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.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @08:37PM (6 children)
For the dairy intolerant it is needed. Also works well with chocolate
Again any used must be balanced. For meat dishes other than Thai I do not use it since there is flavor added.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday January 02 2019, @08:43PM (5 children)
I read something at one point about Coconut oil being rich in medium chain fatty acids and all their supposed benefits while simultaneously dismissing the saturated fat concerns raised in the above article... something like this:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/22/coconut-oil-and-saturated-fats-can-make-you-healthy.aspx [mercola.com]
The real truth is out there, but nearly impossible to determine given the available sources of information.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @08:48PM
Citing mercola? Yeah, you fucked up.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DrkShadow on Thursday January 03 2019, @02:23AM (3 children)
Here's a truth I've seen time and time again:
If it's natural, it's either good for you or just fine to eat. (Despite eggs being very high in cholesterol, eating LOTS of eggs does not raise your cholesterol. People in the threads below attest to the _reasons_ why coconut oil can be much, much better than the alternatives.)
If it's processed or has added sugars, it's BAD for you to eat. (French fries, despite being mostly potato; processed oils; processed meats; fried brussel sprouts; nearly anything that comes out of a box or a freezer; etc.)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:11AM (1 child)
Acrylamides.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 1, Insightful) by khallow on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:37AM
(Score: 3, Informative) by PiMuNu on Thursday January 03 2019, @12:00PM
Except for all of the "natural" things that are toxic. As long as you don't eat those then mod +5 insightful.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday January 02 2019, @08:48PM (5 children)
Having been doing a ketogenic diet that includes some coconut oil--but usually more dairy or other traditional saturated fats, I can confirm it works. But it seems to be working because it lowers insulin, raises insulin sensitivity, and facilitates good old thermodynamics. In other words, it's a lot easier to satiate yourself on protein and fat than carbs, and they keep you fuller longer, which *also* makes it easier to do intermittent fasting, which I normally do 16-18 hours out of any given day.
So there probably isn't anything magical about the fats per se, so much as that they're displacing much unhealthier things from the diet and enabling both caloric restriction and autophagy without needing to outright fast for 3+ days. I'm probably going to switch to something like Paleo soon, as the effects on electrolytes and the possibility of increased LDL does worry me...though, total triglycerides, LDL particle size, and the HDL/triglyceride ratio are more important than total cholesterol.
One interesting thing about coconut oil is it's the only source other than mother's milk, so far as I know, of a compound called monolaurin. This is the monoglyceride ester of lauric acid (C12 fatty acid, which is called medium-chain even though it goes through the long-chain pathway). Monolaurin is interestingly anti-viral, and I credit a little coconut oil in bulletproof tea and coffee instead of butter with helping me whup my last cold. Probably not an excuse to use it all day erry day but it's a neat side effect.
I don't know where this is going to end, but I do know Ancel Keyes has ruined the health of 2 or 3 generations of Americans with the low-fat high-carb policies. America is fatter and sicker than ever, and with what we're learning about carbohydrate metabolism and insulin response, I think it's safe to say we've been mislead for the last 60 years to put it lightly. The worst part is that the corn lobby in particular and processed food manufacturers in general have the US by the short hairs.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Wednesday January 02 2019, @10:07PM
We certainly agree on a lot of dietary topics.
WRT the LDL and other ratios you can get a quick cheap blood test before diet change and after. Anecdote meaning not too much, but from memory my numbers didn't change much, slight improvement.
Note that people who don't paleo love to straw dog that those diets consist entirely of bacon and red meat; in practice my actual diet is more like vegan plus meat (essentially grainless and no refined carbs). One little chicken kiev with a big salad tonight for example. Whatever naughtiness one little chicken kiev might cause will be swamped by the effect of a much bigger salad with raspberry vinagrette and some carrot sticks and some walnuts.
