Cholesterol vs. Saturated Fat in Palm Oil

QUESTION: How much cholesterol is contained in palm oil? Is the reason it
was taken off the market was because it was so high? If I wanted to
substitute palm kernel oil, would it lessen my problem? You see I have this
special recipe, and I want to use it; but everyone is so health conscious in
my family that I fear I will be chastised if I don't pay close attention to
the cholesterol content in the cake.
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ANSWER: You have need have no fear of cholesterol from either palm oil or
palm kernel oil. Vegetable oils, even tropical oils (and that includes
coconut oils as well) never contain cholesterol, which is only found in animal
products. However, tropical oils are notorious for the amounts of saturated
oil they contain, and that is just as bad for your health. To compare the
two, palm oil is 51 percent saturated, palm kernel oil is 86 percent
saturated. Coconut oil takes the prize though, as it is 92 percent saturated
oil.
Though they were never taken off the market, and are still available,
most American manufacturers of food and baked goods, for the most part,
voluntarily abandoned the use of tropical oils in 1989. The effects of
saturated oils on blood cholesterol levels can be quite serious, even if they
themselves do not contain cholesterol. Despite that, there are still a few
products, including chocolate covered cookies, coffee whiteners, some brands
of potato chips and whipped toppings that contain these oils. You can chose
to avoid these products by carefully studying the labels, and selecting only
those products that are free of tropical oils.
As for your baking, alas, I am no gourmet cook, but am sure that there
are many other baking oil products that can meet with your family's enhanced
health priorities and still permit you to prepare your specialty with little
change in its flavor or allure.