The Truth About Coconut Oil

I have been inundated the last several days with messages, calls and concern expressed by the recent article by the AHA regarding the “dangers of coconut oil”

Here are the facts:

*Bio-individuality is key. Anything in excess can be potentially detrimental to one’s health. What you consume in conjunction with coconut oil (lots of fresh veggies, lean proteins) is more beneficial than consuming it with lots of starchy, grain filled or sugary foods.

* Portion sizes matter. Not every person can consume healthy fats in voluminous proportions. Too many calories=weight gain.

* Coconut oil is full of medium chain triglycerides, which help sustain energy, provide support to our brains and brain functioning and help cushion joints and organs, amongst many others, including fat loss and improving metabolism.

* Coconut oil also contains lauric acid, which is anti-microbial and is also found in breast milk. The healing properties of mother’s milk is always amazing.

*AHA study is wrong in several key areas:

1. it uses an antiquated methodology that there’s a correlation with consumption of saturated fats AND heart disease. It has only been shown that it influences total cholesterol. And we know that studies have not shown an association between high total cholesterol and MI (heart attack) and CVA (stroke) risks.

2. AHA has encouraged the adoption of low-chol, low-fat diets for years, which has led to the development of an onslaught of diabetes, obesity and other health related maladies as people strove to remove healthy fats and replace them with processed foods and foods devoid, largely, of any real nutritional value

3. After SO many years working in cardiology as an NP, you must focus on LDL particle size as opposed to the overall numbers. If your LDL is >130… ask for an advanced lipid analysis VAP. The most inflammatory LDL is that which is small and dense vs large and fluffy.

So, put the saturated fat non-sense to rest….. high quality saturated fats are superior to the bastardized and highly processed options found in conventional standard American diets (namely canola, soy, etc).

Consume them in moderation and determine what works best for you and your body. I hope this helped you navigate the coconut oil debate. Keep Calm and Coconut Oil ON!