Coconut?

[wildrice]

i've been in strongly in the mood for Thai food recently and it got me thinking, i should eat more coconut as the fat component of diet. so im thinking ill sub in coconut oil for some of my meals

so here is my question, any one got any good recipe ideas?

[DavidKH]

Why would you think coconut oil (primarily saturated) would be "good" to have in your diet?

[wildrice]

medium chain triglyceride metabolism is not the same biochemically.

and even if it was, a few extra g of sat fat wont kill me

[Guai]

Originally Posted by DavidKH

Why would you think coconut oil (primarily saturated) would be "good" to have in your diet?

Why would you think coconut oil (primarily saturated) would not be "good" to have in your diet?

[Dr. Horse]

Try some curries with coconut milk.

Fry/stir fry/sautee in coconut oil.

[getgot211]

coconut sticky rice with mango.

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/stickrice.html

[cyde]

Originally Posted by Mr. Horse

Try some curries with coconut milk.

Fry/stir fry/sautee in coconut oil.

^ Yup, very tasty. Even coconut milk in your protein shake tastes great. Try it with chocolate or strawberry whey.

[blacksmith77]

coconut milk used to make sludge the other day. wow.

[DavidKH]

Originally Posted by wildrice

medium chain triglyceride metabolism is not the same biochemically.

and even if it was, a few extra g of sat fat wont kill me

correct on both, yes coconut oil better than butter or animal fat, but poly or mono unsaturated fats would be a better source of fat in general.

Just trying to figure out why people are adding this into their diet when there are better sources of fat.

[gjohnson5]

Originally Posted by DavidKH

correct on both, yes coconut oil better than butter or animal fat, but poly or mono unsaturated fats would be a better source of fat in general.

Just trying to figure out why people are adding this into their diet when there are better sources of fat.

Because this IS the healthiest form of fat.
Those who think otherwise are misinformed

[BooBooOC]

http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-...conut-oil.html

heres some reasons for getting coconut oil in ur diet....

I substituted it for my other oils while cooking, sat fats are not the enemy transfats are so no harm in having a bit of it in your diet...

[Dr. Horse]

Originally Posted by gjohnson5

Because this IS the healthiest form of fat.
Those who think otherwise are misinformed

I don't think I would go that far. Data is a bit mixed, but in general supports coconut oil as being non-atherogenic.

[DavidKH]

how is coconut oil the "healthiest" form

do you have any studies?

Again the ONLY reason I am asking these questions is because I am researching this specific topic for work research project.

I have done research through peer reviewed journals and have yet to find evidence showing it is a good let alone great source especially when it's a primary source of peoples dietary intake.

[gjohnson5]

I'll see if there is any clinical work. There probably isn't
I can tell you for fact from working at one midwest food company that most of the supposed health benefits of unsaturated fats are simply politics to promote american corn,soy,wheat farmers...

The idea that saturated fat = unhealthy and unsaturated = healthy broad brush stroke generalization was done for sales and is not correct.

I would say the same thing for cocoa. The saturated fats in 100% cacao are healthy and natural.

The pacific islanders and polynesians have it right and we have it wrong. Some of these cultures eat 60% of their calories from coconut. Incidences of hypercholesterolemia, CAD, stroke etc are uncommon even amongst the groups that smoke and drink.

I'm sure I can find epidemiology studies

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by gjohnson5

The pacific islanders and polynesians have it right and we have it wrong. Some of these cultures eat 60% of their calories from coconut. Incidences of hypercholesterolemia, CAD, stroke etc are uncommon even amongst the groups that smoke and drink.

I'm sure I can find epidemology studies

If that is true, then you have a firm ground to stand on, but even then, remember that those cultures are eating an entirely different diet. Perhaps, something else they eat (or in their genes) is cardioprotective or anti-antherogenic.

If you know about some studies, go ahead and post them here. I would be interested in reading about this too.

I like coconut milk. In my country, we use it to make a lot of desserts for Xmas

And lets not forget, Pina Colada mmm :

[DJSTARER]

bump to coconut milk


i use it in my pre-bed shakes sometimes instead of peanut butter if I want "sweet" instead of nutty.

[gjohnson5]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

If that is true, then you have a firm ground to stand on, but even then, remember that those cultures are eating an entirely different diet. Perhaps, something else they eat (or in their genes) is cardioprotective or anti-antherogenic.

If you know about some studies, go ahead and post them here. I would be interested in reading about this too.

I like coconut milk. In my country, we use it to make a lot of desserts for Xmas

And lets not forget, Pina Colada mmm :

I agree that this evidence is coo relational and not causative.

