Studies that claim it is healthy are not valid because they have not isolated the impact of eating more fruits and vegetables or have compared it with another oil that is less healthy. Being more healthy than something is not proving that the first item is healthy…it is just less harmful!

Thank you so much for clarifying this issue. There is so much controversary and poorly conducted clinical studies that it is near impossible to believe half of what one reads about cooking oils in general…. Philippine staple food is RICE. We eat it three times a day, breakfast, lunch and supper, so much carbohydrates!! A healthy debate…worth to read panoramic views…Coconut, in different form, is a regular feature in most of the Asian countries and study needs cross verification based on tropical…cultural…climactic and finally food attitude.

Your Coconut oil review has dashed my faith in your publications…. Julie you need to hang up your editor badge if you cannot remain consistently credible in your articles. Thank you for this article. Let me say this I have purchased coconut oil in a bottle and jar there is a difference in the label properties and break down of ingredients.

Coconut oil as a cooking spray is what you want. Let me say this the fastest man in the world comes from Jamaica West Indies where I am from. Growing up and still to this day there are a lot of things Americans are not knowleageable to. This is all I am going to say fast runner are a legacy where I am from.

Coconut oil: are the health benefits a big fat lie?

I attended an event by the British Dietetic Association two months ago and knew this was coming. I was becoming disheartened by all the middle class clap trap but the academics are finally fighting back. I find your article to be based on outdated medical information. In fact, it is dangerous in that it discourages use of a VERY healthful oil. I wish there was someone who dispelled the distortions. Treat sugar like a poison.

If you can grow your own food, to avoid pesticides, growth hormones, GMO or antibiotics. Eat to live not live to eat. Drink lots of water or tea. Food must have form and texture and bite and chewiness — fibre and roughage for short for the guts. Take as long to eat as it takes for your wife or Mum to cook it.

Eating and conversation and company should be like a communal meditation session about the meaning of life. Be active mentally and physically. This is a terrible article. This sounds like another campaign to discredit one product big pharma has not control over. Instead, we published incomplete finding about it to put down its usage by the people.

In other words these people will be in a constant ketotic state. This is a new day. People are participating in their nutrition. As commenters ask, what were the protocols and details of this outcome. Not all of us eat like typical Americans. Plus, detail this typical diet which seems to be used to prove the old, conventional line. Sounds like another big Pharma sponsored hit piece! The only reason is to keep them chemicals coming—big bonuses are dependant upon sales of killer and non-killer chemicals.

Mediterranean soil is high in sulfur, it is that which gives the health benefits in the Med diet. Go to Dr Mercola Videos. How embarrassing for the reporter and the editors.


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Any oil is not healthy, consume the whole plant-based product for fat like olives, avocados, nuts and seeds…. Richard you are so wrong! You should read more about this topic before write anything online. Are heated, treated, refined oils like an internal vascular and ventricle glue? Rancid oils are toxic. Simplification is the key. Are we too busy to crack open a walnut? I think they have it wrong about not eating butter and using olive oil instead.


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    6. Hope this helps your question. I am from a region in South India where coconut oil is traditionally the most favoured and common edible oil consumed by people of all ages. We use it for healthy hair too.


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    3. Is Coconut oil myth finally debunked? The scary saturated fat, or is it really??
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      5. But there are other oils or herbal preparations in coconut oil that are more suitable for smooth skin. It is always better to choose one that suits your skin type. Most importantly, observe how your hair, skin and general health responds to it. Cholesterol is no longer an indicator of heart disease…this study seems to be contradicting other studies…. Studies that say cholesterol levels are not significant are not valid studies….

      You may believe what you like but do not state it as fact unless it is fact. It is a fact that people with total cholesterol below and ldl below for decades do not have heart attacks in other than very rare cases. Most studies on cholesterol look at levels of to which is the common level of the US population. Valid studies have already clearly demonstrated that most people over the age of 20 consuming a typical Western Diet have heart disease.

      They can die from something else other than a heart attack but they do have heart disease. So study a population of people that have heart disease and tell me that having or does not make a significant difference therefore the level of cholesterol is immaterial. I am not saying or implying that the cholesterol you consume is significant in your level of cholesterol or heart disease. I am saying that your level of cholesterol is significant and maybe in another years we will know exactly what to eat and how to exercise to have the longest and healthiest life. You are forgetting about the main factor leading to cardiovascular problems: If you manage to control this issue, then you have most of the battle won.

      The effects of saturated fats are VERY different in an extremely low-carb diet, which the cited studies and meta-studies do not address. I have been on a ketogenic diet for 4 years, and despite my very high intake of saturated fats — including coconut oil, butter and animal fats — my lipid profile has gone from unhealthy to normal, my blood glucose is now under control, I have lost 55 lbs, and early signs of poor kidney function have resolved. I know people who have been eating like this for 15 years with no ill effects.

