Coconut Oil Sinner or Saint

FOOD FACT FILE
Christian Billinghurst finds out that the devil’s in the detail when it comes to health benefits
If one food group has left us confused,
it’s fat; and possibly none more so than
coconut oil. Hailed as a panacea for
a range of health problems, coconut oil
has recently been the new wonder-kid on
the so-called superfood block, finding its
way into processed foods such as vegan
cheeses, and into our own kitchen pans.
But if anything could have thrown its
health halo into doubt, it was a statement
this June from the American Heart
Association (AHA) that saturated fat was
detrimental to cardiovascular health. 1 The
statement followed a review of studies
into saturated fat in general, but coconut
oil was singled out for attention: bad news
for the coconut oil industry, and confusing
for those of us who just want to know if
we should eat it or not.
Health claims
Not only has coconut oil been claimed to
be good for skincare or dental health (the
latter when used for ‘pulling’ which means
swooshing it for several minutes around
the mouth — said to remove harmful
bacteria), but it has even been claimed
to help with weight-loss. This is down to
it containing medium-chain triglycerides
(MCTs), types of fatty acids, which are
transported directly to the liver during
the digestion process, where they are
quickly metabolised, and so avoid getting
deposited in fatty tissue.
Overstated?
However, Linda Main, a dietetic advisor
for Heart UK, says that coconut oil’s many
perceived health benefits have been overstated.
“Some of the suggested health
effects of coconut oil have been attributed
to medium-chain triglycerides [MCTs],”
she says. “MCTs are a kind of fat that is
metabolised differently in the body. MCTs
have been shown to be better at satisfying
appetite, are lower in energy and are
thought to help facilitate weight control
when substituted for more traditional fats
in the diet.”
Some studies have stated that coconut
oil can be as much as 60 per cent
medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs).² , ³
However, there is some disagreement
as to what should be referred to as an
MCFA. Main cites an article which states:
“If both of these fatty acids [caproic and
lauric acid] are included in the definition,
coconut oil could be described as
containing around 65 per cent MCFAs.
However, it seems unlikely that lauric
acid is oxidised immediately in the liver,
a characteristic of C8–C10 fatty acids,
because of its potent cholesterol-raising
potential”. 4
Main says that only 14 per cent of
coconut oil’s fat “can truly be described
[as] MCT”. And until there is consensus
on coconut oil’s MCT content, the case for
weight-loss benefits is yet to be closed.
But coconut oil is said to have other
qualities. It has a slow spoil-time and
is resistant to the rancidity process.
Despite this, however, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has promoted the
use of vegetable oils in its place.
According to Heart UK, “studies have
shown that the greatest cholesterol
lowering occurs when saturated fats are
replaced with unsaturated fats” and so is
“concerned” about recent discussion and
promotion of coconut oil in the press.
It states: “Coconut oil, unlike most
vegetable oils, is predominately a
saturated fat (85 per cent saturated fat)
and has been shown to have a negative
effect on circulating cholesterol levels
— a known independent risk factor for
AUTUMN 2017 | OPTIMUM NUTRITION
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FOOD FACT FILE
cardiovascular disease [CVD].” It goes
on to state: “As much as 90 per cent of
the fat in coconut oil is saturated, 6 per
cent monounsaturated and 1.5 per cent
polyunsaturated fat.
“Compare this with the saturated fat
content of butter (52 per cent) and palm
oil (50 per cent).”
A cholesterol conundrum
Policy guidelines promoted by the WHO
and the AHA state that saturated fats
such as coconut oil raise cholesterol and
therefore increase the risk of CVD.
However, whilst human trials have
demonstrated that coconut oil increases
both total cholesterol and LDL (so-called
‘bad’ cholesterol) levels, one review stated
that better indicators for measuring
CVD risk (such as LDL-HDL ratio and
triglyceride levels) were not affected even
when comparing coconut oil to ‘healthy’
vegetable oils and ‘unhealthy’ butter. 5
So, confusingly for the consumer, there
is a growing opinion that the evidence
associating saturated fats and CVD is
inconclusive, as emerging studies appear
to debunk traditional thinking. 6
Following the AHA’s statement, some
doctors and scientists were quick to
question it. One critic is cardiologist and
co-author of The Pioppi Diet, Dr Aseem
Malhotra, who told Optimum Nutrition:
“My responsibility is to patients and
scientific integrity, and when you look at
the evidence the first thing to say is that
there is no evidence at all that saturated
fats clog the arteries.” That “myth”, he
says, has been “busted”.
Using coconut oil needs
to be taken in the context
of “a healthy eating
package”
He also questions the AHA’s statement
as being based on “poor science” and
cherry picked studies from decades
ago — although ‘cherry picking’ data is a
common accusation from both sides of
the fat debate.
Busted?
