Feedback on Coconut Oil?

PaulS70

I have heart disease. Cardiologist told me not to use it. He said triglycerides are triglycerides and the saturated fat would be dangerous to me. He also said the numerous health claims -- weight loss, cure for diabetes, etc.-- are all nonsense.

Use coconut oil if you wish, but I'm staying away from it. I'd like to stick around for a while.

Sounds like your cardiologist still thinks its 1988. Coconut oil will not hurt you and is very good for cooking.

She said she has heart disease and that's why he said it would be dangerous to her.

Saw your other comment, I think cardiologists are highly knowledgeable. Do you realized what extent they have to go through to get to be one? My aunt has been in college and doing internships since I was 5 I'm 20 now. Being a cardiologist is for people who take it seriously.

There is plenty of evidence out there that coconut oil does not cause heart disease, nor does it have any adverse reaction to pre-existing heart disease.

I never said that they were not knowledgeable or not serious. I'm saying that it is ok to question their advice when it comes to nutrition. This is an area where they have not had tons of formal training.

One of my close friends is 8 years along his path to become a heart surgeon. I am well aware of the work and dedication needed. I also meet with my cardiologist twice per year.

My personal cardiologist has strayed from the low fat dogma and favors natural whole foods including saturated fats especially healthy ones like coconut oil. His advice has been very important in saving my father's life from heart disease. (He had a quintuple bypass done when he was 43)

My experiences have led me to believe that doctors are human just like you and me, they give advice not the final word and it is ok to question their advice.

formersec

Paul, I have attempted to do my own research. If appears there is conflicting information available online. Most of the websites which promote coconut oil appear to come from possibly biased sources. So I asked my own cardio. No he doesn't have his own talk show. No he didn't write any books available at Barnes & Noble or on Amazon. But he is associate chief of the cardiology department at a major teaching hospital, and he still teaches medical school students, so I would imagine he keeps up with the latest. You might not have heard of him, but his peers have, and they have recognized him as an expert in his field.

By the way, I do see a dietician once a year. I have an appointment with her next month. At that time, I will ask get for her opinion on coconut oil. Perhaps she can point me to more reliable sources of information on coconut oil.

Anyway, I likewise wish you well in your weight loss journey.

pullipgirl

raw organic coconut oil is good if you are not allergic and have a healthy heart

lilojoke

I believe in it but it is a fat and needs to be used smartly. My naturopath says that two tablespoons early on in the day will help body metabolize fat for fuel instead of carbs for fuel.

I use one spoon when I cook my omelette in the morning and take it with my PGX capsules to help with blood sugar cravings.

bennyhusband

so basically its a mixed bag, no one answer. Im a chef whose lost over 100 lbs through clean eating and exercise. I love the flavor and the way coconut oil cooks i love to sear off lentil cakes in it, but . . . . im scared to use it cause it is so high in saturated fat, i generally wont cook my own food in any fat at all if it can be avoided . I got a giant jar of the stuff in my pantry that I am too afraid to use. Would love a difinitive answer but I doubt we will ever get one. Seems like a fad product thats on its way out of the headlines already.

neanderthin

I have heart disease. Cardiologist told me not to use it. He said triglycerides are triglycerides and the saturated fat would be dangerous to me. He also said the numerous health claims -- weight loss, cure for diabetes, etc.-- are all nonsense.

Use coconut oil if you wish, but I'm staying away from it. I'd like to stick around for a while.

triglycerides in the blood is caused by carbs not fat, and i would take the rest of what your Dr told you with a grain of salt. The population that resides around the equator have been using coconut oil for eons without ill effect, actually it was when they switched to refined veg oil, from exactly the kind of thinking your Dr. has that heart disease went up........

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I have heart disease. Cardiologist told me not to use it. He said triglycerides are triglycerides and the saturated fat would be dangerous to me. He also said the numerous health claims -- weight loss, cure for diabetes, etc.-- are all nonsense.

Use coconut oil if you wish, but I'm staying away from it. I'd like to stick around for a while.

triglycerides in the blood is caused by carbs not fat, and i would take the rest of what your Dr told you with a grain of salt. The population that resides around the equator have been using coconut oil for eons without ill effect, actually it was when they switched to refined veg oil, from exactly the kind of thinking your Dr. has that heart disease went up........

Exactly. And there are other populations of people in the really cold parts of the earth that have a lifestyle of 90% saturated fat coming from animal sources without ill effects also, until the Standard Western Diet was introduced to them.

