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Why Coconut Oil is Better?
Although Coconut Oil contains saturated fatty acids, they are ‘medium chain' fatty acids. Medium chain fatty acids (such as lauric acid in mothers' milk) are more readily converted into energy, making them less likely to be stored in the body as fat. (48% of natural coconut oil is lauric acid). Longer chain acids such as those found in soybean oil, corn oil, butterfat and other animal fats increase the storage of fat in the body because they are slower in utilising the fatty acids for energy.
Coconut oil is:
• Digested more easily
• Absorbed faster into the bloodstream
• Transported more directly to the liver
• Oxidized faster to carbon dioxide with energy liberation
• Does not for esters with cholesterol
Cholesterol and Coconut Oil
High levels of cholesterol have been shown to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Animal fats (lard, butter and egg products) are very rich in cholesterol. Vegetable oils contain insignificant amounts of cholesterol – with coconut oil having the least!
Cholesterol Levels
All Coconut Oil is Not the Same
There is a fundamental difference in the nutritional and cosmetic value of coconut oil made from copra (dried and processed coconut oil) and that of virgin coconut oil made through the DME process. Because copra is dried over many days in unhygienic conditions and then shipped and stored for many weeks, moulds grow on this raw material and the oil becomes rancid. Cleaning (refining and bleaching) this dirty oil by industrial / chemical processes destroys many of coconut oil's natural characteristics.
Trans Fatty Acids and Cancers
When vegetable oils (such as soybean and corn oil) are hydrogenated (or heated to high temperatures), the fatty acid's molecular structures are twisted, affecting the liver's ability to metabolize bacteria and environmental pollutants within the body. Research indicates that there is a positive link between hydrogenated oils and cancer. Virgin coconut oil, because it is not processed or heated to high temperatures, assists the body in fighting pollutants and bacteria. Research indicates there is a link between the rise in the use of hydrogenated oils and the increase in cancers. Research also highlights the low cancer incidence amongst traditional societies who exclusively use coconut oil.
What coconut oil does not do:
- Does not increase blood cholesterol level
- Does not promote platelet stickiness or blood clot formation
- Does not contribute to atherosclerosis or heart disease
- Does not contribute to weight problems
What coconut oil does do:
- Reduces risk of cancer and other degenerative conditions
- Reduces risk of atherosclerosis and related illness
- Helps prevent bacterial, viral and fungal (including yeast) infections
- Supports immune system function
- Helps prevent osteoporosis
- Helps control diabetes
- Promotes weight loss
- Supports healthy metabolic function
- Provides an immediate source of energy
- Supplies fewer calories than other fats
- Supplies important nutrients necessary for good health
- Improves digestion and nutrient absorption
- Is highly resistant to spoilage (long shelf life)
- Is heat resistant (the healthiest oil for cooking)
- Helps keep skin soft and smooth
- Helps prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin
- Helps protect against skin cancer and other blemishes.
SATURATED VERSUS POLY-UNSATURATED FATS. It is common belief that saturated fats are a leading cause of heart disease, and with coconut oil being a saturated fat it has long been seen as an unhealthy alternative to other types of poly-unsaturated oils. In reality it appears that the opposite is true.
What has long been overlooked is that there are actually two kinds of saturated fats. Coconut oil is a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) whereas the fat that exists in meat and other foods is a long-chain fatty acid.
One way in which medium-chain fatty acids vary from long-chain fatty acids is that they are burned almost immediately by the body for energy production and so are not converted into body fat or cholesterol. Thus the detrimental effects to health caused by certain types of saturated fats do not apply to coconut oil. In fact coconut oil can be seen as anecdotal to the negative effects caused by long-chain fatty acids.
One cause of high cholesterol levels is a slow metabolism. Medium-chain fatty acids are burned almost immediately, thus having the effect of stimulating metabolism and protecting against high cholesterol.
Another detrimental factor relating to cardiovascular health is the blood’s tendency to form clots. This occurs when special proteins in the blood called platelets become sticky. This is caused by the consumption of both saturated and poly-unsaturated fats. The exceptions here are the omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oil, which actually reverse this process, and the medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil, which because they are burned so quickly, have a neutral effect.
The saturated fat in coconut oil is identical to a special group of fats found in human breast milk, which have been shown to improve digestion, strengthen the immune system, and protect against bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. These fats, derived from coconut oil, are now routinely used in hospital IV formulations and commercial baby formulas. They’re also used in sports drinks to boost energy and enhance athletic performance. |
CASE STUDY
TOKELAU AND PUKAPUKA: A CASE STUDY
Coconut oil has been vilified and grouped unfairly with other saturated fats as being unhealthy. In reality the opposite is true. One need only look to the health of the people of the pacific islands as an example of the health giving properties of coconut oil. Populations of Pacific Islanders who enjoy a traditional diet lead lives relatively free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases.
Studies done on people from the islands of Tokelau and Pukapuka, show a population which has almost
ideal weight to height ratios, almost no evidence of kidney disease, heart disease, colon cancer, colitis, ulcers, or appendicitis. These people live off diets that are high in saturated fats derived from coconut oil. This fact flies in the face of conventional western wisdom, which states that,
saturated fats are bad for you and lead to cardiovascular disease and obesity. It is not until Pacific Island people begin eating Western diets that their health becomes affected.
“The more an islander takes on the ways of the West the more prone he is to succumb to our degenerative diseases.”
The further they move away from the diets of their ancestors “the closer they come to gout, diabetes, atherosclerosis, obesity, and hypertension;” Ian Prior, M.D., cardiologist and director of the epidemiology unit at the Wellington hospital in New Zealand.
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