Coconut Oil Help?

135

Replies

  • thelaurameister
    thelaurameister Posts: 689 Member
    I use it sometimes. I don't use it for weight loss per-say, I just use it in cooking because I like it. My favorite is sauteeing spinach and shrimp in it. If you're wanting a way to incorporate it into your morning routine, it's surprisingly tasty in Coach's Oats. If you don't know what that is, it's basically oatmeal but it's "Steel cut oats", whatever that means. I haven't tried it in Quaker or any kind of instant oatmeal, but I can't imagine it would taste bad at all. Eating it plain would be disgusting, I don't think anyone would enjoy it plain lol.
  • baja572
    baja572 Posts: 94
    rub it on dry skin..lol:bigsmile:
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.

    I don't understand how their 'bad cholesterol' can be through the roof when plant-based foods, by nature of what they are, have no cholesterol.


    On an unrelated note, coconut oil makes a fantastic soap. :-)
  • marilynolivares1
    marilynolivares1 Posts: 61 Member
    Aside from liking the taste, my favorite thing about coconut oil is that when I cook with it, nothing burns. I also use it to season my cast iron pan.
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.

    I don't understand how their 'bad cholesterol' can be through the roof when plant-based foods, by nature of what they are, have no cholesterol.


    On an unrelated note, coconut oil makes a fantastic soap. :-)

    The saturated fat can really impact cholesterol levels. I am assuming this is what happens. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,210 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.

    I don't understand how their 'bad cholesterol' can be through the roof when plant-based foods, by nature of what they are, have no cholesterol.


    On an unrelated note, coconut oil makes a fantastic soap. :-)

    The saturated fat can really impact cholesterol levels. I am assuming this is what happens. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat.
    Yes it increases HDL the implied good cholesterol and has little to no effect on LDL, the bad stuff.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.

    I don't understand how their 'bad cholesterol' can be through the roof when plant-based foods, by nature of what they are, have no cholesterol.


    On an unrelated note, coconut oil makes a fantastic soap. :-)

    The saturated fat can really impact cholesterol levels. I am assuming this is what happens. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat.

    No, that is a myth. Please explain to me exactly how a plant-based saturated fat (that does not contain cholesterol) increases the LDL ratio.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    My hair loves it. I also use it to oil my waffle pan.
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.

    I don't understand how their 'bad cholesterol' can be through the roof when plant-based foods, by nature of what they are, have no cholesterol.


    On an unrelated note, coconut oil makes a fantastic soap. :-)

    The saturated fat can really impact cholesterol levels. I am assuming this is what happens. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat.

    No, that is a myth. Please explain to me exactly how a plant-based saturated fat (that does not contain cholesterol) increases the LDL ratio.

    I have not been to medical school. I only know that people in my life who have began using large amounts of coconut oil saw their LDL cholesterol go very, very high after using coconut oil in large amounts such as the 3-4 TBS I mentioned. I believe moderation is important. Saturated fat is what I personally feel is causing the LDL spike. If the coconut oil is the only change a person makes in their diet and the LDL goes way up after that, then it really can't be a coincidence. Anyone is welcome to go do some research. I have found nothing to the contrary of what I have talked about here. If you find some research that is contrary to this, please share, because I am interested.

    Another thing, my personal theory is, since coconut oil is processed quickly in the liver, perhaps it somehow causes the liver to make more cholesterol. Just an idea.
  • Ghkffb56
    Ghkffb56 Posts: 263 Member
    Its good for skin and hair! I put it in My oats tea and coffe,, i cook my meat with it.. it makes my hair silky and my skin soft lol..im still losing weight .. i have no bad things to say about it.
  • choconuts
    choconuts Posts: 208 Member
    I use it occasionally in my protein shakes if I know I'll be low on calories for the day. I have to melt it before using...it doesn't seem to process completely in my blender if I don't.