      Thank you for that. I went low carb and consumed the same diet as you did. For many years we were told that egg yolks were high in saturated fats and not to eat many. A age A eat a lot of eggs and red meat. I lost 40 kgs and raised my Hdl and lowered my Ldl. I was unfit and unhealthy and began to exercise. I am now a 60 year old Personal Trainer.

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      Even my Dr told me to keep doing what I am doing because it is working. Not all eating plans work for everyone, but I swear by my saturated fats. The out of control blood sugar is now GONE. Palm oil is also a good source of tocotrienols, a form of vitamin E that helps in protecting the body against diseases like cancer and blood disorders, as well as helping to maintain good skin and fertility.

      Animal studies have found that tocotrienols may have the abilty to reverse blockage of the carotid artery and platelet aggregration thereby reducing the risk of stroke, arteriosclerosis and other heart disease related problems. Animal studies have also found that tocotrienols may exhibit activity against tumor promotion. Human studies have shown that a palm oil-enriched diet does not raise the level of LDL or total cholesterol, and may even lead to lower plasma levels of LDL the bad cholesterol most commonly linked to heart disease.

      So why does palm oil have such a bad reputation? In the 's the American Soya Oil processors were worried about losing domestic sales to imports of palm oil from Malaysia. They set up organisations which purported to promote good health to consumers but in reality were a front for attacking tropical oils such as palm oil and coconut oil.

      Meet the chef who’s debunking detox, diets and wellness

      Luckily, the tide is turning as people learn the true health benefits of tropical oils. Palm oil is suitable for vegan, vegetarian, and non-dairy diets. It's best to look for unmodified, organic red palm oil, which can be found at your local natural foods store. Any clear palm oils are not going to have the health benefits of red palm oil due to refining, deodorization, and bleaching. So while Lauric acid may raise good cholesterol, the increase could be offset by a rise in the bad stuff.

      Tew points out that not all HDL cholesterol is necessarily good. The presence of this non-functioning HDL cholesterol and the rise in bad cholesterol when we consume lauric acid could help to explain other studies that show lauric acid in our diets as being associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

      The theory is that the fat in coconut oil metabolises more quickly than other fats because of the high MCT content. Coconut oil is an easier to use source of energy and so keeps brain cells going. A clinical trial into the potential impact was discontinued because there were not enough people taking part. Coconut oil is also said to be a good source of antioxidants. Coconut oil is also deficient in the essential fatty acids, which makes it much worse than lard or palm oil.

      For Tew, the coconut oil issue is another example of the perils of classifying some foods as superfoods. Labelling products as superfoods can fool people into thinking they are eating well when they are not. The obsession with expensive, exotic superfoods also means we forget the easy, cheap foods that are more likely to keep us healthy — apples, oranges, broccoli and milk. But if canonising foods is unhelpful, then perhaps so is demonising them. And here, public health officials may have been guilty of oversimplification — and an unfair assessment of fats.

      In the past few years, the debate over whether fats have been wrongly turned into villains has become intense and polarised. At one extreme are cardiologists such as Dr Aseem Malhotra , who last year told the media, during the launch of a controversial National Obesity Forum report into fat: But even more moderate voices acknowledge that the low-fat diet health message is too crude — and not always supported by the evidence. One of the best studies into saturated fats and heart disease was a Cochrane review of 15 clinical trials covering 59, people, which found that cutting out saturated fat and replacing it with carbs and proteins made no difference to cardiovascular disease.

      It seemed to be showing that saturated fats are no worse for us than carbs — but that the real benefits come when we swap them for olive oils, nut oils and the fats in avocado. Sanders believes not all saturated fats are the same.

      Palm Oil: Debunking the Myths

      Dairy provides other things — magnesium, calcium and nutrients that may counteract the effects of saturated fat. But while not all fats are equal, Sanders, like most food scientists, remains unconvinced by the health claims for coconut oil or the suggestion that the saturated fat in coconut oil is less harmful than other saturated fats. There is, he says, insufficient evidence for such claims.

      Coconut oil may be no superfood, but equally, it is no villain. He has written for the Observer on acupuncture, mindfulness and the science of wine-tasting. According to health food websites, coconut oil can be used to treat everything from thyroid disorders to thrush, via brittle bones and dementia. But in a recent report, the British Nutrition Foundation said: Coconut oil advocates believe that it has powerful antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties because it contains lauric acid, a fatty acid also found in breast milk. It is true that lauric acid derived from coconut oil acts as an antibiotic, but this has only been seen in vitro and at super-concentrated doses.

      In studies where the two have been directly compared, coconut oil was shown to be as useful as water at killing bacteria. Here are three more of the most commonly cited, scientifically dubious health uses for coconut oil to be wary of.