I don't understand why people just go with what they are told when it is common sense that people have been eating saturated fat for forever and yet cardiovascular disease, heart disease and high cholesterol seems to be getting higher and higher with people using refined vegetable oils and eating low fat.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

so basically its a mixed bag, no one answer. Im a chef whose lost over 100 lbs through clean eating and exercise. I love the flavor and the way coconut oil cooks i love to sear off lentil cakes in it, but . . . . im scared to use it cause it is so high in saturated fat, i generally wont cook my own food in any fat at all if it can be avoided . I got a giant jar of the stuff in my pantry that I am too afraid to use. Would love a difinitive answer but I doubt we will ever get one. Seems like a fad product thats on its way out of the headlines already.

It is not a fad product and before the low fat push in the 70's and 80's companies such as hostess used to have coconut and palm oils in their products. The government banned the use of these tropical oils and they switched to the most unhealthy of transfats.

People that eat organically and clean have never stopped using coconut and palm oils.

neanderthin

I have heart disease. Cardiologist told me not to use it. He said triglycerides are triglycerides and the saturated fat would be dangerous to me. He also said the numerous health claims -- weight loss, cure for diabetes, etc.-- are all nonsense.

Use coconut oil if you wish, but I'm staying away from it. I'd like to stick around for a while.

triglycerides in the blood is caused by carbs not fat, and i would take the rest of what your Dr told you with a grain of salt. The population that resides around the equator have been using coconut oil for eons without ill effect, actually it was when they switched to refined veg oil, from exactly the kind of thinking your Dr. has that heart disease went up........

Exactly. And there are other populations of people in the really cold parts of the earth that have a lifestyle of 90% saturated fat coming from animal sources without ill effects also, until the Standard Western Diet was introduced to them.

I don't understand why people just go with what they are told when it is common sense that people have been eating saturated fat for forever and yet cardiovascular disease, heart disease and high cholesterol seems to be getting higher and higher with people using refined vegetable oils and eating low fat.

Just a follow up on triglycerides.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/61/6/1368S.short

If any fat is replaced by carbohydrates, fasting triglyceride values rise and HDL concentrations fall; effects on LDL depend on the type of fat that is being replaced. Trans isomers of oleic acid lower HDL and raise LDL and lipoprotein(a).

The trans isomers of oleic acid which is normally an unsaturated fat, think olive oil, are actually man made trans fats, which are classified as a saturated fat and you'll find these are in pretty much every study, which is one of the main reasons that saturated fat is seen in a bad light....of course natural saturated fat actually do the opposite, it raises HDL as well as LDL but it also reduces Lp(a) in the blood, which is a really important point.....but I have a feeling your Cardiologist probably doesn't know that, maybe you can bring up the point and ask him/her what Lp(a) and HDL have to do with heart disease and maybe bring up the point that when carbs are replaced with fat trigs go down.

formersec

I have heart disease. Cardiologist told me not to use it. He said triglycerides are triglycerides and the saturated fat would be dangerous to me. He also said the numerous health claims -- weight loss, cure for diabetes, etc.-- are all nonsense.

Use coconut oil if you wish, but I'm staying away from it. I'd like to stick around for a while.

triglycerides in the blood is caused by carbs not fat, and i would take the rest of what your Dr told you with a grain of salt. The population that resides around the equator have been using coconut oil for eons without ill effect, actually it was when they switched to refined veg oil, from exactly the kind of thinking your Dr. has that heart disease went up........

And triglycerides are but one component of cholesterol.

Speaking of which, for the record my HDL, LDL and triglycerides have been fine without coconut oil.

neanderthin

I have heart disease. Cardiologist told me not to use it. He said triglycerides are triglycerides and the saturated fat would be dangerous to me. He also said the numerous health claims -- weight loss, cure for diabetes, etc.-- are all nonsense.

Use coconut oil if you wish, but I'm staying away from it. I'd like to stick around for a while.

triglycerides in the blood is caused by carbs not fat, and i would take the rest of what your Dr told you with a grain of salt. The population that resides around the equator have been using coconut oil for eons without ill effect, actually it was when they switched to refined veg oil, from exactly the kind of thinking your Dr. has that heart disease went up........

And triglycerides are but one component of cholesterol.

Speaking of which, for the record my HDL, LDL and triglycerides have been fine without coconut oil.

Trigs and cholesterol are not the same thing, cholesterol doesn't contain triglycerides. All fatty acids are trigylcerides and are found in the foods we eat, so if we consume an egg for example, we're getting both, but again eggs don't on their own contribute to increased blood tryglcerides, which is were the consusion seems to be....like I said increased carb consumption increases blood triglycerides and replacing carbs with fatty acids reduce trigs in the blood.

If your HDL is above 60 and your trigs are under say 80 and your lipid panel shows a low prevelance of Lp(a) and c-reactive protein, which is an inflammation marker, is also low, your fine for the most part....maybe get your Dr. involved with that.