Over the past 40 years, Americans have increased their consumption of unsaturated fats and partially hydrogenated fats and have decreased their consumption of saturated fatty acids and butter. Lauric acid, the major fatty acid in coconut oil and breast milk, is rarely present in the American diet. Yet saturated fats are still being called the health culprits while grocery stores abound with many kinds of seed and nut oils. Many have been told that if the unsaturated oil is unprocessed, it is safe. This is untrue. The harmful effects of unsaturated oil lie in their unsaturation, or the presence of many double bonds, which are very labile and easily peroxidized (become rancid inside the body). Details of this are given in the report on unsaturated oils.
Here is a summary of the health benefits of coconut oil. In general, coconut oil stimulates thyroid function and has wonderful antiseptic properties.
Unsaturated oils in cooked foods become rancid in just a few hours, even in the refrigerator, one reason for the "stale" taste of leftovers. However, according to Peat, eating fresh unsaturated fats is even worse, because once inside the body, they will oxidize (turn rancid) very rapidly due to being heated and mixed with oxygen. Not so with coconut oil. Even after one year at room temperature, coconut oil shows no evidence of rancidity even though it contains 9% linoleic (omega - 6) polyunsaturated acid. Peat theorizes that coconut oil may have antioxidant properties, since the oil doesn’t turn rancid and since it reduces our need for vitamin E, whereas unsaturated oils deplete vitamin E.
Many researchers have reported that coconut oil lowers cholesterol (Blackburn et al 1988, Ahrens and colleagues, 1957). In 1981, Prior et al. showed that islanders with a diet high in coconut oil showed no harmful health effects. When these groups migrated to New Zealand and lowered their daily coconut oil intake, their total cholesterol and especially their LDL cholesterol - the so-called evil one - increased. The cholesterol-lowering properties of coconut oil are a direct result of its ability to stimulate thyroid function. In the presence of adequate thyroid hormone, cholesterol (specifically LDL-cholesterol) is converted by enzymatic processes to the vitally necessary anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. These substances are required to help prevent heart disease, senility, obesity, cancer and other diseases associated with aging and chronic degenerative diseases.
Weight
loss stimulating properties of coconut
oil - a direct result of thyroid stimulation In the 1940’s farmers
tried coconut oil to fatten their
animals but discovered that it made them lean and active and increased
their appetite. Whoops! Then they tried an anti-thyroid drug. It made
the livestock fat with less food but was found to be a carcinogen
(cancer causing drug). In the late 1940’s, it was found that the same
anti-thyroid effect could be achieved by simply feeding animals
soybeans and corn.
(Taken by permission from litalee.com) I eat coconuts very regularly
and coconut oil. Coconut
Oil melts at 76 degrees, and melts in the mouth very nicely, and
contrary to popular belief does not clog arteries or cause heart
disease. It stimulates thyroid function and promotes health in many
ways.
I've tried several different nutritional food oils in the past several
years, but I now use Coconut Oil almost exclusively (along with butter
and a dab of extra virgin olive oil).
In my opinion, it's one of the only safe oils to use regularly.
CLICK
HERE
to read a Ray Peat PhD article on the (thyroid) benefits of virgin
coconut oil (in PDF format - must have Adobe
Acrobat Reader).