Saturated Fat Found in Coconut Oil Protects Your Cardiovascular System
Author: Anna Hillmen
Picture this. You are walking along the soothing beaches of Oahu. All around, you are surrounded with the usual suspects found at a beach - the surfers, the swimmers, the sunbathers and those who love paddleboarding. And as you enjoy the sights of the beach, it suddenly occurs to you that you can easily tell the difference between the locals and tourists. That's because the locals do not only have trimmer looking figures, they also have a glow that simply radiates abundant energy and good health! Even more importantly, no one seems to have a cough, headache or sniffle as they run around.
What on earth can their secret be?. Is it the sun? Or the stress-free life that they practice? The prevalence of salt in the air? Those things may play a role, but the real secret lies within the world's largest seed.
The Coconut: A Tropical Powerhouse...
Coconut has been used by the Polynesian and Malaysian cultures for many years. Not only has it been used for many centuries, it also contains one of the highest percentages of the essential nutrients needed by the body. Coconuts do not just provide nutrients. They are also richly filled with minerals and vitamins such as manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamin C and vitamin B2. And as incredible as these healthy nutrients might be, coconut oil contains even more. However, coconut oil which is derived from the fruit is found to be made up by as much as 90% saturated fat and this puts it smack into the ever important debate on saturated fats.
The Saturated Fat Debate...
Coconut oil is extracted from the dried flesh of the coconut fruit. And with a large percentage made up of plant-based saturated fat, there are many people that question the health benefits/risks associated with the fruit. What many people are unaware of is that more than half of the disputed saturated fat content is instead made up of lauric acid - a health medium chain fatty acid that is broken down by the body into monolaurin. Monolaurin is the actual compound found in breast milk that strengthens a baby's immune system. It is also known to promote normal brain development and contribute to healthy bones, as well as protect against viruses and bacteria.
Despite these purported health benefits, many opponents of coconut oil point to the high concentration of saturated fats as a reason to avoid it. Many people believe that it is unhealthy to eat the saturated fat which is found in animals that have been raised on an unnatural diet of corn and soy while housed in conventional feedlots. However, the fat content found in coconut oil is made up primarily of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). Medium-chain triglycerides are very easily digested by the body. These fats are therefore metabolized more quickly into energy.
The way medium-chain triglycerides are used by the body varies from its use of other fats. Most of the consumed fat goes into storage in the body's cells. Unlike normal fat however, medium-chain triglycerides are sent to the liver where they are then converted into energy. To put it even more simply, while you are likely to carry residual fat from your breakfast of eggs and bacon, that same thing wouldn't happen with coconut oil because the 'coconut fat' is used almost immediately by your liver.
More of Those Benefits...
Let's now consider some of the proposed benefits of coconut oil. Coconut appears to be anti-just-about-everything:
* Anti-inflammatory
* Anti-pyretic (it reduces fever)
* Anti-fungal
* Anti-bacterial
During a test involving rats suffering from inflammation, a pharmacological study found significant evidence that the inflammation was reduced with virgin coconut oil. Also discovered during the study was the fact that coconut oil could be used in reducing the symptoms of fever (anti-pyretic) and pain in rats suffering from induced hyperthermia. These findings led the team handling the study to conclude that there was credible evidence to support the proposed ".....anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic properties of virgin coconut oil." People could therefore rely on the use of coconut oil in treating symptoms of inflammation, fever and pain. Certainly, that's bound to be good news for the rats. The findings of the study would bear even more weight if they were done with humans.
On the antifungal front, researchers studied the effect of coconut oil on Candida (the fungus common to yeast infections), as compared to fluconazole, a common antifungal drug. Fifty-two different isolates of Candida were taken from clinical specimens. Of these, Candida Albicans was the most common isolate used. It is important to note this because Candida Albicans is the most common cause of fungal infections such as thrust, vaginitis and diaper rash. All isolates were tested to see how susceptible they were to both virgin coconut oil and the antifungal drug. The results of the test showed that while strains of Candida Albicans could be treated with as low as a 1:4 dilution rate with coconut oil, researchers required twice as much (1:2) to achieve the same results with Fluconazole.
In less technical terms: The fungus was treated successfully with less coconut oil than the antifungal drug. In simpler terms, the coconut oil worked better (in a smaller quantity) than the drug. A testament once again of the triumph of nature.
Similar positive results were found when researchers tested the antibacterial properties of coconut oil. Researchers performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 26 people who had atopic dermatitis, a skin condition that often includes painfully dry skin that is highly susceptible to a nasty bacterium called Staphylococcus Aureus .
