No
. Many people mistaken palm oil for coconut oil and thereby think that palm oil is similar to palm kernel oil. It is palm kernel oil that is similar to coconut oil in terms of chemical composition, physical characteristics and uses (see Figure 1).
Besides fatty acid composition, palm oil also differs from coconut oil with regard to their impact on heart disease risk. Clinical trials conducted on human subjects have indicated that palm oil tends to be “neutral” while coconut oil is distinctly cholesterol-raising.
Robin Miller is a health and nutrition editor with more than 30 years of industry experience. She researches and writes about the nutritional benefits of palm fruit oil, with the goal of giving readers factual, science-based information that will be useful in their daily lives.
