Coconut oil is not as healthy as you think
It’s been touted as a magical “healthy” fat in recent years but coconut oil may not be so good for you after all.
A new review paper from the American Heart Association has found the so-called health food actually contains saturated fat that increases “bad” cholesterol.
In seven out of seven controlled trials, researchers found the oil, which is extracted from the meat of coconuts, caused LDL (the main source of cholesterol build up and blockage in the arteries) to spike.
“Because coconut oil increases LDL cholesterol, a cause of CVD (cardiovascular disease), and has no known offsetting favourable effects, we advise against the use of coconut oil,” the American Heart Association concluded.
According to a key advisory notice published in the journal Circulation, coconut oil is packed with 82 per cent of saturated fats, far more than in regular butter (63 per cent), olive oil (14 per cent), peanut oil (17 per cent), and sunflower oil (10 per cent).
“A recent survey reported that 72 percent of the American public rated coconut oil as a ‘healthy food’ compared with 37 percent of nutritionists,” the AHA’s review notes. “This disconnect between lay and expert opinion can be attributed to the marketing of coconut oil in the popular press.”