I've been wondering about the same thing. I generally use olive oil, unless I want the flavor of coconut.

Just as the link above mentioned, it isn't bad for the heart in any way. People aren't typically using it because of evidence that it's specifically good for the heart. It's widely used because it's a healthy fat and provides lauric, capric, caprylic and other unique fatty acids that are quickly metabolized for brain energy and aren't stored as body fat.

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Just as the link above mentioned, it isn't bad for the heart in any way. People aren't typically using it because of evidence that it's specifically good for the heart. It's widely used because it's a healthy fat and provides lauric, capric, caprylic and other unique fatty acids that are quickly metabolized for brain energy and aren't stored as body fat.

All the calories you eat can be stored as body fat, including the calories from coconut oil.

Batlady49 wrote: »

Just remember that olive oils turns to trans-fat if you heat it. No cooking with it. You can use coconut oil for cooking without it turning to trans fats.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/446570-does-overheating-olive-oil-turn-it-to-trans-fat/

Batlady49 wrote: »

Just remember that olive oils turns to trans-fat if you heat it. No cooking with it. You can use coconut oil for cooking without it turning to trans fats.

MilllieMoo wrote: »

Batlady49 wrote: »

Just remember that olive oils turns to trans-fat if you heat it. No cooking with it. You can use coconut oil for cooking without it turning to trans fats.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/446570-does-overheating-olive-oil-turn-it-to-trans-fat/

Technically speaking, overheating any fat will oxidize fatty acids, rendering it pretty much the same as trans fat.

However, saturated fats and monounsaturated fats are both very heat tolerant and have higher heating temperatures and less prone to such break down as polyunsaturated fats (many of which will break down even at room temperatures, which is why fish oil should be refrigerated at all times). Coconut oil is a saturated fat example, and olive oil is a monounsaturated fat.

Here's a fun fact for you -- the difference between monounsaturated fats and saturated fats is a single hydrogen atom. In saturated fats, every carbon atom is linked to a hydrogen atom. This is what makes them so stable. In monounsaturated fats, one of the hydrogen atoms is missing from the chain. This technically makes them less stable, but with only one, it's still pretty stable. In polyunsaturated fats, multiple hydrogen atoms are missing, further decreasing their stability.

This is why the process is called hydrogenation. It is literally adding hydrogen atoms to polyunsaturated fats to saturate them by filling in those gaps.

This is also where the idea that saturated fats are bad for you. In all of the old studies, saturated fats and trans fats are treated as the same, because on paper, they appear to be the same. However, they are fundamentally different.

Here's a good place to start regarding the difference between the two:
http://authoritynutrition.com/why-trans-fats-are-bad/

thubten1 wrote: »

I cannot find any scientific evidence that all that saturated fat in coconut oil is good for your heart.

Odds are, you're not going to find exactly what you've stated here, for about a million different reasons. I highly recommend reading/watching the following:

The Skinny On Fat - a good primer

The Straight Dope on Cholesterol and Diet - a talk by Dr. Peter Attia on cholesterol

The Straight Dope on Cholesterol - a really in-depth 9-part series on cholesterol, it's role in the body, and much more.

The Limits Of Scientific Evidence and The Ethics of Dietary Guidelines -- 60 Years of Ambiguity - a talk by Dr. Peter Attia on the political history of dietary recommendations in the US for the past half-century (hint - most of the guidelines were created out of political motives, not actual facts)

Finally, here's another thing to consider -- regardless of diet (even if the diet is completely devoid of fat), the body will turn excess calories into fat at proportions of about 5-10% polyunsaturated, 40-50% monounsaturated, and 40-50% saturated. In other words, even if you don't eat any fat, whatsoever, any time the body burns body fat, nearly half of what it's burning is saturated fat.

If saturated fats are so terrible, why does the body rely so much on them?

lithezebra wrote: »

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Just as the link above mentioned, it isn't bad for the heart in any way. People aren't typically using it because of evidence that it's specifically good for the heart. It's widely used because it's a healthy fat and provides lauric, capric, caprylic and other unique fatty acids that are quickly metabolized for brain energy and aren't stored as body fat.

All the calories you eat can be stored as body fat, including the calories from coconut oil.

My understanding is that specifically caprylic acid and possibly some of the other MCT's in coconut oil cannot be stored as body fat. However, you'd have a hard time consuming enough of them to acquire more than your brain could use in a days time. Perhaps your body would store the other calories you eat as fat, but not the MCT's. They are never converted by the liver and are immediately used by the brain for energy.

