Coconut Oil: Opinions ?

[Edward D. Friedman]

Hi Folks,

Posted this over at DD Nutrition. Interested as to opinions here as well:


There are a few books and sites out now extolling the qualities of coconut oil. (Check Amazon or Google,) For fat loss and health benefits, generally speaking, (aside from use in cooking, various reciptes, topically, etc.,) the recomendation is to eat about a tblspn. before/with meals.

Any experiences / thoughts on CO ?

Thanks in advance,

Eddie

BTW: The original DD thread contained pro & con "authority" which left me somewhat confused.
Mary Enig & Sally Fallon-Pro, Michael Colgan-Con

[Ben Kaminski]

Coconut oil has been nearly the sole source of fat in the diet of many indigenous beach populations for thousands of years. That's all I can add to this thread, I would be interested to see the scientific answers.

[Scott Kustes]

I add it to my PWO shakes and love it. I don't know if it's causing any of my positive health effects given that my diet was seriously cleaned up and CF was kicked up a notch all around the same time. But nonetheless, I can vouch that it isn't hurting.

Edward,

I love coconut oil, it's the oil I use exclusively for cooking. Much of the bad press that it has received in the past has come from studies done on refined coconut oil, rather than the organic virgin versions.

It contains medium chain triglycerides which are fats that go directly to the liver and cannot be stored at adipose tissue, therefore it is "instant" energy for your cells. This creates somewhat of a thermogenic effect, hence the number of proponents that extol it's virtues for weight loss.

Coconut oil also contains caprylic acid which is an antifungal and antiparasitic, something much needed in tropical countries where natives use it to ward off nasty water and food borne parasites.

Another ingredient is lauric acid which the body utilizes to make a disease fighting fatty acid derivative called monolaurin, which oddly enough babies make from the lauric acid in mother's milk.

If that weren't enough to convince you, cococut oil is one of the few oils you can cook with at high temperatures without it turning carcinogenic. Still I always use a medium heat just to be on the safe side.

Odd though, I'm a big fan of Dr. Colgan's work, so I was surprised to read that he is an opponent of coconut oil.

Hope that helps,

Jason

[Robert Wolf]

Jason- Great info.

I waffle on this a bit...Loren Cordain buys into the research stating that all of the saturated FA's from 8-16 carbons in length ( oddly...i forget the names) cause a non-desirable increase in LDL cholesterol. Steric acid (18 carbons) appear to have no effect on LDL.

Uffe Ravnskov (http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm)
thinks this is crap.

I tend to throw my hat in with Cordain, but if one is keeping coconut oil consuption down to a Tbs./day and the other sources of sat. fat are within paleo/zone levels...not big deal IMO.

Robb

Rob,

Agreed. Everything in moderation, I tend to consume only 1 tbs./day myself. That in conjunction with saturated fat from grass fed free range meat, fish oil and extra virgin olive oil for salads and I'm good to go!