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Coconut Oil Benefits: Is Pure Coconut Oil A Scapegoat?
Today, you can read about the many coconut oil benefits. But, that has not always been the case. In fact, at one point,it was chased out of the U.S. food supply. Even today, it is rarely found in processed foods, especially baked goods. Hydrogenated fats, also known as trans fats, have replaced coconut oil because of their low cost. Has this change been beneficial or has coconut oil gotten a bad rap without good reason? Coconut oil is one of the most saturated natural fats and it has been used for centuries. Because it is saturated, it is a very stable fat and can be used at high temperatures. When unsaturated fats are heated at high temperatures, on the other hand, they breakdown quickly and form
trans saturated fats.
Though it is not used heavily in food production, it is very useful in the making of soaps, cosmetics and toothpaste.
In addition, it is added to infant formulas to try to duplicate human milk.
What are the coconut oil benefits, if any?- Useful for people with bad digestion
- Helpful in absorption of calcium and magnesium
- Source of lauric acid - which is a fatty acid found in human milk that has antimicrobial properties. Your body uses this fatty acid to kill viruses and bacteria. Breast feeding results in a better immune system and this is part of the reason.
It is only while nursing that a woman's body produces lauric acid. Because of this fact, some health experts are calling lauric acid a conditionally essential fatty acid. Essential means that you must get it in your diet, since your body is unable to make it. - Coconut oil is high in medium chain triglycerides (MCT) which are often added to medical formulas for digestion problems.
- Source of saturated fats that are necessary to convert ALA (alpha linolenic acid) into
EPA and DHA.
Let's look at some of the research that is making it unlikely that coconut oil is unhealthy.- In 1995, Howard et. al. showed that adding coconut oil to the Phase 1 National Cholesterol Education Diet gave better measures of serum fat than did the American Heart Association(AHA)Diet.
- Clogged arteries consist of 3 times more unsaturated fatty acids than saturated fatty acids.
- Research has shown that polyunsaturated fatty acids increase cholesterol synthesis.
Given all of these coconut oil benefits, it is time for pure coconut oil that is cold pressed to come out of the closet and take its rightful place in a healthy diet.
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