    Translation: I use it occasionally to reach my caloric goal.
  • tomg33
    tomg33 Posts: 305 Member
    Guys, come on. You need to cook with oil to absorb fat-soluble vitamins? Digestion happens on a scale of many hours, even up to 72 hours for some compounds. This is the reason why meal frequency and timing is very overrated, and why fasting doesn't kill you. Fast for 3 days and you won't feel so good though (it's also the reason why pre-, peri- and post- workout nutrition are very overrated, especially for non athletes). You don't need to eat every meal with a perfectly balanced macro ratio (whatever that means) and you don't need to add oils if you are already eating foods that contain a lot of fat.

    Unless you just like the stuff, that's great! But I'd rather have fattier cuts of meat, lots of eggs, and of course plenty of dairy because I'm an immature mammal ;p
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.

    I don't understand how their 'bad cholesterol' can be through the roof when plant-based foods, by nature of what they are, have no cholesterol.


    On an unrelated note, coconut oil makes a fantastic soap. :-)

    The saturated fat can really impact cholesterol levels. I am assuming this is what happens. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat.

    No, that is a myth. Please explain to me exactly how a plant-based saturated fat (that does not contain cholesterol) increases the LDL ratio.

    I have not been to medical school. I only know that people in my life who have began using large amounts of coconut oil saw their LDL cholesterol go very, very high after using coconut oil in large amounts such as the 3-4 TBS I mentioned. I believe moderation is important. Saturated fat is what I personally feel is causing the LDL spike. If the coconut oil is the only change a person makes in their diet and the LDL goes way up after that, then it really can't be a coincidence. Anyone is welcome to go do some research. I have found nothing to the contrary of what I have talked about here. If you find some research that is contrary to this, please share, because I am interested.

    Another thing, my personal theory is, since coconut oil is processed quickly in the liver, perhaps it somehow causes the liver to make more cholesterol. Just an idea.

    Where do you come up with this stuff?
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Are you targeting me or is this just a coincidence?
  • I can't see your diary, so I'm just guessing based on a few things you said, but it sounds like you're avoiding fat which is why you need a coconut oil "supplement" to feel full. Some fats are good for you and you should be cooking with them! I'm not saying you need to deep fry everything, but why not saute things in a bit of olive oil? Or use nut butters or avocado in your shakes? Not to mention you're going to get bored with food if all you ever do is bake things.

    Im watchin fats right now but gettin it from almond butter and I have always been a "plain jane" kinda girl when it comes to eating...I hate the taste of grease/oily stuff. which is the reason I bake fish/chicken..I dont eat red meat..when it comes spring tho I love usin my grill :) I will try to put that coconut oil in my next protein shake and see how it works :)
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    Oil is oil, it is still a fat, and although apparently a healthy fat, I do not think there is any need or benefit to forcing a tablespoon down each day, that strikes me as just being rather silly. I use it maybe a few times a week when I use it to coat my chicken or salmon before baking, and that is it.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Are you targeting me or is this just a coincidence?

    Well I quoted you because I was asking you, if that's what you mean. I honestly want to know where you get these ideas.
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Are you targeting me or is this just a coincidence?

    Well I quoted you because I was asking you, if that's what you mean. I honestly want to know where you get these ideas.

    You came off kind of like you had it in for me.... again! Anyhoo, I do a great deal of research on my own, I do a great deal of mulling these things over, and when people Iknow happen to have had certain experiences it peaks my interest even more.
  • I know how great it is suppose to be for you and the health benefits.. but how are you guys taking it in on the daily bases and not going over your fat allowance for the day? Only wondering because I like the stuff.. but if i put a spoon of it in something.. that's like half of my fat for the day? confused?
  • Thank you for ALL these replies. My trainer friend told me to take 1/2 a tsp in my protein shake cuz of all the benefits..i.e. nails/skin plus apparently it boosts energy and makes ya feel a little more "full"....I tried it plain and YUCK!:noway: I will try it in my protein shake in a small dose and see..otherwise..I dont go on "fads" but it seemed some stuff I googled had great things to say about it which is why I presented the question. thanks tho to all of you and your thoughts :flowerforyou:
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Are you targeting me or is this just a coincidence?

    Well I quoted you because I was asking you, if that's what you mean. I honestly want to know where you get these ideas.