A fairly accurate summary of what I know about Paleo community in general WRT the ratios mentioned above is saturated fats are mostly harmless without the presence of a lot of refined sugar, then and only then do they kill. So you can't die of bacon overdose, but ice cream with hot fudge every night will surely kill.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @11:50PM
Move over 7 month old, I know how I'm getting through this flu season!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday January 03 2019, @12:05PM
I ran into the electrolyte problem on the ketogenic diet, with the muscle cramps and fatigue. Multi-vitamins and supplements took care of it.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:04PM (1 child)
Interesting. Do you know anything modified fats? They surfaced recently as a replacement for transfats, they seem to be in almost everything processed (it's possible, but hard, to find cookies without them), and I don't know of any significant safety testing on them. They might be OK; they might be even worse than transfats. Who knows?
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday January 04 2019, @07:57AM
Sorry, no, I don't :( This is the first I'd ever even heard of them. But "modified" is suspiciously evasive; something tells me these probably would be wise to steer clear of.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by corey on Wednesday January 02 2019, @08:53PM
It would have started with someone writing a book. Then they go on TV, a bunch of articles pop up everywhere with a footnote where to buy the book mentioned in the article, and bloggers pick it up. Then the craze is fed by others who start writing books regurgitating the same info or something. Then the cook books roll in by the case load. It's all money spinners for everyone involved.
Same with any other "super food"in the last 15 years. See it every time.
You know what's a super food? Steamed veg, broccoli, beans, carrots, zucchini. What mum used to serve up next to meat and potatoes.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @08:54PM (6 children)
And how much environmental damage / habitat loss is caused by burning down the jungle to plant oil palm farms?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Wednesday January 02 2019, @09:21PM (5 children)
I think there are a more important questions to be concerned with.
From the SN article . . .
Can any coconut industry executives please enlighten us about how . . .
* Coconut Oil is good for us
* Doctors should recommend it (and also recommend smoking!)
* It does not affect the environment, nor any habitats
* It creates more jobs (for robots)
* It contributes to the economy through higher executive bonuses
If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, you technically only had one piece.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Wednesday January 02 2019, @10:18PM (4 children)
The journalist didn't even try, which is funny, and straw dogs low carb.
The low carb guys don't really care about coconut oil.
The real fiends for coconut oil are people who substitute weird disgusting stuff instead of real paleo who "need" a paleo compatible oil for baking to substitute for the very naughty and unhealthy hyper-processed vegetable oil.
A "real paleo" meal is like little steak and big caesar salad (light on croutons or skip...). A "fake paleo" meal is like freaky fake cake made with almond meal and mashed potatoes and cocoa and a weird ass greasy frosting made of honey and coconut oil mixed into a mayo-like froth and WTF is this disgusting stuff anyway?
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...) and that doesn't need weird oils, but if you're making "Fake wanna be paleo pizza" out of ground up almonds and baking it with coconut oil to crisp it.
In summary, coconut oil is crazy popular for paleo people who refuse to eat paleo and will go to any effort to "Bend the rules" and eat subsitutes.
Also this story is very old news and most of the paleo people have pretty well already debunked the whole story linked to in the original article. Its interesting that "saturated fats cause heart attacks" seems to be a religious belief not scientific, and a lot of the population confuses scientific data with "rando paid opinion of some scientific authority figure".
The whole sat. fat is teh evil thing is basically "I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV" commercial for non sat fat products, its kinda crazy.
That said almost any single item diet will eventually kill you, humans being omnivores. I suppose a diet of nothing but bacon or nothing but steak would kill most people in a year or two from vit C deficiency aka scurvy, in that way there is a microscopic dot of truth to the whole "probably shouldn't eat red meat for EVERY meal" etc.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:34PM (3 children)
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:36PM
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)
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
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.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @09:19PM (2 children)
We just found out (on SoylentNews or HackerNews in 2018 if I remember right) that LDL isn't itself the problem. The problem is that viruses can hide in LDL particles, letting them sneak around in the body and then causing inflammation when caught.
