Coconut oil

Wow! It's been a while since I have actually had time to sit down and read for my blog. We have all been sick, out of town, and personally my doctor's appointments are getting more frequent. On top of that we are nearly 4 weeks away from the delivery of our new addition, so my energy is somewhat lacking. I'm back on track for a little while, at least.

I am going to take a just a few minutes to discuss some benefits of coconut oil and then include some links for you to read further.

Coconut oil is 92% saturated fat. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I will discuss saturated fat in another entry. In the early 1900's most fats were saturated or monounsaturated. People used fats such as butter, lard, tallow, coconut oil, and small amounts of olive oil. Today we're told to eat polyunsaturated oils (vegetable oils, soy, corn, safflower, canola, etc.) We're also told that 30% of our calories should come from polyunsaturated oils. This is way too high. I will also discuss this in a later entry. It should be more like 4%. We we eat too much polyunsaturated oils it leads to an increase in health problems such as cancer, heart disease, immune system disorders, and many more. You can read Nourishing Traditions for more information on polyunsaturated oils and health related issues.

Coconut oil contains lauric acid, which is also found in mother's milk and used in baby formulas. Lauric acid has strong anti fungal and antimicrobial properties. Coconut oil can be kept at room temperature without going rancid. It's great for baking.

JAMA 1967 202:1119-1123; Am J Clin Nutr 1981 34: 1552
Myth: Coconut Oil Causes Heart Disease
Truth: When coconut oil was fed as 7% of energy to patients recovering from heart attacks, the patients had greater improvement compared to untreated controls and no difference compared to patients treated with corn or safflower oils. Populations that consume coconut oil have low rates of heart disease. Coconut oil may also be one of the most useful oils to prevent heart disease because of its antiviral and antimicrobial characteristics.


Coconut Oil: Why Its Good for You, Lita Lee, PhD
People who live in tropical climates who have a diet high in coconut oil are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer, and colon problems. Coconut oil is stable. For example, unsaturated oils become rancid in a few hours.They also deplete vitamin E from your body. Coconut oil, even after 1 year at room temperature does not become rancid. Coconut oil is also shown to lower cholesterol (Blackburn et al 1988, Ahrens and colleagues, 1957). Another benefit is that it stimulates thyroid function. These are just a few benefits mentioned in this article.

Weston A Price also has a number of articles dealing with the health benefits of coconut oil. I will include those links at the bottom. When cooking, I typically only use olive oil, coconut oil, and butter. You should not heat olive oil to extreme temperatures as it becomes rancid and releases free radicals. I use it mainly for homemade salad dressings. We don't really fry things in our home, but if I have to brown something, I use butter. I like to bake with coconut oil because of it's rich flavor. It's also great in smoothies.

Coconut oils is becoming more widely available in stores, but it is often cheaper at Tropical Traditions. Our co-op orders from there, so it saves even a little more. I definitely recommend that you check out some more information about coconut oil and experiment with it in your cooking. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.

More resources here and here and here.