Coconut Oil Sinner or Saint

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,
30 OPTIMUM NUTRITION | AUTUMN 2017