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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday January 02 2019, @08:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the oil's-well-that-ends-well dept.

Submitted via IRC for takyon

Is Coconut Oil All It's Cracked Up To Be? Get The Facts On This Faddish Fat

In the past few years, coconut oil has been called a superfood that can help you blast belly fat and raise your good cholesterol. The sweet and nutty trendsetter has been featured in many cookbooks as a substitute for olive or canola oil — and it can cost a bundle at the store.

A recent survey found that 72 percent of Americans say coconut oil is a "healthy food," but many nutrition experts aren't convinced.

The problem is that coconut oil contains a lot of saturated fat — the kind that is a big risk factor for heart disease, which kills more than 17 million people a year worldwide.

[...] So why does the idea that coconut oil is somehow good for us persist? No one is really sure.

"Why things like coconut oil somehow slipped under the radar is a little bit unclear, but it's not consistent with any of the recommendations that have occurred over the past 30, 40, 50 years," says Lichtenstein.

While some research has linked the main type of saturated fatty acid in coconut oil — lauric acid — to increased levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol, it still raises LDL cholesterol, or "bad" cholesterol, she notes in the advisory, citing multiple studies.

And while enthusiasts point out that coconut oil is rich in antioxidants, there is little evidence that once the oil is refined, which is how most of us buy it in the store, those properties are retained.

[...] But don't think of coconut oil as a health elixir. And remember that when it comes to good nutrition, including fats, it's all about balance, Lichtenstein says. And there's more solid evidence behind the healthfulness of other plant-based oils such as extra virgin olive oil.

With the rise in popularity of low-carb diets embracing more fat in recent years, it's no wonder consumers are confused about which fats are best. And most oils contain more than one variety of fat. Iowa State University has a handy chart to help you compare the percentages of fats found in common oils.


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  • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:34PM (3 children)

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:34PM (#781505) Homepage Journal

    So I'm having a couple carrots for lunch tomorrow and thats vaguely paleo (actually probably too many carbs in the carrot to be low carb...)

    It isn't total carbs that matter. It's glycemic index -- the ability of foods to increase your blood sugar level.
    Sugar seems to make it worse; fiber seems to make it better. There's a lot of fibre in carrots, so they're good. But fibre is a carbohydrate. Just one we can't metabolize, not having four stomachs.

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  • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:36PM

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:36PM (#781507) Homepage Journal

    And carrots are likely the kind of food that paleolithic people actually ate.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @04:07PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @04:07PM (#781517)

    The carb count in carrots is more than half sugar. They are definitely not "low carb snacks."

    • (Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday January 03 2019, @09:17PM

      by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 03 2019, @09:17PM (#781700)

      Hmm serving size... google claims 2 servings in a can of Monster at about 30 grams carbs and about 3 grams carbs per carrot.

      I can easily slam a monster which is 20 carrots worth, but I ended up eating three carrots.