Coconut oil is not good for your health

Scientists now have enough evidence to say so. Coconut oil is not nearly as good for you as some "gurus" have made us shine. The researchers found that coconut oil increased LDL cholesterol - one of many causes of heart disease - as much as butter, beef fat or palm oil. In addition, no serious study to date has shown positive effects on health. Even the most recent position paper by the expert committee of the prestigious American Heart Association  strongly discourages the use of coconut oil on a daily basis.

Going even further, Professor Karin Michels of the prestigious Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health no longer speaks about coconut oil as "pure poison" and "the worst food on earth." Last week, his well-grounded remarks on the subject went around the world ... and of course, social media.

From the outset, I am rarely comfortable with "sliced" or "dramatic" opinions about nutrition. Most of the time, these are click traps to increase traffic on a #clickbait website. However, I believe it is important to be well informed about a subject, weigh the pros and cons and make the best decision for us.

Here's all you need to know about coconut oil.

A recent survey indicates that 72% of the US population still considers coconut oil a health food, compared to 37% of nutritionists. According to the same study, this disconnect between this belief and the opinion of the experts would be attributed to the marketing of coconut oil by the popular press.

The popularity of coconut oil is therefore far from running out of steam. We lend it many virtues, whether to improve the appearance of our skin, our hair, to lose weight or to improve our health in general, etc. At the same time, nothing has changed in terms of the fatty acid composition of coconut oil: almost 90% of its fatty acids are saturated, which is a much higher percentage than butter (almost 65%). , beef (43%) and lard (almost 40%).

confusion around a nut

To understand the confusion around coconut oil, you should know that all oils and fats are composed of different types of fatty acids in different proportions and that they each have their qualities and their defects. For example, 15% of the fatty acids of sesame oil are saturated and 85% are unsaturated (polyunsaturated + monounsaturated). Coconut oil, which interests us more particularly, is an exception for a vegetable fat since it is highly saturated.

Now scientists have enough evidence to believe that coconut oil is far from our best choice. However, there are some indications that coconut oil will have very little effect on our health if it is consumed occasionally in very small quantities, our diet is balanced and we have a healthy weight. Translation: do not put it everywhere, all the time, as you put peanut butter on toast.

coconut oil in his kitchen?

In this very specific context where there are plenty of good (and much better) vegetable oils available on the market for our health, I will always advise you to bet on variety. Coconut oil will be part of this variety for some people, but not for others. However, coconut oil is not a "miracle" food. If you are advised to consume coconut oil to improve your blood cholesterol, to reduce your risk of heart disease, as a supplement to facilitate weight loss, to stimulate your metabolism, to cut hunger or to boost your weight. thyroid, we are led by boat.

Yes, we can have a pot of virgin coconut oil in our cupboard and use it occasionally if we are in perfect health. It is an oil that has a practical side compared to other vegetable oils, because it remains solid at room temperature. It has a sweet nutty flavor that tastes great and has a texture that lends itself well to certain cooking-free preparations or stir-fries with a tropical twist.

"Olive oil, sesame oil or canola oil will always be the best choices for our health because they have a long and proven track record. "

Olive oil, sesame oil or canola oil will always be the best choices for our health since they have clearly proven themselves for a long time. This is even more true if our doctor has told us that our cholesterol is high, whether we are hypertensive or diabetic. In these very specific cases, coconut oil will clearly not be our best choice.

And above all, we do not create illusion and we consume coconut oil for the right reasons.