I remember being told coconut oil was a no-no many years ago- and since I don't care for coconut anyway- it was easy to ignore the pro-coconut oil hype. This was the bell bottom jeans food fad news for me- I was so out of touch, I came back into fashion ;-)

The majority of food I eat is prepared by me at home with very little processed food. Coconut oil is and will continue to be one of the many oils that I consume when preparing my food if for no other reason than it tastes good. I am not overly wary of fat and try to consume a variety of foods, of which coconut oil is one. I think we have made a lot of progress in the dietary sciences but I suspect there is a lot more still not understood for the dietary influences on heart disease.

It's a saturated fat like butter. Between the two I choose butter. Both raise bad LDL cholesterol levels.

For the majority of my cooking I choose olive, peanut, or avocado oil.

Two or four years
ago I Googled >Is coconut oil good for you< result: It sure
is. So I got some and
commenced to slather it on my toast. Suddenly I had an awful thought
and rushed back to my computah (India for computer) and Googled >Is
coconut oil bad for you< result: It sure is. So there you have
it.

Supposedly the cholesterol connection has been disproven. But then, supposedly there was a connection to bad cholesterol levels.

As Tishtoshnm said, there's a lot we don't know about how foods affect the body. If you're not an expert on dietary study methodology and food related biochemistry, reading the original research doesn't help, because small design errors can bring different results. UGH!

There seems to be a lot of agreement that people with active healthy lives and good blood test scores don't really have to worry about eating cholesterol. Until they do. Or until the new science is published.

I'll continue to use it along with butter, olive oil, sesame oil, avocado oil, peanut oil and sometimes old fashioned vegetable oil. Depending on what I'm cooking, and like everything else - in moderation.

Neither of us have any particular health considerations, although DH does have to watch his portion sizes some (those second helpings when he's not really still hungry). I had a conversation with a cardiologist this year where I told him I have trouble following a strictly heart healthy diet and not becoming too thin from time to time. He said his wife has the same issue, and with my blood pressure, lab numbers, it's perfectly OK not to be too exclusive of fats....just don't over indulge.

I would not touch it. Back in the 90's, commercial bakers were told, I believe by the government, to omit coconut oil from their recipes due to studies of heart health. Periodically, I check the Mayo Clinic website and they still have not joined the current chorus and were still anti coconut oil. Havent checked lately but we eat very little fat and it is canola and butter. Frying is rare. Ooops, forgot about DH's potato chip habit.

I like it for my hair. I never jumped on the bandwagon either. It just doesn't seem healthy to me. I don't care for the smell either, in food.

I use coconut oil for popping corn and in shrimp & cabbage because I like the flavor it adds. So, limited use. I would probably like it in some baked goods but butter is considerably less expensive. Don't bake much because I seriously restrict how much gluten I eat besides the high carb load in baked goods.

Grainlady, we need you.

dcarch

Coconut oil is a saturated fat. There has been a lot of marketing hype promoting it as a beneficial dietary fat. Yes, a search will come up with hits offering any number of opinions. But then there is science and facts. I tend to go with that approach. I seldom consume it, even though I love coconut cream based curries like Penang shrimp and Chiang Mai Noodles. I would love to be able to feast with abandon on good French butter, fried foods, lamb, crisp chicken skin, triple cream cheeses, pâté', croissant, pastries, prosciutto and other tasty delicacies. But I will stay far healthier if I avoid or limit these sorts of saturated fats, coconut oil included.

As to coronary artery disease, the newest thinking (as I understand it), based on new research, strongly suggests that dietary and other cholesterol or saturated fats** can behave differently in different individuals. Some people have a different genetic makeup that influences how vascular lining responds to saturated fat. (I might have the links to some of this research saved in my notes.) If you are aware that vascular disease like coronary artery, heart decease, DVT, athlerosclerosis and so on run in your family, you'd be wise to greatly limit or avoid saturated fats.

In response the the marketing hype of coconut fat and the abundance of misinformation, the American Heart Association plans on coming out with clearer guidelines and recommendations.

Here is a recent segment from CBS:

"Replacing saturated fat with healthier fat for your heart", June 16, 2017

There is a brief video.

"A recent New York Times survey found 72 percent of Americans think coconut oil is healthy, but only 37 percent of nutritionists agree. The American Heart Association says replacing saturated fat found in coconut oil or butter with corn or peanut oil can lower cardiovascular disease by about 30 percent. CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the new findings."

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/replacing-saturated-fat-with-healthier-fat-for-your-heart/

ETA 10:34 AM ET ** (above) -- Diabetes, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and intake of simple (non-complex) carbohydrates (like sugars, white flour and rice, alcoholic beverages) can increase one's risk of heart and vascular disease. Whereas eating whole grains and exercise can help to lower LDLs and help lower the risk or coronary and vascular disease.

I remember being told coconut oil was a no-no many years ago

I remember that warning, too, so I was a bit surprised to see it become so popular.

