Is it True Coconut Oil isn’t Healthy? Has it Ever Been?

by DailyHealthPost Editorial

is coconut oil bad for you

The Case Against Coconut Oil and Other Saturated Fats

Vegetable oils that the AHA recommends to replace coconut oil and other natural saturated fats (butter, cream, lard and other animal fat, palm kernel oil) include canola, corn, and soy. There are several very big problems with this.

  1. A 2015 study found that this type of fat substitution had no impact on vascular (blood vessel) function. (10)
  2. These vegetable oils are highly processed with chemicals and are devoid of nutrition; when heated or exposed to air, they give off toxic fumes.
  3. Most corn and soy are genetically modified.
  4. Canola isn’t a natural oil: it is a rapeseed oil hybrid (CANadian Oil Low Acid) that contains erucic acid, which is toxic to humans. When heated, the carcinogenic fumes released are the worst of any cooking oil.
  5. AHA recommends using margarine instead of butter. In order for the chemically-extracted vegetable oils to stay solid, they are hydrogenated, creating trans fats that everyone agrees are bad for you. AHA warns against these but at its basis, margarine is not a natural product and is highly processed.

The Heart’s Real Enemy

Atherosclerosis and its associated diseases are caused by plaque build-up in artery walls. The role of LDL cholesterol as a primary factory in the formation of plaque, however, isn’t the cholesterol itself but the oxidation of cholesterol. The inflammation that results from oxidation prevents normal movement and processing of fats and other molecules through the circulatory system.

From Chapter 3 of the book Hypercholesterolemia:

“Oxidation is a biochemical process of loss of electrons, which is essential for life due to its involvement in the production of cellular energy. Oxidative stress appears when oxidation is excessive. This apparently simple process is actually complex in all biological levels, and cannot be measured or defined by a single parameter. The oxidation process of lipids [fats] and proteins is the result of an excess of free radical and other oxidant species derived from oxygen, nitrogen and other chemical elements in the body. The cell proliferation and death are key processes in the progression of atherosclerosis and severe oxidative stress can cause cell death and even mild oxidation can trigger cellular stress and apoptosis, while more intense stress may cause necrosis [death of most or all cells in an organ or tissue]…Today there are clear proofs that LDL oxidation plays a significant role in atherogenesis. In fact, this has been demonstrated throughout time.” (11)

The enemy is therefore not cholesterol but oxidative stress: “The clinical events resulting from atherosclerosis are directly related to the oxidation of lipids in LDLs that become trapped in the extracellular matrix of the subendothelial space [cell walls].” (12)

Are We Being Misled?

Why would the American Heart Association intentionally mislead us?

Many questions arise from AHA’s coconut oil bashing.

  • To state that processed vegetable oils are healthier than natural fat is counterintuitive. Grass-fed butter, coconut oil, and other natural fats (saturated and otherwise) are metabolized in the body whereas artificially-produced fats are not.
  • AHA is funded in part by BigFood (including General Mills), BigAg (including Bayer), and BigPharma (including GlaxoSmithKline). Surely these significant industrial sponsorships influence AHA policy. (13, 14) The use of statin drugs for the regulation of cholesterol is mentioned in AHA’s report and news release. (15, 16)
  • The lead author of the report stated in the news release, “There’s nothing wrong with deep frying as long as you deep fry in a nice unsaturated vegetable oil.” Really? The truth is actually the opposite: deep frying causes oxidation in unstable vegetable oils. (17) The best oils for deep frying (which should be kept to a minimum in any case) are saturated fats, which are much more stable and minimize oxidation.
  • The AHA report doesn’t discuss the nutritional value of natural saturated fats like coconut oil, especially in contrast to vegetable oil’s almost total lack.
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