Q. Some research seems to support the idea that coconut oil is not as bad for us as we once thought, and may in fact have some benefits. Is saturated fat like this always bad or do we need some of it in our diets?
A. Years of associating dietary fat with heart disease and cancer, often as a result of flawed research, has instilled in us the notion that all fat is bad. Today the concept that there are only two or three essential fatty acids is giving way to the realization that there are advantages to having a variety of fats in the diet.
Fat is composed of individual fatty acids attached to a “backbone” of glycerol. Fatty acids are removed from the glycerol backbone during digestion and used to perform their various functions. There appears to be a role to play for at least five classes of fatty acids: saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, very-long-chain fatty acids, and short-chain fatty acids. Our appreciation of the tasks that fatty acids carry out in our body is still increasing, but this was not always the case.
Beginning in the 1950s, reduction or elimination of fat (saturated fats in general and tropical oils like coconut oil in particular) was the purpose of a negative campaign by food manufacturers as a way to reduce death from heart disease. To demonstrate the harmful effects of saturated fat, much of the early research with animals was done using hydrogenated fat, in which the essential polyunsaturated fatty acids have been destroyed. In hindsight, it may have been deficiency in essential fatty acids that caused a lot of the ill effects attributed to saturated fats.
In the 1960s animal research demonstrated that at least one polyunsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid, was an essential nutrient.
Vegetable oils, especially corn oil, were promoted as superior to other fats. The trouble with polyunsaturated oils is that they tend to easily become rancid unless well protected by antioxidants. Rancid oils are free radicals and are extremely damaging to tissues. They attack cell membranes and cause damage in DNA, causing premature aging and setting the stage for cancer. Consumption of excessive amounts of polyunsaturated oils contributes to a large number of disease conditions.
Monounsaturated fatty acids and very-long-chain fatty acids have not generated the controversy connected with saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, but neither have they fulfilled initial expectations.
The fifth class of fatty acids is short-chain fatty acids. The fatty acids in coconut oil are primarily short- and medium-chain fatty acids. These are digested more easily and utilized differently by the body than other fats. Whereas other fats are stored in the body’s cells, short-chain fatty acids go to the liver and are converted into energy. After years of being a victim of mistaken identity, coconut oil may finally have its reputation cleared. In fact, far from being a threat to our cardiovascular systems, it turns out that coconut oil probably helps us by raising HDL (good) cholesterol. Lauric acid, abundant in coconut oil, is made into monolaurin, which protects us against viral infections.
In addition coconut oil may speed up metabolism, causing your body to burn more calories in a day and contributing to weight loss.
Coconut oil in moderate amounts has a unique role in the diet, with a pleasant taste as well as documented health benefits.
This article appears in July 30 • 2004.