Dragonwolf wrote: »

Finally, here's another thing to consider -- regardless of diet (even if the diet is completely devoid of fat), the body will turn excess calories into fat at proportions of about 5-10% polyunsaturated, 40-50% monounsaturated, and 40-50% saturated. In other words, even if you don't eat any fat, whatsoever, any time the body burns body fat, nearly half of what it's burning is saturated fat.

If saturated fats are so terrible, why does the body rely so much on them?

We have saturated fats in our body so that our fats will be more solid at 98.6 degrees F, not for our heart health. The presence of PUFAs and MUFAs keeps our fats softer at body temperature. We can make the fats we need, aside from the essential fatty acids. Saturated fats, generally the longer chain variety, are not a good thing in your arteries.

The evidence for coconut oil for heart health and weight loss is intriguing, but not as good as the evidence for olive oil for heart health. I have high cholesterol, and I'm thin. I prefer to use olive oil, which is mostly monounsaturated fat, as much as possible, not because fats in the body are about half monounsaturated fat, but because of the studies showing that olive oil is good for cardiovascular health. If the evidence for coconut oil becomes equally strong, I'll be happy to eat more coconut oil - the stuff is delicious.

GaleHawkins wrote: »

thubten1 wrote: »

I cannot find any scientific evidence that all that saturated fat in coconut oil is good for your heart.I have been trying 2 tsp melted before going to the gym and I do think it adds a little energy on my very low carb macros,and the taste is OK,but I dont like the looks of it in a fry pan any more than beef or lamb fat

@thubten1 you may like The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife. I am about half way through the 5th edition and he covers your question. By the way he states based on how much MCT's is in breast milk humans should be OK eating 1 tablespoon of coconut oil per 30 pounds of body weight. Your experience with coconut oil and then going to the gym is what you should expect per the book. I also eat coconut flakes to boost my coconut oil intake.

It seems coconut oil can help us with weight loss and general health like no other fat can do.

Welcome to MFP forums.

@ GaleHawkins: Is there where your belief of 5 to 8 TBSP's per day of coconut oil is healthy? I think you said before you weigh 200 pounds so does 900+ calories of your day consist of consuming coconut oil?

lithezebra wrote: »

Dragonwolf wrote: »

Finally, here's another thing to consider -- regardless of diet (even if the diet is completely devoid of fat), the body will turn excess calories into fat at proportions of about 5-10% polyunsaturated, 40-50% monounsaturated, and 40-50% saturated. In other words, even if you don't eat any fat, whatsoever, any time the body burns body fat, nearly half of what it's burning is saturated fat.

If saturated fats are so terrible, why does the body rely so much on them?

We have saturated fats in our body so that our fats will be more solid at 98.6 degrees F, not for our heart health. The presence of PUFAs and MUFAs keeps our fats softer at body temperature. We can make the fats we need, aside from the essential fatty acids. Saturated fats, generally the longer chain variety, are not a good thing in your arteries.

The evidence for coconut oil for heart health and weight loss is intriguing, but not as good as the evidence for olive oil for heart health. I have high cholesterol, and I'm thin. I prefer to use olive oil, which is mostly monounsaturated fat, as much as possible, not because fats in the body are about half monounsaturated fat, but because of the studies showing that olive oil is good for cardiovascular health. If the evidence for coconut oil becomes equally strong, I'll be happy to eat more coconut oil - the stuff is delicious.

(2) quick questions: How high is high for cholesterol? And, do you use light olive oil or does the amount of or type processing not matter to you? Footnote: My neighbor has high cholesterol: north of 240. She has high HDL(above 100 I think), low try number, but then a high LDL number. Her next visit and bloodworm will reveal particulate size. She has discontinued her statin, is off her blood pressure med also. So, more curiosity for me. She is also 64 YO and healthy albeit for the smoking.

I remember a physician telling a patient that the bacon grease they see, solidified, in a pan, is how it looks in their body! How wrong he was, and they continue to be!! Heck! I believed it for a long time too!

I don't have information on the heating .....of fats. All I know is that's consumption of (especially butter and heavy whipping cream for me with a maybe weekly use of cooking with coconut oil) fat has made me healthier than I've been, ever! Trying to be low fat never created health for me, it only created illness!