topic Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil in Community Chat

Say NO to Coconut Oil

Katcat1 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:33:17 GMT

Tonight on our local news ABC channel 7, it was mentioned that a Harvard Professor considered coconut oil Pure Poison. Coconut oil has an extremely high content of saturated fat and you would be better off with veg. oils. I think you would be better off with light olive oils. I wonder about using coconut oil for beauty -- if it is on your skin it does get into your system.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

haddon9 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:36:19 GMT

I've also read the opposite from other doctors...that veg oils are poison and the saturated fat which has been vilified in coconut oil is actually good for you.

Sometimes it's hard to know what to believe.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

GAQShopr53 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:44:47 GMT

Sharing: This is an article I read asking the same question about coconut oil.

Ask the doctor: Coconut oil and health

Is coconut oil good for you?

Updated: August 22, 2018 Published: May, 2011

Q. I have started noticing more coconut oil at the grocery store and have heard it is better for you than a lot of other oils. Is that true?

A. I've also noticed that coconut oil seems to be catching on these days. Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat, which is a higher percentage than butter (about 64% saturated fat), beef fat (40%), or even lard (also 40%). Too much saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it raises "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. So it would seem that coconut oil would be bad news for our hearts.

But what's interesting about coconut oil is that it also gives "good" HDL cholesterol a boost. Fat in the diet, whether it's saturated or unsaturated, tends to nudge HDL levels up, but coconut oil seems to be especially potent at doing so.

Saturated fat is divided into various types, based on the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, and about half of the saturated fat in coconut oil is the 12-carbon variety, called lauric acid. That is a higher percentage than in most other oils, and is probably responsible for the unusual HDL effects of coconut oil. But plant-based oils are more than just fats. They contain many antioxidants and other substances, so their overall effects on health can't be predicted just by the changes in LDL and HDL.

Coconut is a wonderful flavor and there's no problem using coconut oil occasionally. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so cooks are experimenting with using it instead of butter or vegetable shortening to make pie crust and other baked goods that require a solid source of fat. And if you're preparing a Thai dish, cooking with coconut oil may be essential.

But, for now, I'd use coconut oil sparingly. Most of the research so far has consisted of short-term studies to examine its effect on cholesterol levels. We don't really know how coconut oil affects heart disease. And I don't think coconut oil is as healthful as vegetable oils like olive oil and soybean oil, which are mainly unsaturated fat and therefore both lower LDL and increase HDL. Coconut oil's special HDL-boosting effect may make it "less bad" than the high saturated fat content would indicate, but it's still probably not the best choice among the many available oils to reduce the risk of heart disease.

— Walter C. Willett, M.D.
Harvard School of Public Health
Department of Nutrition
Harvard Health Letter Editorial Board

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

sidsmom — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:45:42 GMT

Of course we shouldn’t be consuming it.

It’s a processed food.

Ick.

I saw a comment about this article on my FB groups.

She referenced an article proclaiming the evil of coconut oil

being used for movie popcorn. And this article was written

waaaaay back in the early 90’s. Somewhere along the way,

coconut oil got an amazing marketing team (like Team Protein)

where none of their claims stand up.

The ‘poison’ disclaimer is a splashy headline, but it’s true.

The only thing I dislike...within the article it compromises

by saying other oils are preferred.

No....all oils are processed foods.

100% fat.

Double Ick.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

Pook — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:57:00 GMT

Every time someone comes out with a statement that something is not good for you panic and hysteria set in. Coconut oil is not poison and is considered good fat by just about everyone but that particular Harvard professer who just might be a wacko. Just because he is a Harvard professor doesn't make him an authority on it! There is nothing harmful in coconut oil to harm you especially if it's put on the skin!! Pure poison was just this person's way of saying the saturated fat is something he considers harmful and not really poinsonous!! See what I was saying- hysteria over nothing!! I think it's all a personal choice. Some have weird eating views and that's their choice but not for anyone to say what others should choose to eat or use!!

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

Equuleus — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:52:37 GMT

I don't use oils. Not in cooking or in my food or on my skin.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

willdob3 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:52:38 GMT

@haddon9 wrote:
I've also read the opposite from other doctors...that veg oils are poison and the saturated fat which has been vilified in coconut oil is actually good for you.

Sometimes it's hard to know what to believe.

@haddon9

Coconut oil was known to be healthy years ago - then the soy industry let loose with a propaganda campaign that destroy sales. Years later we know that soy bean oil is the unhealthy oil and coconut oil is indeed very healthy. It is different than other oils, has health benefits, even has a different number of calories per gram than other fats but that is mostly ignored.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

Jersey Born — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 21:58:16 GMT

I love coconut oil! It is an excellent anti-microbial agent. I will not be discouraged by the words of someone who has not read all the research I have regarding the extraordinary and miraculous health benefits of unique Medium Chain Tryglycerides, aka Medium Chain Fatty Acids. Not everyone who hails from Harvard U is a mega genius. Not everyone graduating from Harvard U is necessarily trustworthy and worthy of my attention, either.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

Shelbelle — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:07:15 GMT

I read years ago that coconut oil is the worst pore clogger of them all, never use it on my skin or consume it!! if it clogs your pores, cant it clog your arteries too??

