What are the facts on coconut oil?
It used to be coconut oil was the preserve of face and body lotions but in the last year it has become popular, hailed as the latest health food but what’s the story, what is the evidence to support these health claims?
Coconut oil is a fat which is found in the white part of a coconut, it can be either Virgin, Refined or partially hydrogenated
· Virgin – made directly from the white part of a fresh coconut; as you’ve guessed this is the expensive option costing approx 2½ times the price of olive oil and eight times as much as vegetable oils
· Refined – made from dried coconut flesh that is chemically bleached and de-odorized. Unlike virgin coconut oil, refined oil has no taste or aroma
· Partially hydrogenated – refined coconut oil can be further processed and hydrogenated to increase the melting point – this make it a suitable for making commercially prepared snacks and confectionary
As with all fats, coconut oil is high in calories, similar to olive oil and rapeseed oil having just under 900Kcals per 100g; that’s a lot of calories! If you eat more calories than your body uses you will put on weight – a fairly simple equation so it's important to tread with caution.
Coconut oil has an A1 when it comes to saturated fat, in fact it contain 92% saturated fat. Although it is claimed as the fatty acids in coconut oils have what they call medium chain triglycerides – Lauric acid, Caprilic acid and Capric acid they are less likely to be stored as adipose tissue (fatty tissue); unfortunately the latest research shows this is not the case. Basically if you take too much you will store any excess fat as the wobbly stuff!
Some have claimed that diets rich in coconut oil have a cardio-protective quality, it seems that coconut oil can increase the good type of cholesterol (HDL) unfortunately it also increases our LDL or bad cholesterol. It seems to matter more what coconut oil is replacing in our diet – if it is replacing olive oil or rapeseed oil then it is probably a bad thing and will increase bad cholesterol. But if by taking coconut oil we are eating less food high in hydrogenated (Trans) fats like biscuits, cakes, pies, pastries etc or butter this will have a good effect on cholesterol.
So what is the verdict: Really unless a recipe looks for coconut oil, there is no benefit in eating large amounts of this type of fat. Unsaturated fats like rapeseed oil or olive oil are far less expensive, are rich in omega-3 and do not raise your bad cholesterol. But remember all fats taken in excess will literally make you fat.