Is Coconut Oil Good for You?
Many of our clean eating recipes use extra virgin coconut oil and organic coconut milk. We truly believe that adding them to your diet is good for you.
As you may already know, coconut oil does contain a lot of saturated fat. Since saturated fat has come under a great deal of scrutiny, I thought I’d just clear up any coconut confusion.
Is Coconut Oil Good For You?
Thankfully for you, this is a not a complicated answer. The answer is yes, coconut oil is good for you. I am going to go over some saturated fat details, suggested serving amount per day and our absolutely favorite brand.
Plant-Based Saturated Fats vs. Animal-Based Saturated Fats
Coconut oil does contain a large amount (80-90% contains saturated fats) of saturated fat. However, the saturated fat found in unrefined coconut is completely different than the saturated fat found in animal foods.
Just as there are “good fats” and “bad fats”, there are also “good saturated fats” and “bad saturated fats”.
Unrefined whole coconut meat, coconut milk and extra virgin coconut oil are “good saturated fats”. They have a completely different makeups than the saturated fats found in animal foods.
Studies to Support Saturated Fat Differences
Epidemiological studies show the saturated fats found in animal foods (such as butter, beef, dairy, turkey, chicken, eggs, etc) is harmful to heart health. But, the saturated fat found in unrefined and unprocessed coconut foods is not harmful (1).
For years people have lumped all saturated fats together. They have been blaming all saturated fats for increasing the risk of heart disease. However, the population studies from the Pacific Islands and Asia, whose diets are very high in unrefined coconut foods, show surprisingly low incidences of cardiovascular disease.
In 1992 researchers reviewed some of the data regarding coconut-eating groups. They noted that the available population studies show coconut consumption does not lead to high-serum cholesterol. In addition, it does not lead to high coronary heart disease mortality or morbidity (2).
All Coconut Foods Are NOT Created Equal
The coconut foods eaten in the population studies mentioned above have been unrefined and unprocessed. Just like all saturated fats are not equal, all coconut foods are not equal either.
Most coconut foods found in commercially prepared products have been highly processed. They are not at all the same as the unrefined coconut foods eaten by the heart-healthy Pacific Islanders.
Eating Processed Coconut Oil is Harmful
The fact is that eating processed coconut oil is actually quite harmful. In fact, any studies that have ever shown coconut oil to have a negative effect on health have all been on processed coconut foods.
Specifically, processed coconut oils contain hydrogenated oils and we now know it is the hydrogenated oils (which contain trans fats) that are harmful to your health, not the unrefined coconut.
Coconuts are Perfect for Clean Eating Diets
There’s even more good news about coconuts! Plant-based coconuts and extra virgin coconut oil that has not been refined contains phytochemicals that are only found in plant foods. You can learn more about plant-based clean eating here.
Rich in Lauric Acid
Coconuts are also rich in lauric acid, which has very powerful anti-bacterial / anti-viral properties and is well known to support a healthy immune system and even facilitate brain function.
I am not suggesting you start eating bowlfuls of coconut meat or adding coconut oil by the heaping tablespoon full to every meal. Just know that unrefined coconut in moderation is not harmful to your health. The saturated fat found in unrefined coconut can not be classified in the same category as the saturated fat found in animal foods.
Limit Saturated Fat to 15 Grams a Day
Here at Clean Cuisine, we recommended keeping your saturated fat intake to less than 15 grams a day. This recommendation was based on the research we did on diet and multiple sclerosis as outlined in Roy Swank, M.D.’s The Multiple Sclerosis Diet Book.
Limiting your saturated fat intake to 15 grams or less per day is the only “counting” we encourage and we still stand by that recommendation. However, you can still eat a good amount of coconut on a clean foods diet and not go over that limit.
Choose a High Quality Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Finally, if you like to cook, extra virgin coconut oil is a FABULOUS substitute for butter (especially in baked foods.) Just like butter, coconut oil is very heat stable, so it resists oxidation and can withstand high-heat temperatures.
However, it is extremely important you choose the absolute highest quality extra virgin coconut oil. Don’t settle for second best oils labeled “virgin” or simply “coconut oil”.
I’ve come to rely on Barlean’s Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oils for supplying the best-tasting coconut oil.
The Barlean‘s family use only hand-selected and fresh-picked coconuts for their oil. Coconuts that are immature or overripe or that have fallen to the ground are nutritionally inferior and not used to make Barlean’s oils.
Barlean’s oils are carefully cold-pressed to preserve nutrients from the whole coconut and they are processed without the use of chemical solvents or hard mechanical filtration.
References:
- N. I. Lipoeto, et al. “Dietary Intake and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease among the Coconut-Consuming Minangkabua in West Sumutra, Indonesia,” Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 13(2004): 377-84.
