s/o healthy fat thread: What about Coconut Oil?

[Jane]

So what's your opinion on Coconut Oil, healthy or unhealthy? It's loaded in saturated fat, but some claim it's healthy. Opinions?

[Lucy in Australia]

As far as I've worked out, coconut oil is one the healthiest as long as it's not hydrogenated, and as along as it is extra-virgin coconut oil.

[Lovedtodeath]

Well... I truly believe it is healthy... but I have had people tell me it shot their cholesterol levels up. So if you are applying for insurance, hold off. :)

[Chelle in MO]

My little bit of info...I was at a talk last night where a chiropractor said to use primarily extra virgin olive oil for cooking, except at high temperatures. For that, use coconut.

 

Chelle

[Peela]

Its healthy, but like all things, should only be taken in proportion and with a healthy diet. I have read about people taking coconut oil to lose weight, but if I eat too much of any oil, I put on weight- even coconut oil.

We eat a lot of coconut oil but it is in the form of coconut milk or cream, rather than for frying. I like to use ghee (another healthy saturated fat) or extra virgin olive oil for frying.

There is a lot of information on it on teh internet, and I haven't seen much/any credible disputations of the positive information.

Here are a couple of sites worth reading that came up with a quick google:

http://www.heall.com/body/healthupdates/food/coconutoil.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/coconut_oil.html

 

The so called health industry- the pharmaceutical funded one- has harped on about unsaturated fats for a long time, and the public is well conditioned away from saturated fats- but ultimately, there are problems with unsaturated fats that are worth learning about, and many so called saturated fats are important parts of a healthy diet. Don't believe what the advertisements tell you when it comes to food and health. A lot of it is crock.

[cillakat]

I second Peela. If using oil, coconut oil is a good choice. However, it's still oil.

 

Our diets need to be made up mostly of produce with sufficient cals from meat/fish/eggs/nuts/beans to round out nutritional needs for iron, zinc, protein, choline etc......

 

Ideally, we'd have no free oil in our diets (NOT fat free, just no 'added' free oil).....but since it makes things taste good and makes veggies/salads edible, imo it's a worthy trade off.

 

I'd never go *adding* coconut oil to random foods though like smoothies. Coconut milk, yes. Coconut oil, no.

 

:)

K

[Jane]

Well... I truly believe it is healthy... but I have had people tell me it shot their cholesterol levels up. So if you are applying for insurance, hold off. :)

 

This is what I was wondering, whether anyone has had first hand experience w/a raise in their cholesterol due to coconut oil. I tend to be low cholesterol so the occasional coconut milk smoothie probably isn't a bad thing for me, but I've wondered if others have experienced a negative result w/the oil which I haven't yet tried.

Edited November 5, 2008 by Jane
add more info

[Lovedtodeath]

That depends on whether having high cholesterol on a test that is inaccurate when it comes to determining ones health is a problem for you.

[Spy Car]

For so long mainstream nutritionists have believed (still believe) that tropical oils (including coconut oil) are unhealthful "saturated" fats that it has become engrained in my "cooking-brain" to avoid them.

 

I'm reading "Nourishing Traditions" and have looked at the Weston Price site, and understand their "pro-coconut oil" position. But I'm still feeling "skeptical". Open-minded, but skeptical.

 

Does anyone have information, outside Weston Price, to back up the notion coconut oil is a healthy fat.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[Peela]

Does anyone have information, outside Weston Price, to back up the notion coconut oil is a healthy fat.

 

 

Hi Bill, if I were you I would do a Google on it, because when I did yesterday there were many websites to peruse.

And I think its good to have an open mind.

 

I do think much information on things is taken out of context though- people who eat tropical oils generally have low cholesterol- but they live in the tropics, they eat different foods- they have many lifestyle differences to westerners in temperate zones. It's the same wit the soy debate- but Asian people on a traditional diet also have many other lifestyle and diet differences, and I often wonder why people don't consider all that- instead they talk about the latest miracle food. Its all about money of course.

 

Still, it's worth reading and working it all out for yourself and I think the case against coconut oil is outdated. Neither is it a miracle food, however. It is just what it is, and compared to the toxic, highly processed substances that pass for cooking oil in the supermarket, its a good thing.

[Lovedtodeath]

My take on it is that fat is not bad for you if you are working your body and not eating additional sugar that isn't burned off. (such as my grandpa who was a farmer, or the hard workers in the tropics. If you live the typical american way with too much sugar, too many calories, and not enough exercise then eating saturated fat is probably still not good.

[Greta]

In my opinion it is a healthy fat. I believe that *naturally* saturated fats (NOT hydrogenated trans fats!) are healthier than polyunsaturated oils, due to the fact that the latter gets oxidized so easily. Anti-oxidants are all the rage because they've been shown to prolong life and health. So why eat foods that are highly prone to oxidation?

 

Secondly, virgin coconut oil has anti-fungal and anti-microbial components. For people suffering from candida, it can be a wonderful, safe, and effective treatment. My dd had eczema because of candida overgrowth in her intestinal tract. We tried the conventional medical route for years (prescriptions) and that did nothing. When I started cooking with coconut oil and eliminated sugar and white carbs from her diet, her eczema began immediately fading away and has not returned.

 

I admit though that I am absolutely clueless about it affecting cholesterol levels. But the question that immediately comes to my mind is: which cholesterol levels? Higher HDL levels are correlated with increased protection against heart disease and other health problems. So if it's raising HDL, I'd say that's a good thing. Triglycerides are positively correlated with disease, though, so if that's what went up, well first I would be shocked since it's sugar that raises triglyceride levels, but then I would be concerned. If it's LDL, well the jury is still out on that one imo.

[cillakat]

I've been eating coconut oil and coconut milk for years 10 years with no net change to my cholesterol total, LDL, HDL or ratios. They're always excl....no matter what I do and what I weigh. Lucky genetics I guess. My triglycerides have always been lowish too (under 100)...and taking fish oil pushes them down into the 40's.

 

The evidence for tropical oils as problematic was based on hydrogenated tropical oils.....and hydrogenated oils are problematic regardless - saturated or not.

 

K

[Gretchen in NJ]

My little bit of info...I was at a talk last night where a chiropractor said to use primarily extra virgin olive oil for cooking, except at high temperatures. For that, use coconut.

 

Chelle

I have heard that also. We are also a believer in raw butter. We love raw butter which is high in vitamins A and D.:lurk5: