Coconut Milks Fat Content
Most people following a standard 2,000-calorie diet should only consume 65 grams of fat each day. No more than 20 grams should come from saturated fat. This means that a third of your DV for fat could come from a single 100-gram serving of coconut milk. The high saturated fat content of coconut milk means that you’ve basically met your daily limit of this type of fat as well.
The American Heart Association recommends that people avoid saturated fats because they can increase your cholesterol, which can affect the health of your heart. Saturated fats are typically associated with animal fats like butter and lard but are present in many tropical vegetables too. These fats are usually considered to be equivalent, regardless of whether or not they come from plant-based sources.
However, according to The Coconut Palm Research and Development Perspectives, a variety of studies disagree and find coconut’s fat content to be neutral for your health, including a 2016 study in the European Journal of Nutrition that showed it didn’t affect triglycerides, cholesterol or other cardiometabolic risk markers. In fact, consumption of coconut products is often shown to improve cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Is Coconut Oil Bad For Cholesterol
Coconut oil is the most recent pin up the healthy stakes, joining;Instagram;images of kale and quinoa on the walls of the;wellness brigade. If hyperbole is to be believed, then coconut oil;has the potential to improve cardiovascular health, encourage;weight loss, reduce appetite and enhance energy levels. Claims;have even been made about Alzheimers.
Magic stuff, it seems, but not for one twitter follower who was;alarmed by a marked jump in cholesterol levels having been taking;coconut oil for a few months. This change is neither uncommon;nor unexpected, as research confirms that increasing intake of;coconut oil is likely cause a rise in levels of total cholesterol as well;as low-level lipoprotein, or LDL, variety, often regarded as the less;favourable type of cholesterol. ;
Just a warning! I just had a health check, all great but i have high cholesterol… the reason… coconut oil! #coconutoil#thebodycoach :
Coconut oil is 92 per cent;saturated fats made up mostly of lauric, stearic;and myristic acids. Yet the saturated fats in coconut oil are mostly;medium-chain triglycerides unlike those in red meat and dairy,;which are of the longer chain variety. This is an important;difference as the medium chain fats are more easily processed in;the human body, and there is some evidence that they produce;energy more readily, which may explain the popularity of coconut;oil amongst enthusiastic personal trainers.;
Despite Popular Belief Coconut Oil Has No Anti
Coconut oil consumption leads to higher levels of LDL cholesterol compared with other vegetable oils, according to a new meta-analysis. In contrast to popular belief, coconut oil also was not linked to lower rates of inflammation, glycemia, or adiposity, leading experts to discourage its use.
I’ve always been kind of flabbergasted by this popular culture fascination with coconut oil when it’s one of the most fatty substances on the planet, and I think this study confirms some of those things we’ve seen play out in smaller individual studies as well, Deirdre Mattina, MD , who was not involved with the study, told TCTMD.
The confusion has stemmed from widespread claims that coconut oil has anti-inflammatory properties that are based on smaller studies from geographically isolated populations, she said. A lot of that we sort of took out of context and from what other components are available in those populations’ diets. And then people are just naturally always looking for something that’s marketed as being natural or different in processing, so I think they’re flocking to those things and maybe misinterpreting what healthy really is.
Senior author Rob M. van Dam, PhD , told TCTMD that the researchers embarked on this study because of how widely coconut oil is promoted in the press as being beneficial.
Comparisons to Other Oils
Effects of Coconut Oil vs Nontropical Vegetable Oils in All Trials
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Not a Healthy Oil
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What About Weight Loss
Some argue that coconut oil can aid weight loss because it contains medium-chain triglycerides . MCTs lead to greater energy expenditure than long-chain triglycerides .
If this appeals to you and you choose to use coconut oil, do so in moderation and adjust the other forms of saturated fat in your diet to allow for its use.;
What Makes Coconut Oil A Bad Fat
Humans have been using coconut oil for over 4,000 years, and there was no incidence of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
Yes, everybody was healthy. Until one day
The truth about coconut oil;happened during the Second;World War.
Due to an economic reason, ASA accused all tropical oils as they are unhealthy oils containing high cholesterol and causing heart disease.
They convinced the people to avoid saturating oils and use soybean oil instead.
They claimed that soybean oil is the healthy dietary oil people should eat.
Since then, all people in the world did what they said.
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Coconut Milk And Saturated Fat
The reason why coconut’s fat content causes so much dispute comes down to the type of saturated fats it contains. Coconut has a mixture of long-chain and short-chain saturated fatty acids, but most are medium-chain fatty acids. Unlike other saturated fats, medium-chain fatty acids can be beneficial for your heart, but studies on this are often contradictory.
A lot of the dispute regarding whether coconut can increase your cholesterol is based on dietary choices. Coconut is commonly consumed in a variety of forms around the world, and many of the people who eat this food have reduced risks of heart disease. However, these people don’t consume a Western diet and generally avoid processed and refined foods.
