US heart experts, registered dietitians, and physicians claim that the thing you thought to be the healthiest might actually be worsening your heart problems. People have always classified and promoted coconut oil as healthy. Recently, however, the truth has surfaced, and more and more people have come out to express their opinions on it.
Let’s hear the facts
All of the oils we use are mixtures of monounsaturated, saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The most dangerous fatty acid of all is the saturated fat, and coconut oil’s got 92% of it.
Coconut oil raises the LDL cholesterol levels
There are different types of saturated fat. Some of them have more impact on you LDL cholesterol levels, while some don’t affect it as much (such as the ones in cocoa and chocolate). Sadly, coconut oil is not on that list. The long-chain saturated fatty acids, which make up most of the saturated fat in palm kernel, palm oil, and coconut oil do raise our LDL cholesterol by a lot. You can mostly find these fats in poultry, meat, and dairy.
Coconut oil can clog the arteries
Coconut oil has a lot of long-chain saturated fatty acids, which cause us to have heart problems, and clogged arteries. As a result, the American Heart Association (AHA) actually cautioned people that coconut oil is as unhealthy as lard, butter and other animal fats.
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Why does the coconut oil industry promote it as extremely healthy?
The industry that hugely promotes coconut oil as a healthy option bases its beliefs on the Polynesian diet.
A traditional Polynesian diet is high in coconut and other tropical oils.
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The traditional Polynesian diet
The Polynesian way of life and dieting is extremely healthy.
It’s true that research conducted on people following the traditional Polynesian diet have shown low rates of LDL cholesterol. Scientists have also found them to have relatively low rates of heart disease. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that eating a lot of coconut oil, as they do, leads to a healthy heart and low cholesterol levels.
Scientists have actually revealed the reason why Polynesians are actually as healthy as they are, although it has nothing to do with their consumption of coconut oil. They’re healthy in spite the fact that they use coconut oil, not because they use it.
Their diet consists of low sodium, high fiber – foods. They also consume a lot of healthy omega 3 fatty acids, and that’s why they’re as healthy as they are.