Grainlady had been in favor of coconut oil.

Yes, and she was also in favor of agave syrup because it was low on the glycemic index and had less of an impact on blood sugar/glucose levels because the body does not metabolize it well. That's good if you need to watch your glucose levels but now scientists have found that it's higher in fructose than any other sweetener, even higher than high fructose corn syrup. New research suggests that excessive fructose consumption deranges liver function, and it is now suggested that the less fructose consumed, the better. So, it's good/no it's bad.

As with pretty much everything, there are pros and cons to everything and each person must take their own health issues, metabolisms, personal taste and common sense into consideration when deciding what to consume and how to prepare it.

So, you like coconut oil? You don't have a problem with high cholesterol, heart attacks, coronary artery disease? Or a family history? Then go ahead. If I'm consuming saturated fat, I'd rather have it be better, but that's me, you may prefer something else.

Annie

Having been allergic to coconut almost all my life. I always avoided it. When it became popular and began to appear in restaurants, i knew it was only a matter of time before I ran into it. An ambulance trip to hospital and and epipen later they declared that I had survived. All that aside it always seemed to me that the research wasn't clear that it either was or wan't a healthy fat. seems to me that if you can tolerate it, than its like anything, ok in moderation. I personally wont be unhappy to see its use decline, That feeling of being unable to breathe is really not pleasant

More veggies and lean protein, I think pretty much everyone agrees that's good, right? Beyond that, choose whose kick you want to go along with, or not.

There are claims that cultures which use a lot of coconut oil have much fewer pulmonary problems.

I have not found documented med studies.

dcarch

Always the question of causation vs correlation with these things. Should we eat more white rice because the Japanese are healthier than we are? Doubt it.

It seems like a lot of foods go through this good/bad issue. Remember when everyone switched to margarine instead of butter. And it turns out that margarine is like one molecule away from being plastic lol That said tonight I will be making a low carb version of shallow-fried chicken with a crust made of crushed pork rinds and friend in lard. If yall don't hear from me again you'll know I died happy but of a heart attack lol

I was under the impression the "coconut oil is bad" studies were done with hydrogenated coconut oil (partially or fully), not extra virgin. Pritikin says coconut oil will dangerously raise your LDL, whether it's extra virgin or hydrogenated. But even if it does, latest studies indicate high LDL is okay if the LDL particles are large, it's small LDL particles plus high triglycerides and low HDL you have to worry about. Sugar is implicated in that because it raises triglycerides and lowers HDL. And coconut oil creates large LDL, plus raises HDL so you have a better ratio of LDL/HDL.

I would still use it. Even though people say it's not healthy, it is pretty healthy. It's healthier than canola or vegetable oil or shortening, and it gives a lovely flavor to my pancakes. I use it so much in healthy baking, it would be hard not to use it.

And anyway, even if some articles say it's not healthy, that could very well not be true. It could be that it's healthy.

one molecule away from being plastic

Okay, that's funny. But even if it's true it's so what. Plastic is made of the same elements that food is. One molecule away is a huge difference.

It's like that old Jr. Hi. ooky rumor that "Taco Bell's hot sauce is SO stank it'll shine pennies." Well, duh. Hot sauce has a vinegar basis, and mild acids like lemon juice and vinegar will clean up oxidation. Basic science.

Yearling oysters dusted in flour and fried in coconut oil are pretty darned good ;0)

I use it occasionally when I need a high-temp frying oil. Generally I'm not a fan because I don't like coconut. It is a saturated fat. But the thinking, IIRC, had to do with this being an MCT medium-chain triglyceride which is supposed to have health benefits.

Me, I get suspicious whenever there's enough hype about something -- anything -- being so much the latest greatest whatever as I've seen far too many times that the product doesn't live up to the hype and is proved to be ineffective for whatever in a few years.

Surprisingly good article/video from Gizmodo about this controversy:

https://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-last-word-on-coconut-oil-1796361903

I like two bits from that, Writersblock, especially.

...David Klurfeld, National Program Leader for Human Nutrition in
the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ... wouldn’t recommend saturated fats as
health foods. But he felt the new AHA review was simply selecting the
studies that reinforced its preconceived views.

The AHA’s conclusions are that you shouldn’t try to lower your total fat
intake, but instead, replace saturated fat with unsaturated fat,
combined with a healthier lifestyle.

Not poison. Not health food. Just food. But not really the "last word". Right?

What I find more interesting is the recent announcement that EVOO might help protect you from the brain plaques associated with Alzheimers.

But not really the "last word". Right?

For sure, especially in these days of the internet. :)

Yes, i thought the EVOO announcement was interesting, too.

Hmm...foiled again. I was under the assumption that coconut oil was quite healthy, fat wise. I eat a lot of stir fry. Is there a better fat recommended for that? I heard that olive oil didn't work with such high temperatures.

I use LouAna peanut oil for stir fry. (No peanut taste.)