Is Coconut Oil Right For You?

The American Heart Association advisory warns against coconut oil, yet many zealot internet health advisors tout it’s benefits. Once again we are returned to the “nothing is black and white” caution. The minimum that you need to consider is that coconut may increase cardiovascular disease risk, but the evidence is super conflicting (we really don’t know). Observational evidence is positive, however trial evidence on humans is mixed.

Health advocates of coconut oil argue that residents of Tokelau and Kitava Islands obtained 63% of their calories from coconuts and have no detectable heart disease and they also have low insulin levels. However, we need to remember that these cultures ate coconut - they did not eat refined coconut oil and they didn’t couple coconut oil with our modern refined foods such as soybean oil, wheat products and adulterated corn products. This suggests that the polyphenols, fibre and vitamin E components of the whole coconut appear to be important. Yet another argument for whole foods. Refining foods leads to different (in some cases positive but many cases these effects are negative) physiological effects, potentially including those on the cardiovascular system.

If your chasing the potentially beneficial MCT benefits in coconut oil … evidence suggests that the levels of MCT in coconut are much lower than we are led to think. We need to flip to the other side of the coin here as MCT is a highly refined oil derived from coconut oil. Yes, it is refined so it must be bad, yes? This is one of the misconceptions I regularly see in the health world - that unrefined automatically equals better. (another grey area), and there is strong evidence that the answer here is “no”. MCT oil is actually a potentially helpful therapeutic agent.

MCT and weight loss - I am not convince either way yet as evidence isn’t conclusive - but all the morning coffee health elixir fans (Dave Asprey) that are enjoying their MCT fat-laden coffees to blunt the appetite, may be slightly off track. A recent paper from April 2017, has argued that olive oil was far more satiating and hunger curbing than MCT oil. Hmm. have you been placebo’d ?

There is strong evidence to support the use of coconut oil for Alzheimers and Epilepsy.

In the cholesterol debate, several trials comparing coconut oil (high in saturated fat) to vegetable oil (high in unsaturated fat) noted that the coconut oil raised HDL levels compared to the vegetable oil. To the general public this could be a great draw card. But the HDL argument goes far deeper than that. Solely raising HDL is not the answer, as many attempts to raise it using pharmaceuticals have failed miserable - with the drugs working beautifully to raise HDL but that is all they did. There were no positive affects or positive predictors on heart disease. HDL is considered protective but I think we can’t just rely on raising tactics when chasing heart health.

In regards to cooking, I think may of us have been led to believe that coconut oil has an incredible smoke point. Unrefined palm oil smokes at 235 degrees celsius, however unrefined coconut oil will produce potential carcinogens at anything above 177 degrees. If you choose the refined stuff, then you can take it up to 204 degrees before making your kitchen a smokey mess. The saturated fats in coconut oil do give it a chemical heat advantage over other plant-based oils. The stability of coconut oil’s chemical bonds protect it from oxidising as easily … that’s a big tick.

Coconut oil is antiviral and antimicrobial. However if you are choosing it because of this factor then you have probably made the wrong choice. Monolaurin is a derivative of the lauric acid found in coconut oil and it is the monolaurin that is antiviral and helps promote a healthy gut environment. Monolaurin is a high-potency extract derived from lauric acid and the amount of coconut oil you would need to consume to get the same benefits would be unhealthy - and most likely impossible to consume. If monolaurin interests you, make sure you buy the real thing. You can contact me for the purest monolaurin commercially attainable without any fillers or allergens.

Coconut oil will not aid your weight loss. Again, the evidence is somewhat mixed but it is MCT that could help with weight loss not coconut oil. MCT isn’t a magic weight loss drink to be consumed by the tablespoons daily. If you do that you will most assuredly gain weight. MCT needs to crowd out exisiting vegetable oils in your diet and its’ energy density needs to be taken into account when looking at your other macronutrients. If you start on-boarding more fats, something has to give from other macronutrients - i vote for the omission of refined carbohydrates!

Bottom line is that coconut oil is not a prerequisite for good health. If you like the taste, then use it occasionally, if you’re concerned about heart health, cholesterol or other touted health benefits - your better off eating the real deal as the whole coconut contains amino acids, B vitamins, potassium, iron and fibre. If it is then antiviral and antimicrobial benefits your looking for then try monolaurin and experience the real benefits.

Keep making those informed decisions for yourself aligned with your desired results. Don’t follow the crowd of misinformation or trend. Weigh up the pros and cons and see if coconut oil should be on your shopping list.