Kelapo Coconut Oil: Much More than Suntan Lotion

Remember the days of using to coconut oil to get a golden tan.  Since those days are gone, is there a healthy purpose for this tropical oil?

While doing research on oils for A Recipe for Life I became an advocate for coconut oil, specifically extra virgin organic coconut oil since it is free of pesticides.  Coconut oil is a saturated fat and was once thought to be a villainous oil to avoid.

Over the last few years that’s changed since it was discovered coconut oil contains a type of oil called MCT also known as lauric acid.  Lauric acid has immune properties similar to those in Mother’s breast milk.

And since it is a saturated fat it does not change or become damaged at high temperatures or smoke points like olive oil.  Having said that I’ve tried a few different brands of coconut oil for recipes like my Healthy Nut Mix and Cinnamon Lamb Chops.

At the Natural Foods Expo in Anaheim I ran across Kelapo coconut oil.  Since it takes me a while to try new things I shelved it for a while.  This winter/spring I was on a baby bok choy/kale kick and currently I’m on a broccoli stage – can’t seem to get enough of it.  Since I like my broccoli sautéed with a bit of a burned taste olive oil and butter do not work.  So I reached for the new jar of Kelapo I’ve been saving since the show.

The result?  A pleasant surprise at how “clean” the broccoli tastes with a truly amazing flavor I did not expect.  

It made the broccoli almost “pop” – color, flavor, etc.  And it does not taste like coconut.

If you want to sauté your veggies, a steak, chicken or fish instead of baking I would recommend this brand of coconut oil.  In cold temperatures it can be solid but this time of year it is liquid.  It is the same fat and caloric content of olive oil so use both of them as your recipes call for them – olive oil at low temperatures or in salad dressings, and coconut oil at higher temperatures/smoke points.

We’ve come a long way since sunscreen and I’m thrilled I finally found a way to “tan” my broccoli this summer!

What Oil Do I Use?

One of the questions I hear most frequently in lectures and with my clients is “which oil should I be cooking with?”  This question turns out to be more complicated than you would think.  Years ago, most of the population ate butter. Then, experts reported that vegetable oils were a much healthier alternative, and many people switched to corn or vegetable oils.  This advice did not turn out to be true since weight, heart disease and diabetes have been rapidly increasingly.  The good news is that research on which oils are healthy has become clearer during the last year.  Choosing which oil to buy depends on the purpose – i.e. cooking versus using in salad dressing or baking. 

Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat that is useful in making salad dressing and marinating vegetables and meats.  If you are cooking with olive oil, only use it in recipes where the smoke point is between 200 to less than 400 degrees.  The best olive oil is cold-pressed, extra virgin since it contains both the good monounsaturated fat and powerful antioxidants known as Polyphenols.  This type of olive oil means the olives are processed within 24 hours of picking, which aids in retaining a higher quality product.  It is slightly cloudy due to the small particles of olive flesh in the oil.  Olive oil which is clear still contains the monounsaturated fat but is devoid of the Polyphenols.  “Lite” olive oil is a marketing gimmick that just refers to a milder flavor, rather than less fat and calories.

Coconut oil is a safe oil to cook with at high temperatures since it is saturated and the molecules cannot be damaged.  Organic coconut oil is best since it is free of pesticides.  Avoid high omega-6 oils such as safflower, sunflower, corn, and soybean oil. 

Canola oil, although high in omega-3 fatty acids, has a high sulfur content and can quickly become rancid.  It has been reported that baked goods made with canola oil can quickly develop mold. Due to the high level of rancidity, canola oil must be deodorized, and this process can increase the amount of trans fatty acids in canola oil, which negates the benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids that are present.  In addition, since canola is the result of irradiated seeds from the oilseed rape, 80-85 percent of canola is GMO (genetically modified organism) and best to avoid.

The best oils to buy are cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil, and to a lesser extent flax seed oil and other nut oils such as walnut, peanut or grapeseed.

The Coconut Oil Controversy

Is coconut oil the evil villain of a tropical oil from years past, or can it be a healthy part of your diet?  For years we told people to avoid coconut oil since it was thought that saturated fat was the villain.  However, when the research finally panned out, the real villain all along has been trans fat – another whole blog subject.

Coconut oil has some great properties to know about.  Besides being quite stable for cooking, coconut oil, it contains a type of MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil that is called lauric acid.  The only other place you would find lauric acid is in mothers’ breast milk.  Lauric acid is a powerful stimulant to the immune system, which may be helpful in preventing sickness.

Saturated fats are the most stable to cook with, since they are not sensitive to becoming damaged when they are heated.  Therefore, when cooking things at high temperatures coconut oil is a great choice.  It contains no cholesterol since it is a vegetable product.

Can coconut oil help with weight loss?  The studies to date are not conclusive.  In the meantime, use coconut oil when you cook at higher temperatures.  The taste is clean and adds a nice flavor to foods.