Palm oil and coconut oil. Healthy or not?

MelaniaTrump
MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
edited November 28 in Food and Nutrition
English is not my first language, and when people use NOT in sentences I often get a bit confused.
From reading the below sentence I understand that palm oil and coconut oil need to be limited. If I am wrong, please reply and correct me.

The guidelines also recommend less than 10% of calories per day from saturated fats. Those include butter, whole milk, meats that are not lean and tropical oils such as coconut or palm oil.
http://blogs.webmd.com/breaking-news/2016/01/dietary-guidelines-less-sugar-salt-coffee-ok.html?ecd=wnl_men_011416&ctr=wnl-men-011416_nsl-prmd_desc&mb=nsvhrm64l1jOtre0iBEYIBXFE73IOX1ckgtLaT@8ZBI=
I really thought coconut oil was good for you. And my peanut butter has palm oil. I think it's the combination of not and and that throws me off.

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,341 Member
    Coconut oil was getting a beat up as really healthy, but ongoing studies are not bearing that out. It is high in saturated fat, though new studies are showing that sat fat isn't the demon it was previously said to be.

    As for palm oil, I avoid it unless it is certified sustainably sourced, because the majority of it is coming from the destruction of orangutan habitat.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    Unrefined coconut oil is an excellent fat but too much of anything is bad for you.

    In my opinion the only two oils needed are coconut oil and olive oil.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    Is it that some coconut oils are bad? Ex: The ones added to foods, vs the stuff you buy in a jar at health foods stores?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    edited January 2016
    There only is one coconut oil from the fatty acid perspective, the rest is marketing and nuances.

    I did kinda lose interest at "The guidelines also recommend less than 10% of calories per day from saturated fats" - they are applying (flawed) epedemiology about sat fat in the SAD to the (wholly different) sat fat in coconut oil. 87% of fat in coconut oil is saturated but most of it is medium chain fatty acids with smaller molecules than say olive oil - these are processed through the liver in a different manner to the longer chain saturated fatty acids.

    So I think this is a case of someone who only has a hammer identifying coconut oil as a nail, when it's actually a screw.


    If you put "meats that are not lean" inside brackets that may help your linguistic issue, the not only refers to meats and could have been said as "fatty meats"
  • jcow84
    jcow84 Posts: 75 Member
    I'm not sure about 'bad' for you - but I agree that some palm oils are made in an unsustainable way, polluting the environment, killing animal habitats, and taking land away from indigenous farmers. Check out this link: http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    I second the, short chain fatty acid in coconut oil being more easily digested and too much of anythings not good for any one. Also the use of palm oil is questionable because of in-sustainability.
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