IMHO I think it's the diet Western Cultures eat which is unhealthy and heart destructive. We eat too many synthetic and chemically altered food which there also are no long term studies on their effects on health. I think we shouldn't assume that they have some magic gene which stops them from getting cardiovascular disease.... So below there are 3 separate populations and the main thing they have in common is the majority of calories they eat is saturated fats from coconut

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8450295

Apparent absence of stroke and ischaemic heart disease in a traditional Melanesian island: a clinical study in Kitava.
Lindeberg S, Lundh B.

Primary Health Care Centre, Sj?bo, Sweden.

On the island of Kitava, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, a subsistence lifestyle, uninfluenced by western dietary habits, is still maintained. Tubers, fruit, fish and coconut are dietary staples. Of the total population, 1816 subjects were estimated to be older than 3 years and 125 to be 60-96 years old. The frequencies of spontaneous sudden death, exertion-related chest pain, hemiparesis, aphasia and sudden imbalance were assessed by semi-structured interviews in 213 adults aged 20-96. Resting electrocardiograms (ECG's) were recorded in 119 males and 52 females. No case corresponding to stroke, sudden death or angina pectoris was described by the interviewed subjects. Minnesota Code (MC) items 1-5 occurred in 14 ECG's with no significant relation to age, gender or smoking. ST items (MC 4.2 and 4.3) were found in two females and Q items (MC 1.1.2, 1.3.2 and 1.3.3) in three males. Stroke and ischaemic heart disease appear to be absent in this population.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3519928

1: J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 1986 Mar-Apr;6(3-4):115-21.Links
Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) in aging and arteriosclerosis.
Kaunitz H.

Some of the nutritional work with triglycerides consisting mainly of C8 and C10 fatty acids (MCT) lends itself to speculations about their influence on arteriosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is thought to be part of the normal aging process which is due to age associated molecular biological changes. The lipid theory of arteriosclerosis is rejected. Pertinent studies with MCT include these observations. Feeding of MCT to rats resulted in animals of low body weight, small fat deposits and excellent survival rate. This deserves emphasis because of the beneficial influence of low body weight on aging and arteriosclerosis. MCT feeding was associated with low linoleate and low tocopherol requirements in rats. This may lead to reduced formation of those linoleate derived prostaglandins which favor thrombosis formation. Lower linoleate requirements may also lead to the presence of fewer uncontrolled free radicals in the cells. MCT feeding is associated with low levels of serum and liver cholesterol involving speculations that tissue conditions are such that an adaptive increase of cholesterol is unnecessary. The Demographic Yearbook of the United Nations (1978) reported that Sri Lanka has the lowest death rate from ischemic heart disease. Sri Lanka is the only of the countries giving reliable data where coconut oil (containing over 50% medium chain fatty acids) is the main dietary fat.

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/34/8/1552.pdf

ABSTRACT Two populations of Polynesians living on atolls near the equator provide an
opportunity to investigate the relative effects ofsaturated fat and dietary cholesterol in determining
serum cholesterol levels. The habitual diets of the atoll dwellers from both Pukapuka and Tokelau
are high in saturated fat but low in dietary cholesterol and sucrose. Coconut is the chief source of
energy for both groups. Tokelauans obtain a much higher percentage of energy from coconut than
the Pukapukans, 63% compared with 34%, so their intake of saturated fat is higher. The serum
cholesterol levels are 35 to 40 mg higher in Tokelauans than in Pukapukans. These major
differences in serum cholesterol levels are considered to be due to the higher saturated fat intake
of the Tokelauans. Analysis of a variety of food samples, and human fat biopsies show a high
lauric (12:0) and myristic (14:0) content. Vascular disease is uncommon is both populations and
there is no evidence of the high saturated fat intake having a harmful effect in these
populations. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34: 1552-1561, 1981.

[Hengman]

I'm part Cambodian, and one of my favorite things to eat is anything with coconut (got it from my mom since she loves coconut). I put it in my curry when I'm just eating whatever I feel like. I also like to marinade my chicken or my vegetables with it.

[ahez1991]

Originally Posted by DavidKH

how is coconut oil the "healthiest" form

do you have any studies?

Again the ONLY reason I am asking these questions is because I am researching this specific topic for work research project.

I have done research through peer reviewed journals and have yet to find evidence showing it is a good let alone great source especially when it's a primary source of peoples dietary intake.

coconut oil is a saturated fat but its a medium chain fatty acid as opposed to other saturated fats that are long chain fatty acids.

coconut oil has also been shown in studies to help people with underactive thyroids return to normal functioning thyroid levels, i can say that it worked for me and my thyroid issues. also since it is an MCF its not like other fats, it works more like a carb providing immediate energy to the body, i think i also read some info somewhere saying it only has 6 cals per gram as opposed to other fats that have 9 cals per gram

here's some info on it http://www.coconut-info.com/