Peanut oil is a type of vegetable oil that is extracted from peanuts, and it is famous for its use in Chinese cuisine and Southeast Asian countries, and this oil has many health benefits that we will talk about in detail in this article.

Peanut oil benefits

There are a variety of health benefits of this oil, including the following:

1. Improve heart health

This oil contains a rich percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, which helps reduce the proportion of harmful cholesterol in the blood and increase the proportion of good cholesterol, so the use of this oil is an ideal choice for heart patients, which prevents coronary artery disease and heart attacks.

2. Improve insulin production

This oil contains oleic acid, an acid that helps improve insulin production to treat type 2 diabetes, and helps reduce inflammation associated with this disease. In addition, this oil contains multiple unsaturated fatty acids, which improve glucose levels. in the blood and treats insulin resistance.

3. Cancer resistance

This oil contains phytosterols, which help reduce the risk of various types of cancer such as prostate, colon, lung and breast cancer. These compounds also contribute to the health of the immune system.

4. Benefits of peanut oil for hair

This oil helps reduce protein loss in hair, increase hair thickening and hydration, and treat split ends and dandruff.

5. Peanut oil benefits for skin

Applying this oil directly on the skin or using some cosmetics that contain it helps in increasing the hydration of dry skin, and reducing the symptoms associated with eczema such as dry skin, itchy skin and redness.

6. Treating some stomach problems

The use of this oil helps to treat many stomach problems, such as diarrhea, constipation and digestion problems.

Peanut oil uses

There are many uses for this type of oil, including the following:

1. Cooking

This oil has a low saturated fat content, which makes it a healthy oil for cooking, and its high burning point makes it a suitable choice for frying.

2. Soap manufacturing

This oil is used in the manufacture of soap, due to the ability of this oil to moisturize the skin, but there is a drawback to this type of soap, which is the rapid volatility of the oil from it, which may lead to soap rancidity.

3. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

This oil was used in the 1960s in some flu medications to boost the health of the body’s immune system.

Peanut oil side effects

There are a number of harms that may result from the use of this oil, including:

1. Peanut allergy

Peanut allergy occurs more often in children, and results in severe allergic reactions such as vomiting, stomach pain, swelling of the lips and throat, difficulty breathing, chest congestion, and sometimes death.

2. High content of omega-6 fatty acids

This oil is high in omega-6 fatty acids, so excessive intake of this oil increases the risk of heart disease.

3. Weight gain

As we mentioned, this oil contains many healthy fatty acids, but excessive intake of them causes weight gain and obesity.

4. Oxidation rate

Despite the many health benefits of this oil, it is one of the quick-oxidizing oils, so we recommend diversifying the use of other foodstuffs that contain fatty acids such as nuts, olive oil and coconut.

After recognizing some of the health benefits of peanut oil, these benefits can be taken advantage of, while being careful not to overuse it.