Last week, the American Heart Association (AHA) released a report that seems to finally answer the question ‘Is coconut oil healthy?’.
In previous months, coconut oil has been hailed as a superfood with many believing it to have positive health benefits. The Huffington Post reported that an “AHA survey found that 72 percent of Americans considered coconut oil a health food”.
However, the AHA report found that coconut oil is significantly higher in saturated fats and contributes towards the increase of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as t’bad cholesterol’. Here’s a breakdown of saturated fats found in oil products:
- Coconut oil: 82% of fat is saturated
- Butter: 63% of fat is saturated
- Beef fat: 50% of fat is saturated
- Pork lard: 39% of fat is saturated.
The above products are all significantly higher in saturated fats than olive oil (14%) and widely-used canola oil (7%). So, it might be best to reach for these bottles, the next time you’re cooking. The report’s lead author, Frank Sacks, cleared up the ‘Is coconut oil healthy?’ debate, saying:
“You can put it on your body, but don’t put it in your body.”
So, while coconut oil’s health gains have come under scrutiny, it still has many beauty benefits, especially coconut milk:
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