Coconut oil and health myths
Is coconut oil healthy?
So many people think so. So many
students in my class have told me they use coconut oil as someone recommended
it to them as being good for their health.
Not surprising since the NY
Times reported that 72% of Americans think coconut oil is healthy. Even
more surprising is that 37% of nutritionists thought coconut oil was
healthy. A recent article in USA Today
highlighted on MSN probably says it best as the title of their article is: Coconut
oil is about as healthy as beef fat or butter .
What does the
American Heart Association say about coconut oil?
The go to place for information on heart health is the
American Heart Association, at heart.org.
There are so many misconceptions about
coconut oil, the American Heart Association has released a report
advising against coconut oil.
Why is coconut oil
bad for you?
Coconut oil raises your bad, LDL cholesterol. Why?
Probably because it is high in saturated fats like butter and the fat in
beef or bacon. So, saturated, that 82%
of the fat in coconut oil is saturated fat.
A highly concentrated source of saturated fat. One tablespoon of coconut oil provides 11
grams of saturated fat. How much
saturated fat should you have in a day?
You should limit saturated fat to 13 grams a day according to the
American Heart Association. So, it is
easy to go over the limit of saturated fat with coconut oil. Coconut oil is even more saturated than butter
(63%), beef fat (50%) or pork lard (39%) fat.
Since coconut oil raises your bad cholesterol, which is a cause of heart
disease, and has no good benefits, the American Heart Association advises
against coconut oil.
Why do some people
think coconut oil is healthy?
So many people have been duped into thinking coconut oil is
healthy. If someone recommends coconut
oil to you, don’t listen. The lead
author of the American
Heart Association report, Frank Sacks, told USA Today, he has no idea why
so many people think coconut is healthy.
Some people might think coconut oil promotes weight loss. There are studies that show medium chain
triglycerides rev up the metabolism and thus might promote weight loss. But the study that found this out didn’t use
coconut oil but an oil specially
designed for the research study.
Is there a healthy
use for coconut oil?
My daughter has a great use for coconut oil. She uses it on her dog, as it makes his coat
smoother and silkier. Some people use
coconut oil as a skin moisturizer and it can be found in hair conditioners.
What other oils
should one avoid?
I tell my students to avoid tropical oils, coconut oil and
palm oil. Like coconut oil, palm oil is high in saturated fat.
What oils are better
for your health and your heart?
Olive oil is a good, heart healthy choice. Or choose from a number of polyunsaturated
oils like corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil, peanut oil. Read about healthy
cooking oils and watch a Healthy
Cooking Oils 101 Video at heart.org. The video describes which oils are heart
healthy and which oils, like coconut oil, will help clog your arteries.
So, if you have some coconut oil in your home, use it as a
lotion on your body or use it
on your dog for softer skin and softer hair. If someone recommends you use coconut oil in
smoothies or in cooking, refer them to this blog or to heart.org so they can
learn why coconut oil is not a heart healthy choice.
Sources: NY
Times reported, Coconut
oil is about as healthy as beef fat or butter, report,
American
Heart Association report, Sacks said , Image source: oil
Nice Post Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Delete