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.