Coconut Oil And The Boost In Hdl Good Cholesterol
Written By Michael Greger M.D. FACLM on January 28th, 2021
The effects of coconut oil were compared to butter and tallow. Even if virgin coconut oil and other saturated fats raise LDL bad cholesterol, isnt that countered by the increase in HDL good cholesterol?
According to the experience and wisdom of 200 of the countrys leading experts in cardiovascular diseases, in a report representing 29 national medical organizations, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, weve known for nearly half a century that coconut oil is one of the most potent agents for elevating serum cholesterol level. As I discuss in my video Coconut Oil and the Boost in HDL Good Cholesterol,studies showing coconut oil elevates cholesterol date back to 1955, when it was first shown experimentally that switching someone from coconut oil to soybean oil could drop cholesterol from around 200 down to 150, as you can see at 0:39 in my video.
Coconut oil can significantly raise cholesterol levels within hours of consumption. In fact, a significant increase in blood cholesterol was found within hours of eating a slice of cake made from either coconut oil , but not from the same cake made from flaxseed oil.
I love topics that give me an excuse to talk about scientific concepts more generally, like various study designs in my video Prostate Cancer and Organic Milk vs. Almond Milk or my discussion of direct versus indirect risk factors in this one.
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Coconut Milk And Cholesterol
Because there is so much disagreement on whether the fats in coconut can increase your cholesterol, the best thing to do is consume coconut products in moderation. If you want to drink large amounts of coconut milk, you should make sure that the rest of your diet contains primarily polyunsaturated fats, which are good for your heart.
If you are concerned about coconut milk and cholesterol but still want to drink this beverage, you can always purchase fortified products that have lower amounts of coconut. While these are not nutritionally comparable to the more natural products, they are certainly lower in fat. Just make sure you only select unsweetened options.
According To A Recent Survey 72% Of Americans Classify Coconut Oil As A Healthy Food Heres What The Science Says
A 2017;American Heart Association panel;reviewed the evidence on which fats in foods raiseand which lowerthe risk of cardiovascular disease .;The experts findings: We conclude strongly that lowering intake of saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats, will lower the incidence of CVD. Yet many people have heard that saturated fats are harmless.
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Is Coconut Good For You
There are a lot of claims being made about coconut oil. In relation to heart health, the claims are not convincing, and there is little evidence to support coconut oil being called a ‘superfood’.
The research suggests coconut oil is better than butter for cholesterol levels, but not as good as other plant oils that are lower in saturated fat.
Potential Risks Of Coconut Oil
Taken in moderation and used as a topical agent for moisturizing, coconut oil can provide many benefits. Still, there are a few potential health risks to be aware of, including the amount of saturated fat the oil contains. Here are some other potential health risks of coconut oil:
Increased Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke
Even though some studies have shown that coconut oil can boost good cholesterol and lower the bad, other studies have shown that compared to other oils like olive oil, coconut oil raised harmful LDL cholesterol levels. High levels of LDL cholesterol can raise your risk of developing heart diseases or suffering from a stroke.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 13 grams of saturated fat per day in your diet. As stated earlier, coconut oil contains more than that in one serving, meaning its easy to overdo saturated fat in your diet when you consume coconut oil. Too much saturated fat can lead to high cholesterol, increasing risks of heart disease and stroke.
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Does Coconut Oil Raise Cholesterol
Many people wonder, is coconut oil bad for cholesterol? No, it is not. There are two types of cholesterol, good cholesterol, also known as HDL, and bad cholesterol, also called LDL; good cholesterol helps to maintain a healthy body, while bad cholesterol damages the body and causes numerous health problems. Coconut oil does raise cholesterol levels; however, it raises the HDL or good cholesterol levels, not the LDL or bad cholesterol levels. Coconut oil has been proven to improve cholesterol ratios and reduce the risk of heart disease. The benefits of coconut oil and cholesterol levels are far greater than when other cooking oils like vegetable, olive, soybean, peanut, sunflower, or canola oils are used.
Accredited Practising Dietitian Recipe Tips
- Choose to cook with unsaturated oils such as olive, avocado and canola oils
- When a recipe calls for coconut cream or milk, use light varieties and thicken with corn flour if a creamier texture is required
- Another alternative is to blend half the required amount of coconut cream/milk with evaporated milk, reducing the saturated fat content whilst still providing a subtle coconut flavour
- Experiment with other flavours, try kafir lime leaves, basil, lemongrass or ginger for an exotic flavour boost
- For people who use lots of coconut oil in their diet, put a cap on the amount you use or try blending it with some monounsaturated oils such as olive, canola or avocado oil.
APDs;can decipher the fact from the fiction when it comes to nutrition. For advice tailored to your individual needs,;an APD;can support you to make the right decisions for your diet based on the latest evidence.
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Heart Uk Says Bbc Coconut Oil Claim Not To Be Trusted
HEART UK are very concerned regarding the latest coverage of coconut – See article here. The idea that consuming coconut oil lowers cholesterol made by the BBC programme Trust me Im a Doctor, is both misleading, unhelpful and not to be trusted.