“Of course coconut oil will affect
[cholesterol],” says Malhotra. “It varies
from person to person.” But data, he
says, shows that when it raises LDL,
it also increases HDL (so-called good
cholesterol). And a high LDL level is not
necessarily associated with heart disease.
Coconut oil consumption needs to be
taken in the context of “a healthy eating
package”, he says. “So that as long as you
are following what I recommend, which
is kind of a low refined carbohydrate
Mediterranean diet, having some coconut
oil is not going to cause you a problem.”
Malhotra also questions the economic
background to the AHA’s report. “You
have to question their motives when
they are an organisation that receives a
considerable amount of money from the
drug industry. There is a huge industry
that has developed around cholesterollowering
drugs.”
This is an observation put forward
by other critics, as it is noted that the
AHA review was part-funded by major
manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering
medications, the Canola Oil Council, and
the California Walnut Commission 1 (all of
which was declared).
“The other thing that is really
concerning,” says Malhotra, “is promoting
the consumption of vegetable oils or
industrial seed oils on the basis that
they lower cholesterol as effectively as
statins.” He says that trials that lowered
cholesterol by dietary changes, such as
increasing vegetable oil consumption,
did not reduce death rate, heart attack or
the risk of stroke. Beyond the cholesterol
debate, however, Malhotra says he can
only look at the best available evidence
that is there. “Like anything obviously
consumed in moderate amounts, it is not
harmful.
“I have a tablespoon of coconut oil in
my coffee every morning. It keeps me
full, it gives me energy... whatever, a nice
replacement for sugar which is obviously
much worse.”
Good for all?
Claims of other health benefits include
coconut oil being associated with a
reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
One study found that anti-inflammatory
components in coconut oil can pass the
blood-brain barrier with neuroprotective
effects. 7 However, the study in question
only focussed on populations that already
consumed large amounts of coconut oil.
Similarly, studies that have associated
coconut oil consumption with reduced
cancer risk have tended to be conducted
on animal models or non-western
populations where overall diet and
lifestyle may differ from that in the west.
Lifestyle factors may make all the
difference. For example, whilst coconut
oil is said to be better for cooking than
other vegetable oils because it is resistant
to oxidation and polymerisation (when
small molecules join together to make
long molecules, so result in a change in
the chemical structure), this benefit is lost
when cooking at high temperatures —
such as in deep frying. Despite its stability,
coconut oil also has a low smoke point
(171C/350F) 8 which is the temperature at
which it produces smoke and toxins, so is
only suitable for gentle or mid-heat frying.
As for beneficial antimicrobial
properties, research has shown coconut
oil can inhibit the growth of harmful
bacteria at a cellular level which, in theory,
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FOOD FACT FILE
“I would not go as far
as to say that it’s a
superfood and it has all
these other properties”
would help with diarrhoea caused by
antibiotic use. 9 However, such studies
have so far only been in small lab tests,
and human studies have not shown
any significant beneficial changes. It is
perhaps no wonder that Heart UK states
that the “health benefits of coconut oil are
definitely over hyped”.
“I would not go as far as to say that
it’s a superfood and it has all these other
properties,” says Malhotra. “There may be
some evidence there, but I can’t go that
far. But what I can say — as a cardiologist
— is that consuming coconut oil in
moderation as a part of what I call a low
refined carbohydrate Mediterranean diet,
will not do you any harm.
“I wouldn’t go as far as saying that I can
tell you it is very good for you — that it
is good for your health, but it can be very
much part of a healthy diet.”
And it is probably such advice that we
need to keep in mind. Coconut oil is only
a tiny part of a much bigger picture, and
if we are living on a diet of chips and little
else, then frying them in coconut oil isn’t
going to turn them into a healthy option.
Cold pressed, virgin or extra virgin? If you have wondered which to buy, you are
not alone. We contacted several coconut oil companies to find out what the
difference was between these labels but received little response. One industry
insider who did not wish to be named said that there was “almost no difference”
between extra virgin and virgin coconut oil. Another said that extra virgin coconut oil
was higher quality, but was unable to elaborate as to why. Still confused, we resorted to
the internet.
One commentator, writing in coconutoil.com, says: “the only truly ‘unrefined’ coconut
oil you can consume is the oil still inside the coconut meat from a fresh coconut just
picked off the tree”, 10 and that coconut oil can only be produced by three different
methods: refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD); cold pressed; or wet milled.
Wet milled is considered to be the best because it does not require drying and heavy
refinement. Research has shown that wet milled coconut oil contains higher amounts of
antioxidants, but health comes at a price because this tends to be the most expensive. 11
At the other end of the spectrum; RBD uses higher temperatures to extract the oil
from the coconut meat (between 70-80C), and then treatment with chemicals to get rid
of impurities and to deodorise it, but it is also the cheapest.
Cold pressed extraction is similar to RBD but uses lower temperatures to extract the
oil (

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