Coconut Oil: Part 2 Can Some Fats Be Good For You?

Back in the 1930's, a study was done that found South Pacific Islanders, whose diets were high in coconut, to be healthy and trim, despite the high dietary fat.  Heart disease was virtually non existent.  Studies in 1981 from two Polynesian communities that had coconut as a primary caloric energy source, found them to have excellent cardiovascular health and fitness.  Where were all the clogged arteries and heart attacks from eating all of this saturated fat?   Not in these communities.  So the question is:  If fat is so bad for you...Why wasn't it showing up in these circumstances?

The Difference

Coconut oil is a naturally occurring saturated fat, and coconut oil is actually good for you.  It provides a number of profound health benefits,such as:

• Boosting your thyroid
• Increasing metabolism
• Promoting lean body and weight loss if needed
• Immune system support
• Heart health

Coconut oil even benefits your skin when applied topically.  It's also been found to have anti-aging, regenerative effects as well.

How does it work?

Almost 50% of the fat in coconut oil, is a type rarely found in nature called lauric acid.   Our bodies convert lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, as well as anti-protozoa properties.   It is also nature's richest source of medium chain fatty acids, also called medium-chain triglycerides, or MCT's.  Most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids, also known as long-chain triglycerides, or LCT's.  These are large molecules, so they are difficult for your body to break down , and are mostly stored as fat in the body.

The MCT's are smaller, and easily digested, and then burned by your liver for energy.  Sort of like carbohydrates, but without the spike of insulin.  MCT's actually boost your metabolism and help your body use  fat for energy, as opposed to storing it.  It actually can help you become leaner.

Don't Use Olive Oil for Cooking

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the best monounsaturated fat and works great as a salad dressing.  HOWEVER!  Olive Oil should NOT be used for cooking.  Due to its chemical structure, heat makes olive oil susceptible to oxidative damage.  So for cooking, use Coconut Oil exclusively.

The worst oils to cook with are those that contain polyunsaturated  fats, which include common vegetable oils like:  corn, soy, sunflower, and canola. Yes.  The ones I grew up with!  The ones I believed in.   These are the worst oils to cook with.   The only oil that is strong enough to withstand the heat, is Coconut Oil.

In Coconut Oil:  Part 3, we'll be sharing with you why cooking your food in Omega 6 vegetable oils produces a variety of very toxic chemicals, as well as the formation of trans-fats.