    You came off kind of like you had it in for me.... again! Anyhoo, I do a great deal of research on my own, I do a great deal of mulling these things over, and when people Iknow happen to have had certain experiences it peaks my interest even more.

    I have no idea you are, and I don't really care. I care about your ideas, and the ideas you've had in this thread are very off-the-wall. I have no idea where you heard these things. That's what I'm asking you for.

    Please link me to the research that indicates a few tablespoons of coconut oil a day can dramatically raise LDL levels.
  • Pardon my intrusion - long time mFP user, just not active recently, and having been through the nutritional wringer on this subject myself (I poured over ALL of the research for many years, and especially recently after I went through with my VSG)

    A few things here that I feel the need to point out.

    HDL/LDL - there's nothing good or bad about one or the other. It's the ratio you that you should be most concerned about. As long as someone's LDL is proportionate to their HDL, it's fine. It just means that these PROTEINS are doing their job by providing and scooping up the cholesterol in your blood stream.

    Cholesterol - It's not the evil thing people are brainwashed into thinking it is. As a matter of fact, no woman should ever take statins to lower cholesterol, unless of course they don't want to live a long life. Men are another story - I still don't believe they should take statins anyway. Cholesterol is VITAL to our organs, cells, lymph, you name it. If it wasn't so desperately needed by our bodies, why then do the vast majority of our cells have the ability to manufacture cholesterol as needed?

    Saturated Fats, especially those in coconut oil, clarified Ghee and lard are HEALTHY. Don't let anyone in the medical industry tell you otherwise. There's an interesting article I found recently that shows an experiment where cattle farmers used coconut oil to help them "finish" their livestock to prepare them for butcher. Problem is, the coconut oil was making them LEANER. They had to switch to the stuff that everyone else is being tricked into thinking is good for you but actually is horrible, horrible stuff. (Canola, Corn oil to name a couple.

    It makes me sick to think that people think that Soybean oil is any better. Hell, even Wikipedia has it succinctly with facts to back it up:

    "To produce soybean oil, the soybeans are cracked, adjusted for moisture content, heated to between 60 and 88 ºC (140–190 °F), rolled into flakes, and solvent-extracted with hexanes."

    So to produce soybean oil, they crack them (not unlike coffee roasting from what I've researched), adjusted for moisture content (again, like coffee roasting) rolled into flakes and then solvent-extracted with hexanes. They used essentially what amounts to gasoline (for the overly dramatic flair of course) to extract this "healthy" oil. (smh)

    Don't believe everything you read. DO research the snot out of things.

    The 3-4 tablespoons a day of coconut oil seems a bit excessive to me - even pre-op, I only used about 2 Tbsp a week in my cooking, INCLUDING on my one vice - stove popped popcorn.

    I'm happy to see that there are other people on here that use coconut oil to make the little chocolate treats - my sister makes them (freezes them) and they're outstanding, and you'd never know you were eating essentially 95% oil. It's fantastic!

    Saturated fats are NOT the health demons that the modern world would lead you to believe. Oils, namely artifically produced oils, are evil. Trans fats are only part of the truth.

    Go against the grain and figure out what works, but I'll put it this way.

    I cook entirely with ghee, coconut oil and soon to be lard (waiting for a local natural grocer to get a shipment in) and my latest blood panel was outstanding, and I'm a 32 year old male. 6'3", ~ 364#. My doctor had to look at it twice to be sure it was really mine, and then I told them what I use to cook with.

    Even physicians today are misinformed. Don't believe everything people tell you - real life, on these forums or otherwise. Do the research. Start with good sources. Weston A Price has some good stuff on the subject. As do many reputable doctors online. The overwhelming truths that are available are what swayed me. When everyone who was against "big medicine" was saying one thing, it got me thinking. So I tried it. The blood panel is just one of many recently that were markedly improved. Best of all, My attitude kicks butt now. When I avoided fats, saturated or otherwise, I was a depressed moody SOB who couldn't build muscle either.

