Coconut Oil Making Waves

What do you really know about coconut oil?

Think coconut oil is the healthiest choice?

How many ways have you used coconut oil thinking it was the best choice? In the past, I have cooked, baked with coconut oil, and even oil pulled with the white stuff.  Oh yes, I have conditioned my hair with it as well. I create most of my own oils and lotions and have incorporated this oil into many products.

It is known that coconut oils are high in healthy saturated fats and has been touted as better for you than many fats in our diet.  Over the year’s claims have been made that this saturated fat can boost fat burning and give the body quick energy – including the brain.  I was led to believe it could raise my good HDL cholesterol and even though not a family issue, reduce my risk for heart disease.

Cocoanut oil is heat stable with a high smoke point. That means I can cook more foods at a higher temperature without worrying as much about burning my food.  I also learned it had a long shelf life, which meant I did not have to worry about it turning rancid before I was able to use every last bit of it!

I turned to the Foundation for Alternative and Integrative Medicine to learn more about what is going on with coconut oil. They explained the physical properties of this oil and how it is uniquely different.  They explained the following:

What makes coconut oil different from most other dietary oils is the basic building blocks or fatty acids making up the oil. Coconut oil is composed predominately of a special group of fat molecules known as medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). The majority of fats in the human diet are composed almost entirely of long chain fatty acids (LCFA).

The primary difference between MCFA and LCFA is the size of the molecule, or more precisely, the length of the carbon chain that makes up the backbone of the fatty acid. MCFA have a chain length of 6 to 12 carbons. LCFA contain 14 or more carbons.

The length of the carbon chain influences many of the oil’s physical and chemical properties. When consumed, the body processes and metabolizes each fatty acid differently depending on the size of the carbon chain. Therefore, the physiological effects of the MCFA in coconut are significantly different than those of the LCFA that are more commonly found in the diet.

MCFA and LCFA can also be classified as saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fatty acids. Coconut oil contains 92% saturated fatty acids. All of the MCFA in coconut oil are saturated. They, however, are very much different chemically from the long chain saturated fatty acids found in animal fat and other vegetable oils.

Because coconut oil has a high amount of saturated fatty acids it also has a relatively high melting point. Above 76° F (24° C) coconut oil is a colorless liquid. Below this temperature, it solidifies into a pure white solid.

The challenge came when a Harvard professor called coconut oil a poison.  Wow! That shocked me and also caused me to read the story.

According to https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/08/22/harvard-professor-coconut-oil-pure-poison/1060269002/

A lecture by a Harvard professor calling coconut oil “pure poison” has gone viral on YouTube, nearing 1 million views on Wednesday. 

In a talk titled “Coconut oil and other nutritional errors,” Karin Michels, who is an adjunct professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says coconut oil is not healthy, calling it “poison” at least three times in the widely-circulated video.

“I can only warn you urgently about coconut oil,” she says. “This is one of the worst foods you can eat.”

Michels is also the director of the Institute for Prevention and Tumor Epidemiology at the University of Freiburg in Germany. 

Comments for the video, which posted in July, have been disabled. 

While coconut oil has been advertised as a health food of sorts, nutrition experts say there is little evidence to back that claim. Alice Lichtenstein, a Tufts University professor of nutrition science and policy who is vice chair of the federal government’s dietary guidelines advisory committee, recently told The New York Times “there’s virtually no data to support the hype.” 

It’s not “poison,” but American Heart Association data has shown more than 80 percent of the fat in coconut oil is saturated — far beyond butter (63 percent), beef fat (50 percent) and pork lard (39 percent). 

Donald Hensrud, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, told USA TODAY last year that “there’s a disconnect between people’s general beliefs and what the data actually show.” He recommends instead using oils high in monosaturate fats (including olive oil and avocado oil) and those high in polyunsaturated fats (such as canola oil). 

The AHA, which advises against the use of coconut oil, recommends eating  no more than six percent of saturated fat as part of total daily calories for those who need lower cholesterol. The oil has “no known offsetting favorable effects,” the AHA said in an advisory last year, and it could actually increase LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, a cause of cardiovascular disease.

But, saturated fat is a loaded term. While the AHA warns against it, people who cut saturated fat out of their diet might not necessarily lower their heart disease risk, a 2015 BMJ review suggested. That’s because some people fill the void with sugar, white flour and empty calories. Also, some fat is important to help bodies absorb nutrients from other foods.

Then the counterpoint was presented by:

1. I have started noticing more coconut oil at the grocery store and have heard it is better for you than a lot of other oils. Is that true?
2. I’ve also noticed that coconut oil seems to be catching on these days. Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat, which is a higher percentage than butter (about 64% saturated fat), beef fat (40%), or even lard (also 40%). Too much saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it raises “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. So it would seem that coconut oil would be bad news for our hearts.

But what’s interesting about coconut oil is that it also gives “good” HDL cholesterol a boost. Fat in the diet, whether it’s saturated or unsaturated, tends to nudge HDL levels up, but coconut oil seems to be especially potent at doing so.

Saturated fat is divided into various types, based on the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, and about half of the saturated fat in coconut oil is the 12-carbon variety, called lauric acid. That is a higher percentage than in most other oils, and is probably responsible for the unusual HDL effects of coconut oil. But plant-based oils are more than just fats. They contain many antioxidants and other substances, so their overall effects on health can’t be predicted just by the changes in LDL and HDL

Coconut is a wonderful flavor and there’s no problem using coconut oil occasionally. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so cooks are experimenting with using it instead of butter or vegetable shortening to make pie crust and other baked goods that require a solid source of fat. And if you’re preparing a Thai dish, cooking with coconut oil may be essential.

But, for now, I’d use coconut oil sparingly. Most of the research so far has consisted of short-term studies to examine its effect on cholesterol levels. We don’t really know how coconut oil affects heart disease. And I don’t think coconut oil is as healthful as vegetable oils like olive oil and soybean oil, which are mainly unsaturated fat and therefore both lower LDL and increase HDL. Coconut oil’s special HDL-boosting effect may make it “less bad” than the high saturated fat content would indicate, but it’s still probably not the best choice among the many available oils to reduce the risk of heart disease.

— Walter C. Willett, M.D.
Harvard School of Public Health
Department of Nutrition
Harvard Health Letter Editorial Board

Source:  https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil

Author:  Leslie A. Miller, Ph.D., is a Mind Coach, Transformational Healer, Reiki Master and the founder of Holistic Health Resource and Leslie Miller Wellness. She is in private practice in Novi, Michigan and Boca Raton, Florida. She has helped thousands of clients and facilitated hundreds of workshops. She is also a wellness therapist, professional speaker and corporate consultant.