- H. Kaunitz and C.S. Dayrit, “Coconut Oil Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease,” Phillippine Journal of Internal Medicine 30 (1992): 165-71.
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- Cookies with coconut oil recipe (320/6)
Such a great article about the benefits of coconut, thank you!
Thanks for setting the record straight on coconut oil! Another helpful hint when buying coconut oil is to opt for oils that are solid at room temperature. This proves that they aren’t hydrogenated versions.
Yes, great comment Laura!
I’m struggling here. Someone please help. I’m trying to find the exact biological pathway explanation why eating meat or meat sourced fat causes inflammatory illnesses. I see a lot of sites saying A leads to B but no one seems to shed light on the “how” on a biological molecular level. Many sites say cutting down on animal product, saturated fats, processed fat and simple non-natural sugars will decrease inflammation and lower cholesterol. But the previous sentence has a lot of interventions, and often each intervention is not fully discussed as to how it harms the body. For example, atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) is often explained by clogged arteries. However I understand it as a sterol body (beit phyto or cholesterol) in an arterial wall macrophage. Well how does the sterol get to the macrophage? Is it that the macrophage has been altered/weakened through other factors besides diet. And that’s not even getting into the topic of sterol carrying vessels like HDL or LDL or cholymicrons or VLDLs and what or how they impact a macrophage.
Meat is often seen to be a massive link to diabetes. How? Meat hardly causes a steep insulin spike and yet diabetes type 2 is often caused by the body becoming insulin resistant. But if meat doesn’t spike insulin levels, why is meat getting the bad rep from the community?
Often there are studies “linking” meat products to illnesses, but any statistician would tell you correlation does not equal causation. I’m just really confused because I’ve watched videos and presentations of how meat is digested and it’s pathways in which it travels to which cells and it’s journey, and from what I have studied, there are no negative affects with eating meat. Of course perhaps too much meat leads to gluceoneogenesis which can cause insulin spiking but one has to eat a rather large amount.
There are or rather there seem to be many experts advocating a meat free society so I’d just like some form of molecular journey so to speak of HOW meat products cause inflammation and other illnesses. I’ve looked, I can’t find it, but people in the comments here seem to know, perhaps they can shed some light.
If I’m wrong then I’m wrong, but I think it’s very dangerous taking information originally posted in the 70’s by Ancel Keys and keeping it going all the time to suit the narrative of a meat free diet.
Thank you for taking the time to reach out. We very much appreciate your in-depth questions and we hope you find this explanation helpful….
First of all, Clean Cuisine does not advocate a plant only diet—we promote a plant rich diet but definitely not a vegan diet (go here: https://cleancuisine.com/clean-eating-definition/ and here: https://cleancuisine.com/clean-cuisine-challenge-day-51-whv-we-are-not-vegan/ for a more detailed explanation of why we are not vegan.) Having said that, the saturated fat in animal foods have a direct (and negative) impact on your prostaglandins (regulators of inflammation) when consumed in excess. Like all things in nutrition, optimal health is achieved by consuming a BALANCE of fats and that is most definitely one of the cornerstones of Clean Cuisine’s nutrition approach as it relates to dietary fat consumption. If you are not familiar with prostaglandins, it is worth noting they are hormone-like substances that exist in almost all of the body’s tissues and are essential for a wide variety of body functions. Prostaglandins are formed from essential fatty acids and we have both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory prostaglandins in our body. These two types of prostaglandins need to be in balance for your body to function best. In other words, your body needs to have the ability to inflame when necessary (such as when you cut yourself) and then quickly return to an anti-inflammatory state for the purpose of disease prevention. Prostaglandins are critical for this process to happen.
There are three types of prostaglandins and a quick glance at the chart below shows you that saturated fats are pro-inflammatory. This does not mean you should not include any saturated fat in your diet, but it absolutely needs to be in balance with anti-inflammatory unrefined plant based fats or you are pushing your body into a chronic inflammatory state and therefore pushing your body into a premature disease state.
· Prostaglandin 1 (PG1) from Linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated Omeg-6 fatty acid, and are anti-inflammatory;
· Prostaglandin 2 (PG2) from saturated fats and are pro-inflammatory;
· Prostaglandin 3 (PG3) from Alpha Linolenic acid, Omega-3 fatty acid monounsaturated fats and are anti-inflammatory.
It’s also worth noting there are different types of saturated fat beyond just animal vs plant. For example, the saturated fat that seems to do the most harm in promoting inflammation is myristic acid (found in dairy products) and palmitic acid, which is the type of saturated fat your body actually makes itself if you eat a very low fat diet (which is one reason Clean Cuisine does not advocate low fat diets by the way!)
