Palm oil and cardiovascular disease: Effects of red palm olein - rich diet on plasma lipid pattern in hypercholesterolemic patients.

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death worldwide at the turn of the XXI century.The World Health Organization in its report (2003) states that there is convincing evidence that palmitic oil consumption contributes to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. In this context, palm oil was attacked since it is a rich source of saturated fatty acids. Howevr, while the effects of palm oil on CVD risk factors have been relatively well investigated in the past, there are very few studies concerning the effects of red palm olein and the results obtained are highly inconsistent and controversial. These findings suggest that further studies are needed to assess the real effect of red palm olein rich-diet on lipid profile related to CVD risk factors.