Is coconut oil a beneficial food or "pure poison" ?

Since the 1970s, a host of adverse effects have been attributed to the consumption of saturated fats. However, in recent years, scientific evidence has emerged that both sugar and processed fats (hydrogenated and trans fats) are a risk factor for heart problems.

Debunking the myth that saturated fats are bad

To understand this belief we have to go back to 1970 when Ancel Keys, an American physiologist, published his original study entitled Coronary heart wishes in seven countries (Coronary heart disease in seven countries). The study analyzed the lifestyles of more than 10,000 men between the ages of 40 and 59. This population was selected from seven countries: Italy, Greece, Finland, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, the United States, and Japan.

It showed that higher saturated fat consumption led to higher mortality from cardiovascular disease. The problem? It only showed seven of the 22 countries for which it had data. Otherwise, the graph would have been very different, and saturated fats wouldn't have been demonized.

Comparative graph of the results of the Ancel Keys trial with all countries (left) and only the initial seven (right)

Since then, a reduction in fat consumption, especially saturated fats, has been promoted. To achieve palatable foods, the food industry replaced them with sugars and carbohydrates, along with a large number of new artificial additives.

The change in diet among the American population, which reduced its consumption of eggs, whole milk and meat to comply with the new dietary recommendations, resulted in an exponential increase in the pathologies that were sought to combat. In 2014, this meta-analysis published in the magazine Annals of Internal Medicine finally debunked the belief that reducing saturated fat consumption leads to a reduction in blood cholesterol. In fact, he took credit for the The increase in these pathologies is due to an increase in the consumption of carbohydrates and industrial sugars, which have been shown to increase LDL or “bad cholesterol” without increasing “good” cholesterol or HDL, as saturated fats do.

In this sense, the magazine TIME, published in June 2014 an article entitled The truth about fat (The truth about fats) which debunked the belief that saturated fats were bad and concluded that they were in no way to blame for the obesity and cardiovascular disease epidemic that the United States (and the rest of the world) has suffered in recent years.

Three coconut palms (Cocos nucifera), palm trees of the Arecaceae family

What is coconut and what is coconut oil?

These last few days we have been able to read many articles and headlines in the media about this food and from Baïa Food Co. We wanted to give our perspective on this topic.

Coconut is a tropical fruit from the coconut tree, scientifically known as Cocos nuciferaThis palm tree is the most cultivated in the world today. It belongs to the palm family Arecaceae and in his state natural It can grow up to 30 m or more in height.

First of all, it should be said that the coconut oil to be consumed should always be extra virgin olive oil cold pressed and, if possible, ecological.It is obtained from the cold pressing of the white pulp of the coconut without using any type of chemical product.

It is composed of almost 90% saturated fats, most of them the beneficial medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA – Medium Chain Fatty Acids). Of these fatty acids, approximately 45% is lauric acid (the only food natural which contains more lauric acid than coconut oil is breast milk).

Coconut oil: a beneficial food or pure poison. Video credits: Baïa Food Co.

Coconut oil is found in its liquid form at temperatures above 22°C. Below this temperature, it tends to solidify more strongly at lower temperatures. Its properties do not change when changing from a solid to a liquid state, or vice versa. It is white in color when solid and slightly yellowish in color when liquid. Its acidity is below 2%.

Despite its high nutritional and energy value, we shouldn't be alarmed, because, as part of a healthy diet, it can be an excellent source of saturated fat that's beneficial for the body.

As we said before, its nutritional profile is composed mainly of medium-chain fatty acids. (MCFA or TCMs), among which lauric acid stands out, followed by myristic and palmitic acids. Lauric acid, according to a meta-analysis conducted by the University of Maastricht called Effects of dietary fatty acids and carbohydrates on the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol and on serum lipids and apolipoproteins: a meta-analysis of 60 controlled trials It is characterized as having "a more favorable effect on total HDL cholesterol than any other fatty acid [examined], whether saturated or unsaturated." Furthermore, lauric acid's antimicrobial properties are supported by more than 250 scientific publications on the reference portal Pubmed.

Polynesian climbing a coconut tree to collect coconuts

Properties and benefits of coconut and coconut oil

Michels also commented in his controversial lecture that there was no scientific evidence showing that consuming coconut oil could be beneficial to health. Here are some benefits backed by prestigious studies that prove this is not the case:

• Help TO BURN FAT: This study from Columbia University discovered that regularly consuming oil composed of MCFA or TCMs It makes the body burn fat and lose weight without increasing blood cholesterol or increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• IMPROVES COGNITIVE CAPACITY: Other study from Yale University concludes that MCFA consumption improves cognitive ability and preserves brain functions in hypoglycemic diabetic patients treated with insulin.
• Help TO REDUCE VISCERAL FAT: This study of 2011 concludes that coconut oil Help to reduce visceral fat, especially in men, and without any harmful effects on the lipid profile.
• IMPROVING SHORT-TERM MEMORY IN ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS: This study 2009 scientist shows that the Alzheimer's patients improve short-term memory by taking coconut oil.
• ANTIMICROBIAL POWER: This study from the year 2000 highlights the antimicrobial power of coconut oil.
• Help TO PREVENT CANDIDA: A rehearsal June 2007 scientist concludes that coconut oil Help to prevent candida.
• IT HAS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANALGESIC EFFECT: This study in vitro February 2010 stands out the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of coconut oil.
  
  

Freshly picked fresh coconuts

Conclusions

At Baïa Food Co., we recommend that you be critical of all the information you read on the internet, in newspapers, and on TV. Don't let anyone impose a criterion on you, rather generate your own.

Don't forget that the media thrives on mass attention: read in depth, don't just read the headlines and always draw your own conclusions.

In this case, decide for yourselves whether coconut and its oil are "pure poison," as Professor Karin Michels says, or rather a food that can provide scientifically proven nutritional benefits.