Many people are very confused. One moment you hear that coconut oil is good
for you, then the media will refute that to say that coconut oil is bad for
you, because can cause heart disease.
Whom should you believe?
Nutrition has become a bit of a religion.
There is no evidence to show that low fat and low
cholesterol diets will prevent heart disease.
NO evidence. 75% of the
cholesterol that we have is produced by our liver, it’s not even from the
diet! The whole low fat diet for heart
disease was flawed. This led to a 2015 revision
by the USDA on dietary fats and cholesterol.
New Zealand
has also revised its food pyramid. It is
widely recognised that the recommendation of eating 6-11 servings of bread,
pasta, rice and grain products daily (the broadest base of the food pyramid)
and focusing on a low fat diet has not seen a decrease in cardiovascular diseases
in the last 30 years. In fact to the
contrary! The revised base of the food
pyramid is now lots of vegetables and water.
So, what’s the story with coconut oil if it cannot be
related to heart disease? The statin and
pharmaceutical industry has educated us that high LDL cholesterol cause heart
disease. This is wrong! We should be focused on the protective cholesterol that
will prevent us from getting heart disease and that’s HDL cholesterol (the good
cholesterol). And the fact is that coconut
oil raises HDL! We need good saturated
fat like what we get from coconut oil to make good cell membranes, cholesterol,
sex hormones and brain cells. However, combining saturated fats, including that
from coconut oil with a high sugar, high starch and low fibre diet will cause
inflammation and heart disease.
So is coconut oil good?
Coconut oil increases HDL, which decreases the Total Cholesterol to HDL
ratio, which is a good predictor of heart disease. Coconut oil improves the quality, size and
type of cholesterol. Cholesterol is
dangerous if it is small and dense, but is fine if it is large and fluffy.
The medium chain triglycerides in coconut oil (MCT) boosts
metabolism and improves cognitive function.
Lauric acid in coconut oil is antimicrobial and antifungal. Another good source of lauric acid is breast
milk – which is 24% saturated fats!
I would recommend using a combination of coconut oil and
olive oil in your daily intake. Coconut
oil is great for anything that needs to be heated up and olive oil in your
salad dressings and low heat cooking or cold food. Olive oil has been used widely in the
Mediteranean and this region is known for its heart healthy food intake. And do not take coconut oil with high sugar
and high starch.
