Response to American Heart Association Paper that Saturated Fat and Coconut Oil are Bad
These doctors do not present any new evidence to support this older theory that our focus with diet should be to avoid saturated fats, like butter, cheese, red meat, and coconut oil and we should substitute polyunsaturated vegetable oils like soybean and corn oil. But these studies from the 1960s have problems with them, including that when you substitute vegetable oils, like soybean oil that are very high in omega 6 fats, you get an increased rate of death from cancer. This is because omega 6 fats promote inflammation. Thus, while the Los Angeles Veteran’s trial, one of their 4 core studies, showed lower rates of death from heart disease, there was actually no lower rate of death because the increased rate of death from cancer and other diseases made up for it.
The American Heart Association also ignored the recently published Minnesota Coronary Experiment that was conducted 40 years ago but was just recently published that found that for every 30 mg/dL reduction in serum cholesterol resulted in a 22% higher risk of death. And the AHA also dismissed several meta-analyses that have been published recently that demonstrate that there is no association between saturated fat intake and heart disease or stroke.
The AHA conclusion that coconut oil is unhealthy is based on the fact that it contains mostly saturated fats, which they claim are the primary cause of heart disease through raising LDL levels. As I mentioned, saturated fat intake if it is part of a high carbohydrate diet, esp. processed carbs, can increase atherosclerosis risk, but if part of a healthy, low glycemic program, coconut oil does not increase heart disease risk. While coconut oil is mostly saturated fat, the primary saturated fat is lauric acid, which is directly absorbed by intestinal enterocytes and may prevent fat deposition in blood vessels.
I agree with your article. I’ve been consuming coconut oil for it’s many health benefits for quite some time, and have maintained healthy cholesterol levels.