Coconut- separating the science from the sales pitch
Coconut Madness ....when you separate the science from the sales pitch, coconut oil’s awesome-for-you rap is overblown and not supported by good data/good science.
Coconut oil is made by pressing the fat from the white flesh inside the giant nut. About 84 percent of the calories in the resulting oil hail from saturated fat. That makes coconut oil denser in saturated fat than most other oils and solid fats—14 percent of the calories in olive oil are saturated, whereas 63 percent of the calories in butter hail from saturated fats. Hence, why it has been historically demonized by many nutritionists and health organizations including the AHA.
Coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol, a so-called “bad” form of cholesterol, about as much as other oils high in saturated fat like beef, butter and palm oil in the existing research reviewed by the AHA for its advisory published in the journal Circulation. And that can be bad news for your ticker. But there is a catch. Coconut oil boosters rally behind studies suggesting it also raises levels of HDL cholesterol, a form of cholesterol deemed “good.” (Unlike LDL, HDL cholesterol is thought not to build up on artery walls and increase this risk for a heart attack or stroke).
Research, however, is inconclusive as to the impact that coconut oil has on the total cholesterol-to-HDL ratio as well as blood triglyceride numbers, which can be more significant predictors of coronary woes than straight up HDL numbers.