If you’ve read my blog on the latest
saturated fat research, you’ll know that I don’t think it’s as evil as we’ve
been led to believe. But to lump coconut oil in with the bad rap that animal
fats have received is close to a sin in my book. You see, not all saturated
fats are created equal. Not only is coconut oil not unhealthy, it’s actually unbelievably
good for you.
I know that this takes a bit of a mind
shift. But consider for a minute the fact that Pacific Islanders, who eat a
huge amount of coconut, rarely suffer the host of diseases that ‘Western-diet-munchers’
do. I recently read about one study on the diets of two populations of
Polynesians. Coconut was a large source of energy for both groups, with one
group deriving 63% and the other 34% of their energy from coconut. Modern
public opinion would have you quaking in your shoes at the thought of eating
such huge amounts of saturated fat. But even though those who ate more coconut did have higher cholesterol, the report
showed that vascular disease was uncommon in both groups. The authors actually
found that this type of saturated fat was not harmful to either group. I would
go one step further and say that, not only was the coconut in their diet not harmful, it was beneficial. And the
secret lies in its structure.
Now I don’t particularly enjoy chemistry,
except when it has real implications in an area I’m passionate about. The
chemistry of coconut oil interests me because it explains the uniqueness of the
amazing coconut. I’ll try to keep it short and sweet in case you’re not quite
as enthralled as I am. You probably know that the vast majority of fatty acids
in coconut oil are saturated, but saturated with what? Bear with me. Basically,
triglycerides (fat) are made up of three fatty acids linked together by one
glycerol molecule. Each ‘fatty acid’ is a chain of carbon atoms with hydrogen
atoms attached. Each carbon atom can ‘hold onto’ two hydrogen atoms, and if all
their hands are full (so to speak) it is considered saturated.
So why does this matter? Well, believe it
or not, being saturated can actually
be a good thing, because it makes the
fat more stable and resistant to free radicals. These nasty little free radicals
can more easily attack those places where the carbons don’t ‘have their hands
full’ – that’s right, the unsaturated
part of the fat. I kind of imagine (just for the purposes of visual imagery)
that the hydrogen atoms form a shield that surrounds the carbon atoms. The more
holes there are in the shield (i.e. the more unsaturated it is) the easier it is for their defenses to crumble.
Once the free radicals hit the weak spots in unsaturated fat (which happens
when oils are exposed to light, oxygen or heat), they go roaring around our
body (using up our antioxidant reserves) and damaging our cells left, right and
centre. This is why coconut oil is the best oil for cooking; it is stable
enough to survive far more heat induced damage that the other oils. Please note
that hydrogenated fat like margarine (a phony saturated fat containing trans
fats) bares little resemblance to natural saturated fat, and our body knows it.
As well as being predominantly saturated,
coconut oil consists of mostly medium and short-chain fatty acids. The length
of these chains has a huge effect on health. The long-chain fatty acids - think vegetable oil, which has infiltrated
our supermarket shelves - are the baddies in this story. These long-chained
fatty acids easily sneak into our fat cells for storage, are tricky to break
down, and place a strain on our digestive system. Medium-chain fatty acids, on the other hand, like those found in
coconut oil, are the very opposite. They enter cell membranes easily without
the need for special enzymes, put less stress on the digestive system and are used
mostly as energy (as opposed to being stored as fat). Yipee!
Of all the medium-chain fatty acids there
is one that is particularly extraordinary. It also happens to be the
predominant medium-chain fatty acid found in coconut oil. This secret
ingredient, which gives coconut oil is super powers, is called lauric acid. When
converted in your body to monolaurin, it has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and
anti-parasitic properties. Whilst it will attack the microbes in our body, it leaves
the rest of our cells alone.
The list of health benefits from coconut
oil may well blow you away (not literally I hope). It has been found to assist
in the areas of weight loss, infections, ageing, liver disease, neurological
disorders, skin conditions, chronic fatigue and even help in some cancer and
HIV patients. This list is only the tip of the iceberg. There really is so much
information on its benefits I could write a whole book instead of a blog. Luckily I don’t need to do that because its
already been done many times. For more information I recommend reading Dr
Fife’s book “The Coconut Miracle”.
Oil Pulling Update
For those of you who have read part one of my coconut series
(the one on oil pulling), you may be wondering if I'm still a fan a couple of
weeks on. The answer is definitely ‘YES’. I have tried to do it twice daily,
and in the main I have succeeded. I always find the morning is the easiest. I
just do it first thing before breakfast and it's become routine (the only sure
fire way to make any healthy habit feasible in the long term). I do make sure
though that I let my family know in advance my intentions to oil pull:
"ask now or hold your peace for twenty minutes" I announce. Otherwise
I inevitably get a complex list of questions fired at me moments after the oil
has entered my mouth! On the plus side, we are all getting better at charades.
The improvements I found in my energy and sleep have continued
(this is more noticeable when I oil-pull twice a day, compared to once). And
another handy thing I've discovered is that it appears to subdue my appetite
for a short time immediately afterwards. So it's perfect to do while preparing
a meal because it stops me snacking (rather tricky with a mouth full of oil),
and actually postpones my hunger pangs. As you can probably tell, I’ve become a
bit hooked. I feel really out of sorts if I only manage to do it once in a day.
What a lovely obsession to have J
May you be full of coconut and all its glory,
Carla.
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