Don't want heart disease? Try to stay away from viruses. There are no vaccines for these, so you'll just have to stop being unsanitary.
Unsaturated fats have a problem. At high heat, they turn into trans fats. Heat lets the carbon-carbon double bond rotate. If you don't want your deep fat fryer to be full of trans fat, you'd better start by filling it with saturated fat. Well, you could stop frying things... just kidding. Use coconut oil, lard, or palm oil. Butter and beef fat actually start with a bit of trans fat (from the organisms in all those weird cow stomachs) but otherwise they are OK too.
Coconut oil also just makes brownies and chocolate frosting taste way better, so there's that too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @02:29PM (1 child)
bullshit. another myth in the making. there are no trans fats in living organisms, unless they got their from a cheap-ass factory.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday January 04 2019, @08:27AM
Some trans fats do occur naturally actually, like trans-vaccenic acid in cows. They're very rare and occur in vanishingly small amounts though.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @09:29PM (2 children)
n/t
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @09:39PM (1 child)
What, were you expecting an aristarchus submission?
(Score: 3, Funny) by aristarchus on Wednesday January 02 2019, @11:06PM
NO ONE EXPECTS an aristarchus submission!!!! In fact, those that do expect one, . . . I'll come in again.
(Score: 3, Funny) by RamiK on Wednesday January 02 2019, @09:38PM
Coconut woman is calling out
And everyday you can hear her shout
Coconut woman is calling out
And everyday you can hear her shout
Get your coconut water
Man it's good for your daughter
Coco got a lotta iron
Make you strong like a lion
A lady tell me the other day
No one can take her sweet man away
I ask her what was the mystery
She say coconut water and rice curry
You can cook it in a pot
You can serve it very hot
Coco got a lotta iron
Make you strong like a lion
Coconut woman says you'll agree
Coconut make very nice candy
The thing that's best if you're feelin' glum
Is coconut water with a little rum
It could make you very tipsy
Make you feel like a gypsy
Coco got a lotta iron
Make you strong like a lion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87fFK00cD4M [youtube.com]
compiling...
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Thexalon on Wednesday January 02 2019, @09:47PM (3 children)
There's such a thing as food. There's a such a thing as nutrients. Each ingredient in food has some number of some subset of nutrients. And cooking food will also affect what those nutrients are due to chemical and physical processes, so the subset of nutrients in the original ingredient may or may not be entirely present in the final dish. Nutritionists and biologists study all this in the hopes of finding out what kinds of nutrients and ingredients exist in food, helpfully putting all that stuff on the labels of packaged items and creating documents about produce you can read if you like. The promise is to make healthier food for humans, and good luck to 'em, but so far most of what they've found out is what our parents likely tried to teach us a long time ago, namely that junk food is bad for you, and eat your vegetables.
However, there ain't no such thing as a scientific concept of a "superfood". It's a term that was made up by marketers, and when you read "X is a superfood", read it as "We want you to buy X". Like most popular press reporting on science, odds are very very good that when you read an article claiming "X is a superfood", what you're actually reading is the result of marketing spending by the industry association for X. And likewise, if you're reading a popular press article claiming that "X isn't really a superfood", what you're actually reading is the result of marketing spending by the industry association for one of the substitute ingredients for X. That these marketing spends are dressed up in lab coats doesn't make it really science.
In this case, I'm fairly certain that there's a relationship between this article and the serious challenges in the olive market: Donald Trump imposed tariffs on olive imports to the US. Olive growers in Europe and the Middle East, desperate to unload their crop, are trying to press their olives into oil because olive oil isn't subject to the tariff. That in turn creates a glut of olive oil coming into the US, which lowers its price. Which in turn means that the world's olive oil businesses need to try to convince people to return to using olive oil rather than coconut oil. It almost definitely has approximately f-all to do with any actual scientific discoveries.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Thursday January 03 2019, @04:38AM (2 children)
Only about 10% of olives are eaten, the rest are already used for oil. I don't think a tariff on the small fraction of that 10% that goes to the USA is really going to panic the Mediterranean olive growers.
