Does Palm Wine Increase Weight?
Published by Inna on 26th Sep 2021
At niyis.co.uk, we bring some of the best flavours and products from Africa and across the Caribbean to the U.K, delivering them right to your doorstep. One of the most popular products that we source is Palm wine – specifically the popular Nkulenu brand. While some may have never heard of palm wine, it is not a new concept and has been popular in many countries around the globe, such as Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana, for a number of years.
Palm wine is a product that is created by collecting sap from palm trees. A hole is generally drilled in the palm tree, and a fire is lit inside the tree, allowing the hot sap to drip out. This sap is then collected and left to ferment, allowing the liquid to become alcoholic. Pure palm wine only lasts a few days, meaning that it is difficult to transport. Many companies, however, have managed to bottle it, mixed with some preservatives so that anyone can enjoy it, anywhere.
Palm wine comes with a number of benefits – it has been known to aid digestion, reduce the risk of heart disease and improve eyesight. There are, however, questions surrounding the wines sugar content, which gives the wine its unique, sweet and addictive flavour. Let’s take a closer look at this.
What Is Palm Wine Made Up Of?
These ingredients mean that palm wine has a number of nutritional health benefits. Compared to other alcoholic drinks, palm wine has a lower alcoholic content. The yeast, lactic acid and acetic acid in the wine is great for digestion and calming the stomach. In addition to this, palm wine has been described as an antioxidant. Antioxidants can help slow down any damage to cells that are caused by free radicals produced by the body. The National Cancer Institute go as far as stating that these harmful free radicals play a part in conditions like cancer and heart disease, so antioxidants, like palm wine, can greatly benefit the body.
Palm Wine and Its Impact On Weight
Palm wine does have a high sugar content, which contributes to its sweet and buttery taste. It is therefore not recommended for regular consumption by people that are living with diabetes and should be drunk in moderation.
The amount of sugar in the drink is at its highest when the palm is first harvested. Throughout the fermentation process to create the drink, the sugar content does reduce, however it is still higher than many other alcoholic drinks. Therefore, many question whether it has an impact on weight, causing a person who drinks it regularly to get fatter. To discover whether this is accurate, we need to look at the scientific evidence.
What Does The Scientific Evidence Say?
There have been a few studies that have investigated the impact of palm wine on body weight. One such study was published in the Jeca Journal. In this study, scientists conducted an experiment on ten adult male rats of a similar size. The rats were split into two groups – group A and group B. Both groups within the experiment had access to their food and water as normal. One group, however, was given 10ml/kg body weight of palm wine each day for three weeks, while the other was given a control substance.
The palm wine was made from the sap from palm trees harvested from a local farmer that supplies palm sap for many businesses. It was kept in a cool refrigerator and replaced with fresh palm wine every four days. This was to ensure that the palm wine was just like what would be consumed by humans.
Throughout the survey, the rats in both groups were weighed using an electronic scale to track if they had increased or decreased their weight. The results of the study found that both groups increased their weight, but by a similar amount throughout the process, whether they had drunk the palm wine or not. Therefore, scientists concluded that the palm wine did not have a significant impact on weight gain.
While this study was on animals rather than humans, many believe that the results will be the same, and therefore, palm wine does not significantly increase weight, and there is no evidence to prove the contrary.
Conclusion
If you are looking to source palm wine within the U.K., we recommend Nkulenu palm wine. Sourced from Ghana, the palm wine includes sap from a variety of palm trees combined to create its unique taste. You can buy Nkulenu palm wine on our website here.
We work tirelessly to provide you with products from around the globe, making us your one stop shop for all African and Caribbean products. One of the key components of our mission is to not only source foods that are authentic from original sellers but to also make them accessible and affordable to people in the U.K. Take a look at our great products and try something new – what are you waiting for?
Sources used
https://ilovewine.com/palm-wine-benefits/