By Melanie Warner
Few foods stump nutritionists more than coconut oil. Enthusiasts credit the serum with preventing heart disease, speeding weight loss, and bolstering immune function.
But government guidelines and some nutritionists continue to warn against saturated fat—including the 91 percent saturated fat in coconut oil. “There’s so much conflicting information out there,” says Amy Jamieson-Petonic, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. “It’s hard to know what to believe.”
Several studies show that saturated fat boosts LDL—the bad cholesterol—which, in elevated levels, has been linked to heart disease. Hence, the USDA and the American Heart Association frown on coconut oil.
But emerging evidence indicates that not all saturated fats are created equal. Coconut oil, for instance, contains lots of virus-fighting lauric acid, which is also the primary fatty acid in immunity-boosting breast milk. Additionally, recent findings from Australia’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research suggest that a coconut oil–rich diet guards against insulin resistance, a major precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Coconut oil may even help your heart, since its medium-chain fatty acids can raise HDL, the good cholesterol. Walter Willett, MD, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, says this tropical oil needs more research, but potential health benefits have been overlooked: “Coconut oil is not nearly as bad as would be assumed given its high saturated-fat content.”
How can you incorporate coconut oil into your diet? Bruce Fife, ND, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, suggests cooking with the milky-white substance regularly. It’s more heat stable than many vegetable oils, so substitute it in stir-fries and other high-temperature dishes.
I like to blend a spoonful into my morning coffee. Makes it nice and frothy and so much healthier than milk/cream & sugar!
I use coconut instead of butter in everything. Vegetables, potatoes, toast, salad, my coffee, my cereal. My brownies were out of this world, frosting because it is too thick and sweet. Scrambled eggs, oatmeal. I put coconut oil on my face, elbows, arms and legs and it smells so clean and natural. I can go on and on, I love it.
I use coconut oil for everything . I cook with it I clean my mouth and teeth with it .I also use it as a moisturiser .it has helped my IBS considerably and I have lost weight . Brilliant
Coconut oil also has wonderful antifungal and antibacterial properties. I’d rather use natures pharmacy.
We, Sri Lankans use Coconut oil and Coconut milk as a staple ingredient in all our cooking. As we go back on History, we find the Sri Lankans were very healthy and strong. They were slim too. However, during the past 3 decades things changed drastically towards the bad with the introduction of vegetable oils and the publicity against the use of coconut oil. We see the change in our people. every second person is either a heart patient, a kidney patient, a cancer patient or a diabetic, and 80% are obese. Still the publicity given against the use of Coconut is so strong that people are afraid of using it.
I use it for most of my cookings – pancakes, popcorn, stir fry, also brushing teeth, hair and body too. Almond oil is another I use but not for cooking.
How much coconut oil would you consume if you just took it by itself? Like a tablespoon or whatever. Just eat it plain off the spoon???
I have used it in cooking but considering just taking it orally.
Thanks