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday January 03 2019, @05:01AM (1 child)
The tariff is causing problems in Spain [theguardian.com] at the very least.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Thursday January 03 2019, @06:46AM
Hmm. Looks like there might be more separation between table and oil olives than I realised. What would be a tiny effect over the industry is coming down solely on the table olive producers and hurting.
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @10:18PM (4 children)
just dont use it as lube
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @10:31PM (2 children)
I think I would rather use it as lube. IMO coconut oil imparts an offensive taste to popcorn.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @05:03AM
careful with them yeast infections
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday January 03 2019, @12:11PM
And coconut oil doesn't impart an offensive taste to lube? (I'm asking for a friend)
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday January 03 2019, @10:29PM
Coconut oil makes a great massage oil.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @10:35PM
Yes, it's that simple.
(Score: 2) by chewbacon on Thursday January 03 2019, @01:24AM
Same reason some people want "chocolate diamonds" and Angus beef. A sexy lady told them so.
There are no miracle foods. In fact, dieticians will tell you there are no bad foods. Poor nutrition lies in bad portions; too much or too little. This guy likes portions.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday January 03 2019, @01:51AM (2 children)
Yeah, I've heard the "no way it's that low", and whatever. Last March/April I went to a healthy eating thing (female friend took me, I had other interests in mind) that lasted an hour. I'd never heard of it before but WTF, let's give it a shot.
I paid twice as much for half as much for this bottle ($25 for 15 oz or somesuch). Stir fry? smoke. Sweat onions/carrots/celery? smoke. Hey, how about an omelette under low heat? That worked. Bacon under medium heat? Smoke.
Bitched about this 6-9 months ago and was pointed to smoke points of various oils. Coconut oil is fairly high. So WTF did I buy? It's labeled coconut oil, with no caveats or emtors or watch the man behind the curtain.
I came. I saw. I forgot why I came.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 03 2019, @02:05AM
If it doesn't congeal at room temp (72F) into chunky white mess, it's not coconut oil.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday January 03 2019, @12:14PM
The cheapest place i've found to buy coconut oil is South Asian groceries, where it's not a fad but a ho-hum, long-standing part of their cuisine.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday January 03 2019, @02:11AM (1 child)
Real Soon Now I'm going to write an article with my personal take on Nutrition, which is largely informed by two friends with Nutrition degrees, one a BS the other an MS.
If you want to read mostly-reliable articles on Nutrition, read the the ones at the National Institutes Of Health website, such as the Iron Fact Sheet For Health Professionals [nih.gov], where I learned that "Nonheme Iron" - that from plant sources - is less Bioavailable then "Heme Iron", that from animal products.
But the Bioavailability of Nonheme Iron is increased by Vitamin C, so have a fresh orange whenever you eat Iron-Rich Plant Products.
Consider also that Dark Chocolate is rich in Iron, and that Chocolate and Oranges go really well together.
But I digress:
Among my most-specific recommendations is that unless you have a significant nutrient deficiency, don't get your nutrients from tablets, get them from real food. This because real food has lots of _other_ nutrients, quite likely some that science has yet to identify, as well as healthful stuff like antioxidants.
The movie Lorenzo's Oil [imdb.com] makes plain that just _some_ fats and oils are _vital_ nutrients: an inability to digest a certain specific fatty acid led Lorenzo's metabolism to overproduce a certain specific _different_ fatty acid, so much so that it dissolved away the Myelin lipid sheaths that electrically insulated his neurons from his blood. That "Most Cruel Disease" as Peter Ustinov's character described it at one time affected only young boys whose mother's side of the family tended to have red hair.
While not yet cured, a completely effective treatment provided one start eating it soon enough after the onset of symptoms is the _correct_ specific fatty acid that one cannot absorb. At the very end of the movie a whole bunch of young boys introduce themselves then say I take Lorenzo's Oil! [myelin.org].