    Not anymore. :)
  • jjrichard83
    jjrichard83 Posts: 483 Member
    I'm sorry, but what's the point of just "eating" a tablespoon of it (or adding it to coffee, smoothie, protein, etc)? I've never heard of such a thing and I'm floored by this ahaha....and grossed out

    I felt the same way when I first saw posts like these on MFP. Honestly, I think it's just the latest food fad. I've researched it and could find no advantages to "taking" it.

    The you obviously didn't research it enough. Also being one of those people who say "I need peer reviewed studies to show it's benefits" without doing your own research can come across as lazy. It has helped two of my friends with cold sores better than other meds from the pharmacy, and there is new evidence that shows that coconut oil could help slow down alzheimer's.

    Also I know you didn't mention it in this post, but many do (I have been guilty for it as well), but many "peer reviewed" studies are full of BS - the tobacco industry had many peer reviewed studies showing how tobacco was not harmful... To listen to others isn't always helpful either. Do your own self experiments and see before you knock others who are actually "testing" out potential healthy ideas. nutritional fat is not the enemy in diets.
  • karenhray7
    karenhray7 Posts: 219 Member
    I made chocolate using it once-colossal fail. It does, however, make the best eye makeup remover I've ever used.
  • dlcam61
    dlcam61 Posts: 228 Member
    Many vitamins are fat-soluble, so cooking with oil is actually a good thing, especially with vegetables. Melt your coconut oil and drizzle it on your broccoli or something. It's also really good on popcorn (I have a coconut oil spray, which makes it super easy).

    I'm not into all they hype; I just like it.

    You're right that many vitamins are fat-soluble.
    You're right that cooking with healthy fats is a good thing.

    You're not right that these too facts have anything to do with one another.

    Eating fats will help absorb fat-soluble vitamins?

    I'll happily stand corrected. I was not of the impression that dietary fat aided in the uptake of fat soluble vitamins.

    "Dietary fat, which comes from the food you eat, is crucial to the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins, which includes vitamins A, D, K and E (water-soluble vitamins B and C don't need fat). Vitamin A is essential for good vision, vitamin D for bone health, K for blood clotting, and E for limiting the formation of harmful free radicals."

    http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/vitamin-supplements/fat-absorb-vitamins.htm

    I also study nutrition and health in college so yes it does aid in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins.

    A friend recommended to put it on my sweet potatoes in place of butter (which I never use) and sprinkle cinnamon with nutmeg on it. Sounds like a dessert like that to me! :flowerforyou:
  • pennydreadful270
    pennydreadful270 Posts: 266 Member
    Honestly.... no more than a tablespoon a day. I have seen people say how they just eat 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day and next thing you know their triglycerides look great! BUT their BAD cholesterol is through the roof. Moderation with coconut oil is best for sure.

    I don't understand how their 'bad cholesterol' can be through the roof when plant-based foods, by nature of what they are, have no cholesterol.

    The saturated fat can really impact cholesterol levels. I am assuming this is what happens. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat.

    No, that is a myth. Please explain to me exactly how a plant-based saturated fat (that does not contain cholesterol) increases the LDL ratio.

    What? LDL isn't increased by dietary cholesterol. You've got your molecules mixed up. It binds with cholesterol to move it about the body. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat (albeit these mid-length chains apparently), of course it is, or it wouldn't be hard at room temperature.

    No myths there.

    (There is an arguement to make about how much saturated fat contributes to LDL levels. In my book it does increase it, but held body fat is more important, which is why low carb-high fat is the more recent advice. In the long term, it's better to up the dietary fats and decrease the body fat. But the case is not closed on that one.)
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Just an FYI. I do not come here to debate or argue or get into a pissing match. Anyone who has access to a search engine may go look for their own research. I tire of posting a research link just to have the one demanding proof to poo-poo the source. The fact is that once someone has it in their head that someone else is wrong, there is no source good enough. You are welcome to post your research links proving me wrong. Happy hunting.
  • penelopia
    penelopia Posts: 52 Member
    it's amazing to use in your hair
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    I will say this, It makes a perfect make-up remover. Your mascara will come right off with minimal scrubbing. In fact, just a swipe or two with a cotton ball is all you need. I usually rub about a teaspoon sized amount into my entire face, swipe it all over with a cotton round, then cleanse as usual.