One of the biggest problems with animal based saturated fat is that it actually interferes with your body’s ability to utilize the super important anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats that most people in the modern world are already severely deficient in. Since it is obvious you are very interested in the biology of fat metabolism I highly encourage you to get the book “Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill” by Udo Erasumus. The book is not an easy read but if you read it cover to cover you will understand the biology of fat and you will understand that a diet high in animal based saturated fat is in fact highly pro-inflammatory. And please note, this does not mean all saturated fat needs to be eliminated from your diet, but it definitely means it needs to be a small percentage.
Also, arachidonic acid, found only in animal foods, is a very pro-inflammatory omega-6 fat that can be harmful when eaten in excess. In addition to contributing to systemic inflammation, high blood levels of arachidonic acid are also associated with platelet aggregation (or “stickiness”), a major contributing factor to heart disease. It’s not that we should not have any arachidonic acid, but having too much pushes us into an inflammatory state. When it comes to inflammation and fat consumption, it’s all about balance.
But beyond the direct affect of prostaglandins and arachidonic acid, there are numerous additional reasons why a diet high in animal food is pro- inflammatory —it’s not just about the food you are eating, it’s also about the foods you are NOT eating. For example, excess protein from animal food that is high In saturated fat pushes plant foods rich in the substances proven to slow aging and reduce inflammation right off your plate (such as fiber and phytonutrient rich fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, legumes and unrefined whole grains).
A diet rich in animal based saturated fat also interferes with healthy hormone levels. Meat consumption is knowns to raise estrogen and directly contribute to estrogen dominance, a problem that is now prevalent in the modern Western world. In addition, diets rich in saturated fat-rich animal foods are associated with less fiber consumption, which directly raises “bad” estrogens. Additionally, the saturated fat from animal food is also known to disrupt your gut microbiome. A 2016 review article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology summarizes findings that saturated fats disrupt the gut microbiome in a way that contributes significantly to the severity of many gastrointestinal diseases. The World Journal of Gastroenterology also recently showed a diet high in animal-based saturated fat (and trans fat) is closely linked to metabolic syndrome and obesity as well as gastrointestinal disease.
And finally, red meat (grass fed or otherwise), egg yolks and cheese contain inflammatory peptides such as carnitine, lecithin and choline. These peptides change the bacteria in your gut, making them produce inflammatory substances that are absorbed into the bloodstream, increasing risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and dementia. Meat consumption also raises insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), a hormone that stimulates cell growth. Elevated IGF-1 levels have been linked to hormone sensitive cancers such as prostate cancer and breast cancer.
I know it can be very confusing to navigate the world of nutrition and fad diets on your own, but I so hope this explanation helps clear up any confusion or concern you may have?
In good health,
Ivy
P.S. I also highly recommend the book, The Omega Diet for further explanation on the importance of balancing fats and prostaglandin metabolism.
Thank you for this article. Even though it was written quite a few years ago I am really getting tired of all the referenced confusion on eating healthy. Many sources say coconut oil is VERY healthy for you and other sources say it is not, to use Canola oil, etc. Well, supposedly Canola oil is like poison now in some studies yet we hear that Coconut oil is still bad. The truth should be the truth.
I found an article that claims that the whole fake oils movement began in the 70s with some guy who claimed that butter and lard were bad as were cholesterol sources like eggs and said vegetable oil, Canola and Soybean oil were the most healthy approach, etc. Now SUPPOSEDLY it is the exact opposite. The unnatural oils ARE the CAUSE of the bad health and, what was attributed to white flour, sugar, etc. in products wasn’t those components but the oils used. A more recent article from Dr. Axe, says to use coconut oil, butter, lard or oilive oil for cooking rather than any chemically treated oil like Canola.
Hi Dr. Winkler, Thank you for taking the time to weigh in. I agree! The conflicting information is very frustrating. I also agree that processed and refined vegetable oils (such as canola oil, “pure” vegetable oil, soybean oil, etc) are a major problem (they have a lot of pro-inflammatory omega-6, which promotes insulin resistance and when eaten in excess lead to a very unhealthy & pro-inflammatory omega-3/ omega 6 ratio) However, animal-based saturated fat such as butter and lard is also pro-inflammatory when eaten in large amounts. I do think from my research though that PLANT-BASED saturated fats such as those found in EXTRA VIRGIN coconut oil are much healthier than animal-based saturated fats. All saturated fats are good for high-heat cooking and resist oxidation, so that’s another plus as oxidated fats are a major health concern. The thing with ALL oil is that it is super important to get unrefined and a very high quality. And I would say if you had to choose between oil and the “whole food” from which the oil came from, such as olives verse olive oil, you are always better off eating the “whole food” as you will get a broad spectrum of nutrition from the whole food that you just can’t get from the oil. It’s definitely a bit complicated, which is why I think there is so much misinformation out there! Anyway, hope my explanation helps further clarify?