They were Lying! Coconut oil’s As Harmful As Beef Fat And Butter

US heart experts suggest that regardless of most people’s misconception, that coconut oil is a healthier option when compared to beef dripping and butter, but in fact, it is not one bit healthier. It is packed with saturated fats which increase the”bad cholesterol levels, claims the American Heart Association in its latest statement.

These past couple of years coconut oil has been falsely advertised as a healthy food and some claim the fat it contains is more favorable for our organism rather than similar saturated fats. The AHA nevertheless claims that there have been no studies so far to support this?

Coconut oil is beneficial or it’s just a myth?

Fats from animal origin like land are usually perceived as bad while on the other hand those from a plant origin like olive and sunflower are considered healthier. That theory is on how much of one specific kind of fat saturated fat or “sat far these products have in them.

Sat fat

Saturated fat is allegedly harmful for our health, even though opinions are split on this one.

Maintaining a diet mostly based on saturated fat can increase the level of “bad” (LDL) cholesterol in the blood, that, as a result, can clog the arteries and improve the chances of getting a heart disease and stroke.

Based on the AHA, 82% of the coconut oil fat is indeed saturated. Which makes it worse than butter (63%), beef fat (50%) and pork lard (39%). Thus, such as other saturated fats, studies show it can increase “bad” cholesterol.

Healthy swaps

Based on the AHA, studies indicate swaps like this can reduce cholesterol with the exact strength as cholesterol-lowering medications.

The main AHA advice author, Dr Frank Sacks, said: “We want to set the record straight on why well-conducted scientific research overwhelmingly supports limiting saturated fat in the diet to prevent diseases of the heart and blood vessels.”

Public Health England suggests that people reduce their saturated fat consumption:

30g of saturated fat a day maximum intake for men
20g of saturated fat a day maximum intake for women

You can see the amount of saturated fats a product contains on the nutritional label.

However, specialists emphasize that this fat is still a vital part of a healthy, balanced diet. We shouldn’t eliminate it entirely. It is a source of needed fatty acids and aides the body with the absorption of vitamins, like A, D and E.

Victoria Taylor, a representative of the British Heart Foundation said: “To eat well for your heart health it is not just about reducing fat but reducing specific types of fat and taking care over what these are replaced with – unsaturated fats and wholegrains, rather than sugars and refined carbohydrates”.

“Any change should be viewed in the context of a whole diet approach. The traditional Mediterranean diet has benefits for a range of risk factors for heart disease, not just cholesterol levels”.

“We recommend replacing the saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats – using oils instead of butter and choosing foods like avocado, oily fish, nuts and seeds instead of foods high in saturated fats like cakes, biscuits, chocolate and fatty meat.”

Good fat vs bad fat

Cholesterol is in fact a fatty substance
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is established as ‘bad’ since it can be stored in the artery walls and inflict hard plaques to build up that can cause clots, causing heart attacks and stroke
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is ‘good’ since it takes LDL cholesterol to your liver where it is eliminated. A huge ratio of good to bad cholesterol is the best way to go.