The majority of respected scientific evidence shows that the saturated fats in coconut oil raise the bad cholesterol and the very limited experiment in the programme is misleading viewers to believe that coconut oil has beneficial effects on cholesterol.
HEART UK is delighted to see that the media are encouraging the use of olive oil and discouraging the use of butter because of their effects on blood cholesterol.
Coconut oil, unlike most vegetable oils, is solid at room temperature and is 85% saturated fat which when compared to butter at 52% and lard at 40% saturated fat puts it into context.
Some have argued that coconut oil contains a large amount of medium chain fats which are metabolised differently however the predominant fats in coconut oils are Lauric acid, Myristic acid and Palmitic acid all of which are classified as long chain saturated fats and all have been shown to raise the level of damaging LDL cholesterol in the blood.;;
Small variations in cholesterol resulting from changes in diet can be difficult to demonstrate due to the variability in many factors including:
Background
References
Fat and Fatty Acid Intake and Metabolic Effects in the Human BodyAnn Nutr Metab 2009;55:162172 DOI: 10.1159/000229001
Coconut Milk Nutrition Facts
Many supermarkets stock different types of coconut milk. Canned, long-life products tend to have larger amounts of coconut and may even resemble coconut cream. Beverages sold in cartons are likely to be more similar to skim milk in consistency but typically have low amounts of coconut milk.
- 25 percent of the daily value for copper
- 18 percent of the DV for iron
- 11 percent of the DV for magnesium
- 33 percent of the DV for manganese
- 8 percent of the DV for phosphorus
- 5 percent of the DV for potassium
- 5 percent of the DV for zinc
Coconut milk also contains small amounts of other nutrients like calcium, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C and choline. You can obtain 2 grams of protein, 2.8 grams of carbohydrates and 21.3 grams of fat in every 100 grams of coconut milk. Most of this fat is saturated.
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Should You Consume Coconut Oil If You Have High Cholesterol
Although different types of saturated fatty acids are not all damaging to the same degree for cardiovascular health, replacing them with unsaturated fats is still desirable since it has been shown that it allows reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. This is even truer if your doctor has advised you that your cholesterol is high and you need to actively improve it. In this case, coconut oil is not the choice for you. Opt mainly for oils in the family of unsaturated fatty acids, rich in omega 9 like olive oil, or even better oils rich in omega 3 such as rapeseed, linseed, camelina since it is no longer to be demonstrated that we are cruelly lacking omega 3 in our diet and that these oils significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The sporadic consumption of the whole coconut, despite its high content in saturated fat, nevertheless brings other nutrients of interest in addition to its unique taste so appreciated.
Summary
In sum, among the sources of highly saturated fat, coconut oil seems to have rather neutral effects on cardiovascular health. Coconut oil would increase the bad cholesterol , but also the good . It would have a rather neutral effect on cholesterol. However, if coconut oil is compared with other unsaturated oils, such as olive, sesame or canola oil, the latter remain more advantageous from the point of view of cardiovascular health.
Medical Disclaimer
Health Benefits For Heart Disease Are Still Unsupported
When a friend told me about “the wonders of coconut oil,” it sounded a bit like a;Saturday Night Live;sketch.
It’s a health food. It’s a skin conditioner. You can use it in your hair. It’s even great as a natural wood polish for your furniture! But wait, there’s more! You can use coconut oil to improve your IQ and shrink your bunions!
Okay, I made up those last two, but I was easily able to find more than 100 recommended uses for coconut oil. Indeed, it seems as though everywhere you look, someone is singing its praises.
Maybe it’s the way that coconut oil evokes the image of swaying palm trees in a tropical paradise. Or, maybe it’s that the bright white color suggests an all-natural purity that’s appealing in a world full of highly processed consumer goods. Or maybe we’re all just looking for the next big thing in healthy foods, all-natural beauty products, or innovative jet fuel .
Whatever the explanation, coconut oil does sound good. But is it too good to be true? I won’t comment on its usefulness to polish furniture or power a 747, but I am interested in the health claims.
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Is Coconut Oil A Health Food
Coconut oil has been marketed as a health food for several years.;Low-carb, high-fat weight loss diets, including the keto diet, favor coconut oil, claiming it can help bust belly fat;by inducing ketosis.;Back in 2016, The New York Times asked people whether;coconut oil is healthy and 72% said yes, but medical experts say there’s largely no good scientific data that backs;up health;claims.
In 2018, a Harvard professor called coconut oil pure poison, saying its one of the worst foods you can eat.” While it’s not poison, most medical experts say it’s not a health food.
I don’t think that we need to fear it or take it out of the diet completely, but there’s no need to be using it in excess or as the only oil in the diet, said Ginger;Hultin, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.;
A tablespoon of coconut oil is about equal to the amount of;saturated fat adults should eat in one day, according to;AHA recommendations. The World Health Organization also recommends limiting saturated fats.;
“Until we get some good evidence, we should be suspect of claims that something is healthy,”;Hensrud said.