Coconut Oil- Good For You, or Not?

       So, everywhere you turn these days, the health gurus are telling us to eat coconut oil. I was recently gifted a bottle of organic expeller pressed virgin coconut oil. When I cracked the lid open, the smell immediately transported me to a tropical island, from which I did not want to return. I couldn’t wait to figure out a way to incorporate this stuff into my cooking! The first thing I did with it was put a teaspoon of this “vacation on a spoon” in my coffee. Oh yummy! I have to admit it was one of the best things I had tasted in a while! Then I did what I always advocate you should do BEFORE you eat something, read the label. I admit I was surprised to see that of the 14g of fat per tablespoon (which is one serving), 12g were from saturated fat. There was only 1 g of monounsaturated fat and no polyunsaturated fat (“good” fats). Everything I knew about fat to date sent off an alarm in my head. I had always heard saturated fat was bad. So what made this stuff so desirable? I decided to look into it further.

       There are very strong opinions on both sides of the argument; is coconut oil healthy for you or bad for you? It really seems to depend on who you ask. The proponents say that coconut oil has health benefits ranging from better immunity to reversing Alzheimer’s. Conversely, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), warns on their website to “avoid oils that are higher in saturated fats (e.g., coconut, palm and palm kernel oils)”. The American Medical Association warns us to limit our intake of saturated fats because it raises bad cholesterol levels.

       As a police investigator for 16 years, I learned that a proper investigation has many necessary components and two of those are the credibility of the source (witness) and the evidence. When I set out on my investigation I started by looking at the two arguments. When I “Googled” coconut oil I found endless pages of people wanting to sell it to me and tons of pages of people claiming health benefits, including some people that appear to be doctors.  Inevitably when I scrolled to the bottom of their pages for their sources, I either found none or I found sources that looked an awful lot like the coconut oil lobby. I couldn’t find any studies documented by the Journal of American Medical Association that support the health claims made by proponents of coconut oil. I suppose if there were any, the FDA would approve the health claims. On the contrary, the FDA website document library shows that many coconut oil companies have been ordered to stop making health claims about coconut oil.

       I have also heard the argument that “the proof is in the pudding” when it comes to coconut oil, meaning that people in certain geographic regions have used the product for centuries without any adverse health effects. I have a hard time accepting this argument on face value. Could there be something else about their lifestyle that makes this possible? Is there a credible scientific study on that?

       The other argument made by coconut oil proponents is that you need saturated fat in your diet for your body to run efficiently. You do need a certain balance of all kinds of fat for your body to function properly. But according to the FDA, the suggested daily allowance of saturated fat is 10% of your total caloric intake, about 20g. What makes me nervous about coconut oil is that in just one serving (1 tbsp) you get 60% of your daily saturated fat allowance. That doesn’t leave much room for all the other foods you eat during the day. Saturated fat is also found in varying amounts in pork, beef, and chicken.

       The next argument made by coconut oil proponents is that the saturated fat in coconut oil is not the “bad” kind of saturated fat. If that is the case, I would really like them to prove it to the FDA so the FDA can let me know its ok. I love the flavor and smell of coconut oil and would love to use it. I want to see the evidence. I remember when trans fat was the new “good guy” of fats. Now we know trans fat raises bad cholesterol.

       For me, I think I will use coconut oil in my cooking very sparingly, if at all, until the FDA approves its health claims or removes its warning. Heart disease is the leading killer of men and women, so there’s no room for an “oops” here. Since there are great alternatives, like olive oil (14g total fat per tbsp, 2g sat fat, 1.5g polyunsaturated fat, 10g monounsaturated fat), I see no need to take the chance.

      The good news is that, even if you chose not to cook with coconut oil, you can still slather it on your skin and use it to remove your make-up. I’m sure it is a much healthier, and organic, way to do both versus chemicals…and it smells good too (it makes me hungry). I may even try it a moisturizer on my son’s allergy prone skin J

      Ok, that is my opinion, my lay-person's opinion. Again, I know this is a heated debate, and I am not taking the popular position, so I welcome your comments on the matter. I'm sure this will spark a conversation J  

Sources:

Food Facts, US FDA, www.fda.gov

www.dietaryfiberfood.com

www.healthyeatingpolitics.com

www.pubs.ama-assn.org

I’m not perfect…I’m just trying to figure out this whole health thing, just like you. Thanks for letting me share my experiences with you J   

Please consult your doctor before beginning or changing your diet and exercise regimen.