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:12:24 GMT

@Jersey Born wrote:
I love coconut oil! It is an excellent anti-microbial agent. I will not be discouraged by the words of someone who has not read all the research I have regarding the extraordinary and miraculous health benefits of unique Medium Chain Tryglycerides, aka Medium Chain Fatty Acids. Not everyone who hails from Harvard U is a mega genius. Not everyone graduating from Harvard U is necessarily trustworthy and worthy of my attention, either.

@Jersey Born. I agree. My Doctor told me to use coconut oil on my skin. Knowing her, I know she did heavy research as you did. We all know about the Harvard Studies.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

millieshops — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:15:46 GMT

@Katcat1Everything that we touch undoubtedly impacts us in some way, but I have no intention of avoiding coconut oil on my skin unless there's way more science information explaining how much detrimental fat actually manages to seep in. Right now my sense tells me not all that much.

I happened to have picked up a copy of WEBMD this AM in my doctor'd waiting room - recommended there for dry skin - use coconut oil or olive oil. Pick your poison - but I refuse to live every minute of every day in fear.

I haven't yet consciously eaten coconut oil though.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

Cardamom — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:31:52 GMT

Sorry, I disagree. I eat it nearly everyday I’ve lost 35 lbs, my chlosterol levels are amazing, I feel great, my skin is great. I will never knowingly have a bite of vegetable oil again. I use coconut oil, olive oil or avocado oil.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

SahmIam — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:18:18 GMT

For those interested: Weight Watchers does NOT support the use of Coconut Oil in any way.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

dooBdoo — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 22:24:35 GMT

For those interested in the comments by the actual professor who called it "poison," she was talking about ingesting it.

Here's an excerpt from one article.

(If you don't like this source, by the way, there are many others -- just search the net):

_______________________

"How coconut oil went from health food to 'poison'"

"Over the past 10 years or so, coconut oil has become a mainstay as both a food and a personal care product. Goop mentions it in at least 168 articles......

It’s also been recommended in the mainstream media for everything from cooking to skin care and even oil pulling, a technique involving swishing the stuff around in your mouth like a mouthwash for cleansing. It’s become a darling of the so-called clean eating movement.

But a professor just declared that “coconut oil is pure poison” and “one of the worst foods you can eat.”

Karin Michels, an adjunct epidemiology professor at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the director of the Institute for Prevention and Tumor Epidemiology at the University of Freiburg in Germany, made this statement during a lecture in German in July.

(To be clear, she was talking about eating it... )......

......It all comes down to the debate about saturated fat

Coconut oil contains a lot of saturated fat, which is the type that historically has been linked to heart disease.

In June 2017, the American Heart Association (AHA) got coco-philes and nutritional scientists alike up in arms when it released an advisory statement warning against saturated fats.

The statement reiterated the association’s decades-long stance that people should cut back on these fats because they contribute to cardiovascular disease.

It specifically called out coconut oil in the report, noting: “Because coconut oil increases LDL cholesterol, a cause of [cardiovascular disease], and has no known offsetting favorable effects, we advise against the use of coconut oil.”

Plenty of experts disagreed with the AHA’s stance.

The inherent unhealthiness of saturated fat is a topic of much debate and fuzzy data in the scientific community, as Vox health writer Julia Belluz has reported on extensively.

Saturated fat may not be as bad as we have always assumed, though data supports the fact that unsaturated fats, like those found in fish and vegetable oils, are definitely preferable and can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease......

......By the 1950s, coconut oil had fallen out of favor after the first hypotheses about saturated fat and heart disease were proposed, according to the American Oil Chemists’ Society, an industry trade group.

More recently, in 1994 the Center for Science in the Public Interest published an analysis of movie popcorn. It claimed a large unbuttered popcorn had as much saturated fat as six Big Macs, largely due to the coconut oil it was popped in.

Coconut oil remained a pariah until about the mid-2000s, when it started showing up in health food stores.

In 2011, a New York Times food columnist claimed the oil had “charmed” the health food world, attributing its growing popularity to vegans who used it as a butter substitute and scientists who were rethinking the evidence on saturated fat, as noted above.

A representative from Whole Foods said in the article that coconut oil sales growth had been in the “high double digits” for the preceding five years.

Proponents really gave coconut oil a lift after data in a 2008 study suggested that subjects who ate an oil containing medium chain triglycerides (MCT) lost more weight than a control group who ate olive oil.

Coconut oil contains MCTs, though not in the amount that was used in the study. But weight loss potential became one of coconut oil’s claims to fame.

One of the study’s authors told Stat News: “I think the data that we’ve shown with medium chain fatty acids have been extrapolated very liberally. I’ve never done one study on coconut oil.”

Soon, coconut oil took on the aura of woo-woo common in today’s wellness spaces.

In addition to being a favorite in Goop articles, Dr. Oz touted its ability to “help our bodies mount resistance to both viruses and bacteria that can cause illness.”

It became popular in questionable diet plans. In his book The TB2 Method, Tom Brady wrote that it was all he cooked with.

