Coconut oil
Coconut oil is high in saturated fats. Non-refined saturated fats are healthy, and saturated fats are also better used in cooking as the fats are more stable and do not form harmful free radicals. Saturated fats, unlike vegetable oils, are less likely to go rancid from contact with sunlight and heat and do not need refrigeration.
Saturated fats that have been heated, bleached and deodorised are harmful and will cause inflammation. Coconut oil contains no cholesterol and consists of over 50% medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) but also contains mono-unsaturated (chains with one double bond) and di-unsaturated (chains with 2 double bonds) fatty acids.
MCFAs are special as the body can use them in a unique way in that they almost don’t behave like fat in the body. MCFA are relatively water soluble and are rapidly taken up into the body from the intestines. They pass quickly to the liver where they are burned up as quick energy.
Other types of fat need help to be absorbed and are taken up into special vehicles called chylomicrons, which take a tour around the body via the lymphatic system before arriving at the liver. Whilst on tour they may get deposited into the body’s soft tissues including the arteries. It is these longer chain fats that make up the ‘bad’ portions of cholesterol.
Medium chain fatty acids, also called medium chain triglycerides (MCT), have been used for some time as part of the process of promoting a ketogenic diet for the management of resistant epilepsy in children. More recently, people have used coconut oil in the same way to promote ketogenesis (ketone production) to help to lose weight.
Because of their easy means of getting into the body, MCFAs are good for people who find it difficult to absorb fat or have gallbladder disease.
Virgin coconut oil should be distinguished from more ordinary coconut oil. Virgin coconut oil has not been refined and should retain its coconut smell. Varieties that are sold as ‘odourless’ are more likely to have been refined in order to remove the smell. The process gets rid of the smell but also some of the wonderful nutrients.
Once demonised as a ‘bad’ fat, more and more research articles now recognise the benefits of virgin coconut oil:
- Reduces harmful lipid levels
- Increases beneficial lipid levels
- Reduces chance of blood clots
- Improves fat burning
- Detoxifies heavy metals
- Is anti-fungal and antibacterial
- Assists absorption of calcium, magnesium and amino acids
- Improves insulin sensitivity and therefore diabetes management
Conclusion
Coconut oil is a good saturated fat - it has an anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial action.