While it is correct that we really _do_ need Complete Protein, that is, all the amino acids that human's require, we do _not_ need to eat them together in the same meal.
As well, a deficiency of any _one_ amino acid will result in a decreased Amino Acid Utilization of some or all of the others. Looking into this led me to conclude that I am _highly_ deficient in l-Tryptophan, however it's abundant in the chickpeas and sesame seeds from which hummus is made, as well as in soy, so now I eat lots of hummus and tofu.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @02:32PM
porkchop. try it.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:33AM (3 children)
Nutritional science is a p-hacking wasteland and I think it shows here. I get that processed foods with extremely high energy density and loaded with flavor enhancers (salt, MSG, sugar, etc) is likely to be more fattening than more "natural" food that doesn't do that. The basics of the human digestive system and how to fool it into eating/digesting more food than it needs, are pretty well known (not counting of course, the human body has a natural propensity to overeat even in the absence of such tricks).
My skepticism sparked the moment I saw the word, "superfood". I don't buy that such a thing exists. It's like the unregulated version of Big Pharm's magic drug search. Same goes for the one or two dietary toxins mentioned. Just as the good stuff is exaggerated, so is the bad. Dose makes the poison and all that!
I guess my view on most of these dieting fads is that they're a cheaper way to cope with mortality than building a pyramid crypt. But much of it seems just another sort of theater for people who probably would be better off without it.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:55AM (2 children)
What's wrong with MSG? Or salt for that matter? It's only bad if it causes you to eat too much of the food, and you can stop yourself from doing so with willpower and/or planning. Sugar is something that actually contains calories (and is added to many processed foods where it may not be expected, such as spaghetti sauce).
I buy and use pure MSG crystals (2 lbs is about $7-9 at Costco or Sam's Club). If I add it to a bowl of soup, does it make it less healthy? The evidence points to no (it is generally recognized as safe and "Chinese restaurant syndrome" is probably caused by something else or nothing at all). MSG might even cause people to eat less, and for people with a salt issue, it contains less sodium than NaCl.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Thursday January 03 2019, @04:08AM (1 child)
I'd say a fair number of people need help with the willpower and planning.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Thursday January 03 2019, @07:26AM
"I'd say a fair number of people need help with the willpower and planning."
Plus 2 insightful. I agree with that, but that I would say, "most [people need help with willpower and planning (or vica versa).
"It is easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled" Mark Twain
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @03:42AM
I have a hard time to eat on dinner and I found coconut oil to be a great source of easely ingested calories.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @02:37PM
from the top of my head: eating coconut oil is good for skin but pregnant woman should not eat it because it increases risk of the baby getting born with a "open back" where the tub containing the nerves doesnt close completly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @02:49PM
It has a very high smoke point, a buttery taste without the bitterness of coconut oil, and lots of vitamins. I used to be able to buy it for about $10 a gallon, but now I can't even find that size, and the price is up 50% on the shelf. A lot of stores seem to not even carry it anymore. WTF?
Then I started thinking about it. A lot of this probably comes from Russia and Ukraine.
Putin... That motherfucker.
I can't get fluffy scrambled eggs because of that douchebag. Of course it also highlights the problem with having a supply chain governed largely by one company. If wally world decides not to carry your shit, you don't get your shit. So now I got to go buy Turkish sunflower oil at the local deli-o-terror at an even higher price.
All kidding aside, the price for quality vegetable based fats is rising. Probably because cows are being GMO'd, and/or being fed GMO'd grain, causing a rise in meat and milk allergies. The thing is that the cheaper oils, are also probably being made with GMO'd grains. It would be interesting to correlate allergy stats with GMO stats. One would think this would be something the FDA would do.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 05 2019, @06:24PM
how convenient that they ignore the part that the whole point is that you are supposed to be burning the fat as fuel not storing it in your veins for winter. either these experts are stupid or paid propagandists.