It’s a core food in the Bulletproof diet, which proposes you drink coffee with butter and oil swirled into it.

It pops up as a recommended ingredient in the keto, Paleo, and Whole30 diets.

Coconut oil purists recommend using a non-refined version, saying that the refining process strips away potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Amid all this, more people started slathering it all over themselves, using it as a hair mask and moisturizer.

Commercial beauty products claiming to be “natural” incorporated it as an ingredient, and there’s even an upscale line of coconut oil products sold at Sephora called Kopari. Jared Leto and a slew of other celebrities invested in the brand.

So will coconut oil kill me?

All the confusion and negative news seems to be taking a toll on the popularity of coconut oil. Sales started waning in 2015, according to the Washington Post.

Like all fats, coconut oil is high in calories.

The truism for most things concerning diet holds up here: Saturated fats generally, and coconut oil specifically, are probably fine in moderation.

Calling something a poison is a great way to get YouTube views, but unless you stir-fry the coconut oil with some arsenic, it’s an exaggeration."

copy and paste link to see entire article:

vox.com/science-and-health/2018/8/23/17773494/coconut-oil-poison-saturated-fat

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

dooBdoo — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:26:03 GMT

Apologies for the length... even though it's an excerpt, I know it's really, really long.😜 Some people are wary of links and, also, we've had several threads recently with misunderstandings about what the original post referenced.

So, I thought it might help to put the details here in the thread, for those who are interested in reading them.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

Its Me LuLuBelle2 — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:32:54 GMT

I've been using coconut oil for about 8 years for skin care - head to toe. The minute I get out of the shower it's my go to moisurizer for my ridiculously dry skin. Daytime I use a moisturizer with SPF and nightime after washing my face with Neutrogena, yep, coconut oil. It absorbs well and has made an amazing difference in my skin. Prior to using it I tried too many ridiculously high priced products that just didn't live up to the hype. It's cheap, it's in the grocery store and for me, it works!

I don't ingest it, cook with it, wash my hair or brush my teeth with it. And I don't care what the experts say, I'm stickin' with it!

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

Icegoddess — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:44:40 GMT

There's nothing new there. The scientific community just labels fats saturated = bad and non-saturated = better. Period. They don't go beyond that, and they didn't actually study if it depended on the source of the fat. The fat from dairy products is actually good for you. Besides HDL & LDL there are subcategories of LDL called Fluffy and Dense. Butter only affects the good Fluffy LDL. I really wasn't sure about that one until I had a physical and sure enough Fluffy and Dense LDL was included in my cholesterol profile, although I think I actually know more about that part of the profile now than my doctor does.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

esmeraldagooch — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:46:10 GMT

@Jersey Born wrote:
I love coconut oil! It is an excellent anti-microbial agent. I will not be discouraged by the words of someone who has not read all the research I have regarding the extraordinary and miraculous health benefits of unique Medium Chain Tryglycerides, aka Medium Chain Fatty Acids. Not everyone who hails from Harvard U is a mega genius. Not everyone graduating from Harvard U is necessarily trustworthy and worthy of my attention, either.

I agree, I put it in my morning coffee, and it's kept some long term problems I was having from reoccurring. It's anti antimicrobial, fungal and bacterial. Many who have pets with worms or pests feed it to them to naturally kill the pest. Candida overgrowth can be slowed and stopped by eating coconut oil.

There have been studies done with coconut oil and alzhimers patients. People have seen some reversals, although not a cure. Dr. Mary Newport used it on her husband Steve, which led to a trial to see just how much it could help others.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

RedTop — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:47:01 GMT

This, like so many other things “They” say, fall into my “I simply don’t care” category.

I’m nearly 63 years old: I intend to live every day I have left continuing to do things the way that has worked to get me this far in life. I grew up on a farm where Grandpa drowned every grapevine and fruit tree with Malathion, so I’m amazed I’ve even made it to my 60’s.

Re: Say NO to Coconut Oil

dooBdoo — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 23:00:41 GMT

@Pook wrote:
Every time someone comes out with a statement that something is not good for you panic and hysteria set in. Coconut oil is not poison and is considered good fat by just about everyone but that particular Harvard professer who just might be a wacko. Just because he is a Harvard professor doesn't make him an authority on it! There is nothing harmful in coconut oil to harm you especially if it's put on the skin!! Pure poison was just this person's way of saying the saturated fat is something he considers harmful and not really poinsonous!! See what I was saying- hysteria over nothing!! I think it's all a personal choice. Some have weird eating views and that's their choice but not for anyone to say what others should choose to eat or use!!

In fairness, this is just another case of a headline that sounds "sensational" when it's actually only one comment lifted from one person's lecture. It's her opinion based on research, and there are other qualified and credentialed experts who aren't fans of excessive ingestion of coconut oil... though I doubt they would say "poison."

Reading beyond the dramatic headlines -- which is something all of us need to spend more time doing in my opinion -- this looks like it's more about quantity consumed than mere normal use.

As a sidebar, the professor and researcher ("Dr. Michels’ research focuses on epigenetic epidemiology, perinatal risk factors for breast cancer and the role of nutrition in cancer etiology"), Karin Michels, is a woman, not a man.😊