Food Decoded: Not All Processed Food Is Bad
Your food choices don't stay on your plate. They end up in your body. And, here in Singapore, they can end up in the air you breathe.
With haze back in the headlines, it's worth looking at one ingredient that connects all three: palm oil. Here's what it is, where it hides, what it means for your health, and how to make smarter choices without overthinking every meal.
Quick answer: Palm oil is in roughly half of packaged supermarket products, from biscuits to shampoo. It's about 50% saturated fat, so eating less of it supports heart health. Some of the land cleared for palm plantations is burned, which contributes to the regional haze. The simplest fix is to eat more whole foods, read ingredient labels, and use the Healthier Choice Symbol as a shortcut.
The chain: from the forest to your fork
Every link in this chain starts with a choice. Including yours.
On your plate: palm oil is everywhere
WWF estimates that palm oil is in close to 50% of packaged products in supermarkets, and not just food.
But don't just boycott it. Oil palm produces several times more oil per hectare than soy, rapeseed or sunflower. Replace it completely and you could end up clearing more land, not less. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) makes the case that the goal is better palm oil, not no palm oil.
In your body: same label, two reasons to read it
What's on the label isn't just about the forest. It's about what goes into you.
Why it matters: saturated fat raises LDL ("bad") cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease. The World Health Organization recommends keeping saturated fat below 10% of your daily energy intake.
Not a villain, not a health food. Palm oil mostly hides in packaged snacks, baked goods and fried foods. Eat more whole foods and you'll cut it without trying.
Even the "sustainable" label isn't proof
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is the industry's main certification body, and its members are banned from using fire. But a 2019 Greenpeace analysis found that 21 of the 30 palm oil groups most linked to Indonesia's fires were RSPO members, in whole or in part. Those groups accounted for around 73% of the burned land across all 30 groups between 2015 and 2018.
How? Some groups certify only part of their business. One estate can carry the logo while a related company clears land elsewhere.
The RSPO disputed Greenpeace's analysis, saying it misunderstood the RSPO's fire monitoring tools.
3 smarter choices at the shelf
- Read the label. Palm oil can appear as palm kernel oil, palm olein, palm stearin, palmitate, or simply "vegetable oil".
- Treat RSPO as a start. Certified means lower risk, not zero risk.
- Use the Healthier Choice Symbol. No time to read every panel? The Health Promotion Board's logo flags products that meet its nutrition standards. It's a two-second shortcut.
Better for the forest. Better for your body.
Your training: you track your lifts, track your fuel
- Gym snacks are packaged food too. Protein bars, granola and energy bites deserve the same label check as everything else.
- Read the panel, not the front. "High protein" on the wrapper says nothing about saturated fat per serve. The nutrition panel does.
- Pack your gym snack. Bring it from home, so you're not grabbing whatever's at the counter.
Your training is only as strong as what fuels it.
Start with real food
You can't clear the haze. You can choose what's on your plate.
Fruit, vegetables, eggs, fish, tofu, rice. No label to decode.
You choose the oil, and how much goes in.
Fewer ingredients, fewer places for palm oil to hide.
Better for your body. Better for the air we share.
Want help with your nutrition?
At Strength Clinic Academy, nutritionists work alongside our physiotherapists and personal trainers, so what you eat supports how you train and recover.
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The Experience Pack, usually S$776. For first-time clients.
Includes a 30-minute health assessment, three 60-minute personal training sessions, and your choice of a nutrition consultation (45 min), metabolic review (30 min) or physiotherapy session (30 min).
Frequently asked questions
Is palm oil bad for you?
Palm oil isn't a villain, but it isn't a health food either. It's about 50% saturated fat, which raises LDL cholesterol. The WHO recommends keeping saturated fat below 10% of daily energy. Eating fewer packaged and fried foods is the easiest way to cut back.
How can I tell if a product contains palm oil?
Check the ingredients list for palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm olein, palm stearin, palmitate, or "vegetable oil", which may include palm oil.
Does palm oil cause the haze in Singapore?
Some land in Indonesia is cleared for plantations, including palm oil, using fire. The smoke from these fires contributes to the regional haze that affects Singapore.
Is RSPO-certified palm oil sustainable?
RSPO certification lowers the risk, but it isn't a guarantee. Greenpeace analysis has linked RSPO-member groups to fires, which the RSPO disputes. Treat the label as a starting point.
What is the Healthier Choice Symbol?
It's a logo from Singapore's Health Promotion Board that marks products meeting its nutrition standards, such as lower saturated fat, sugar or sodium than similar products.
Fuel the way you train
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Food Decoded is an SCA series. Read Part 2: Not All Processed Food Is Bad.
Sources
- Koplitz SN, et al. Public health impacts of the severe haze in Equatorial Asia in September to October 2015. Environmental Research Letters. 2016;11:094023.
- WWF. Palm oil: which everyday products contain palm oil.
- Meijaard E, et al. Oil palm and biodiversity: a situation analysis by the IUCN Oil Palm Task Force. IUCN; 2018.
- Harvard Health Publishing. Saturated fat content of palm and palm kernel oil.
- World Health Organization. Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline. 2023.
- Greenpeace International. Burning Down the House. 2019.
- Health Promotion Board Singapore. Healthier Choice Symbol.