Coconut oil was long treated as the devil himself in liquid form, with more poisonous artery-clogging, cholesterol-raising, heart-attack-causing saturated fat than butter.
The studies that led to this conclusion is an example of bad sloppy science. Early studies involving coconut oil were done (without the scientist realising it) with partially hydrogenated coconut oil which was the form in which it was commercially available when he bought it in the market for his research work. Partial hydrogenation creates dreaded trans fats, destroys many of the good essential fatty acids, antioxidants and other positive components present in virgin coconut oil.
Two groups have helped give coconut oil its sparkly new makeover. One is made up of newer group of scientists, many of whom are backtracking on the worst accusations against coconut oil. And the other is the growing number of vegans, who rely on it as a sweet vegetable fat that is solid at room temperature and can create flaky pie crusts, crumbly scones and fluffy cupcake icings, all without butter.
Virgin coconut oil has a nutty flavor, milder and richer tasting than butter, sweeter and lighter textured than lard, and without any of the bitterness sometimes found in olive oil.
According to Thomas Brenna, a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University who has extensively reviewed the literature on coconut oil, a considerable part of its stigma can be traced to one major factor.
“Most of the studies involving coconut oil were done with partially hydrogenated coconut oil, which researchers used because they needed to raise the cholesterol levels of their rabbits in order to collect certain data,” Dr. Brenna said. “Virgin coconut oil, which has not been chemically treated, is a different thing in terms of a health risk perspective. And maybe it isn’t so bad for you after all.”
And while it’s true that most of the fats in virgin coconut oil are saturated, opinions are changing on whether saturated fats are the arterial villains they were made out to be.
It turns out, not all saturated fats are created equal. Different types of saturated fats behave differently. The main saturated fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid. Medium chain fatty acids are in fact considered beneficial from a health point of view.
Lauric acid increases levels of good HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, and bad LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, in the blood, but is not thought to negatively affect the overall ratio of the two.
Dietary Guidelines recommend that no more than 10 percent of total dietary calories a day come from saturated fat. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 20 grams.
In short, Coconut is good, in moderation.
Coconut
