil can control the growth and volume of tumor.

Other studies summarized by PASPI (2017) also prove the advantages of palm oil as follows:

• Strengthening antithrombocytes (Hornsta, 1988)
• Preventing breast cancer (Sylvester et al., 1986; Sundram et al., 1989)
• Inhibiting cancer cell growth in vivo (Komiyama et al., 1989; Goh et al., 1994)
• Inhibiting cancer cells in vitro (Gutrie et al., 1993; 1994)

Palm Oil: Rich In Protein, Safe, and Anti-Cancer

Having the contents of vitamin A, vitamin E, and other active compounds, palm oil deserves to be called a nutrient-rich vegetable oil. Besides being safe, the palm oil also plays an important role in preventing and inhibiting the growth of cancer cells.

Based on the facts, the accusation that palm oil is a trigger of cancer has no strong scientific basis. On the contrary, scientific evidence shows that palm oil is an important source of nutrients and plays an active role in maintaining human health. (*)