So you consider yourself a well-educated, forward-thinking, health-minded person, and as such, you are definitely on board with the greatest addition to your pantry: coconut oil. After all, according to internet claims, Pinterest and the advice of your well-meaning neighbor, coconut oil will cure thyroid disease, obesity, cancer and heart disease, right!?
Well, maybe not…The medical evidence about the benefits of coconut oil is not totally convincing since most of the claims developed from personal stories rather than actual medical evidence, according to SIU registered dietitian Cindy Yergler.
Let’s check the facts.
Coconut oil is a highly saturated fat. Because it is a plants product, it does not contain cholesterol (cholesterol only comes from animal products; think animals with legs). For this reason, some researches do believe coconut oil could be better than butter and trans fats like margarine or solid shortening, but these claims are still being studied. The bottom line: saturated fats, like coconut oil, are not as healthy as liquid vegetable oils, and any type of fat needs to be eaten in limited amounts.
For your best health outcomes, Yergler recommends switching completely from saturated fats to unsaturated fats like olive, soybean, canola or corn oil for your added fat. This does not mean fill your deep fat fryer with peanut oil! It means roast vegetables with small amounts of olive oil, make a vegetable stir fry with measured amounts of peanut or canola oil, use olive oil for bread dipping instead of slathering it with butter or margarine and use cooking oil sprays with non-stick cooking surfaces or grills to prepare delicious meats, poultry and fish. Limit the total amount of fat of any kind that you are eating. At 120 or more calories per tablespoon, fat-laden calories add up fast and too much fat of any kind is not a good thing for our bodies, not even health fats or coconut oil.
-cy, rb