Being loco for the coco might be a bad thing
From water and sugar to oil and milk, coconut products have taken the food world be storm over the past few years, and it’s often seen sitting in the ‘healthy’ section of the supermarket. So, what gives?
Well, according to the American Heart Association’s (AHA) new advice, coconut oil might be hindering your health by cooking with it, not helping.
A whopping 82% of the fat in coconut oil is saturated, the AHA notes in their study, published in the journal Circulation, which is significantly more than in butter, beef fat and pork lard – all of which have 63%, 50% and 39% respectively. As a diet high saturated fats can raise the level of LDL cholesterol (that’s the “bad” type) in the blood, it is believed to lead to clogged arteries and ultimately cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The AHA also touch on their findings from a controlled experiment, where people who consumed coconut oil had significantly increased LDL cholesterol levels, compared with those who used olive oil.
“Because coconut oil increases LDL cholesterol, a cause of CVD, and has no known offsetting favorable effects, we advise against the use of coconut oil” they concluded.
Frank Sacks, lead author on the report, told USA Today that “you can put it on your body, but don’t put it in your body.”