For four weeks, half the members of the group were asked to apply virgin coconut oil twice a day to two uninfected parts of their body. The other half of the group were asked to follow the same routine using virgin olive oil instead of coconut oil. At the start of the study, 76% of the participants were found to be positive when tested for Staphylococcus Aureus. However, once the study was completed, less than 6% of the people who used virgin coconut oil were found to still have the bacteria as opposed to the 50% rate found in the second group. The coconut oil also relieved the users' dry skin.
With these results, most researchers came to the conclusion that there was credible evidence that the use of coconut oil could be used in treating conditions of fungal, viral or bacterial origins. Although we agree, the importance of these results would be even better if a larger number of participants were used with a larger variety of bacterial strains.
Heart and Weight Loss Benefits Too...
The cardio-protective and fat-burning features of coconut oil are also another important point that is often raised by people advocating the use of coconut oil. Based on the results of a population study,which involved more than 2,500 local residents of Tokelau and Pukapuka, the daily intake of coconut oil was found to have no effect on cholesterol levels.
To achieve even better results, the focus of the study was aimed on people who had diets that were rich in coconut oil. The researchers reported that the participants' overall health was very good, and that vascular disease was uncommon. Even more impressive was the fact that, in spite of the prevalence of coconut oil in their diet, none of the participants were found to have high cholesterol levels. Most of the citizens had never suffered from diseases such as bowel disorders, colon cancer and coronary heart disease. The lead researcher, Dr. Ian Prior, concluded that there was no evidence that high saturated fat intake from coconut oil had a harmful effect.
For most people, this conclusion was not surprising. As well as being safe for use, coconut oil also offers a number of important benefits such as enhanced gastrointestinal health. However, that cannot be stated conclusively without evaluating the participants' entire diet. Interestingly, when it comes to weight loss, it appears that coconut oil's medium-chain triglycerides are the very reason it is effective. It turns out that when you eat coconut oil, your body uses it more quickly rather than storing it as body fat. In this way, those medium-chain triglycerides are thermogenic - meaning that they actually speed up your metabolism, burning more calories and giving you more energy.
For example, according to several online sources, farmers from the 1940s wanted to fatten up their livestock, so they gave them coconut oil. However, the animals became leaner and more active. Although this example cannot be confirmed by any credible source, we did discover a human study that appeared to back it up. During a series of tests performed on the residents of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (a town where coconut is eaten almost daily), it was discovered that they had a metabolic rate that was 25% higher than those of the average American. However, this study (like the example given with the farmers and their livestock) cannot be properly substantiated. Both examples were presented by an author who offered no references to back up his claims.
We were prepared to still ignore these findings - despite the obvious signs supporting the beneficial actions of medium-chain triglycerides-because the data lacked clinical backings. And then we stumbled across an insightful study involving a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind research in Brazil. The effects of coconut on weight loss were tested in a study designed to treat 40 women with clinical abdominal obesity. 20 of these women received a daily dose of either coconut oil or soybean oil every day for 3 months. In addition, both groups were placed on a strict, balanced low calorie diet and asked to walk for 50 minutes every day.
Once the study was completed it was revealed that the women who took coconut oil had lost more weight than those taking soybean oil. The group fed coconut oil also had higher HDL (good) cholesterol level than the second group. Some amount of weight loss was recorded in both groups. All told, the users of coconut oil were able to lose weight as well as increase their good cholesterol levels. Not bad for a big seed!
The Right Way to Use Coconut Oil...
All of these goes to show that using coconut oil is in no way bad for you and that it's a fantastic natural health remedy. There is a significant difference to be found between the saturated fat content of animals and the saturated fat content of coconut.
Also, there appears to be strong evidence that coconuts are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory. It has also been shown to have only beneficial effects on people's weight loss and heart health efforts. We therefore encourage the use of coconut oil and not just for its taste. The high smoking point of coconut oil makes it a great choice for cooking. This way, you can enjoy cooking your favorite meals without needing to worry about the coconut oil morphing into toxic trans-fats in front of you. Plus, coconut oil is very stable. It has a two-year shelf life and won't turn rancid, even in warm temperatures.
So give coconut oil a try. Just be sure to choose organic, virgin coconut oil that is unrefined, unbleached, made without heat processing or chemicals, and is non-GMO. We are sure that after a few days with this outstanding oil, you'll be loco for coconut, too!
About the Author: Provides in-depth, science-based, independent reviews of natural health therapies and remedies that have been proven to be both safe and effective and are backed by good science -- multiple double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized studies. Unfortunately, there are many charlatans making bogus, unfounded claims in the natural health area, so our goal is to separate fact from fiction to pinpoint what actually works. See more at http://naturalhealthsherpa.com.
