Coconut Oil & eggs

Been using coconut oil to cook instead of olive oil......people say that although it is high in saturated fat, its great for weight loss and I must admit my weight is coming off.

Been eating eggs as well as the yoke's.........a lot of new evidence shows that the fat in both products helps weight loss and infact lowers cholesterol..

Whats your thoughts

The saturated fat content of coconut oil does NOT make it worth it. It is almost all saturated fat! Saturated fats raise unhealthy LDL, which increases the risk of heart disease. The number 1 way to raise overall blood cholesterol is with saturated fats. Olive oil and other monounsaturated fats actually lower the unhealthy LDL while raising the healthy HDL. Saturated fat and trans fats are poor for heart health.

Sorry you are wrong with coconut oil.....it actually lowers cholesterol.......read below link

http://www.livestrong.com/article/28712-coconut-oil-lower-cholesterol/

or

http://coconut-info.com/mary_enig_cholesterol.htm

Dear kind sir,
Please use credible sources. Here is one from Harvard Medical. You will find that while it does raise HDLs slightly, it does so while raising the unhealthy LDL! You will find that reliable sources and research still claim that even with the new findings, monounsaturated fats are better because they do NOT raise the unhealthy LDLs while still lowering unhealthy HDLs!

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Health_Letter/2011/May/coconut-oil

Animal and human in vivo studies on virgin coconut oil
It has been established that coconut oil is considered a saturated fat because it contains more than 90% of saturated fatty acids. Epidemiologic study suggests that the consumption of high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol leads to high blood cholesterol (German & Dillard, 2004). Due to that, coconut oil has received bad reputation. However, in the past few years, clinical studies have been conducted on coconut oil and VCO and positive outcomes were obtained which might refute those arguments.

Coconut oil is rich in medium chain triacylglycerol (MCT). Extensive review has been made by Che Man and Marina (2006) and Marten, Pfeuffer, and Schrezenmeir (2006) on MCT. Having rich in MCT, consumption of coconut oil is associated with increase in the serum triacylglycerol but incorporation of structured lipid and other functional substances may improve the lipid profile. A study conducted on regular coconut consumers of Polynesian populations, revealed that consumption of coconut was not associated with heart attacks and other forms of cardiovascular disease (Prior, Davidson, Salmond, & Czochanska, 1981). Coconut oil is also rich in lauric acid; a fatty acid with strong antimicrobial property which inhibited various pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes (Wang & Johnson, 1992). There was also a study showing protective effect of coconut oil together with menhaden oil in reducing mammary tumor incidence in animal study (Craig-Schmidt, White, Teer, Johnson, & Lane, 1993).

The effects of consumption of VCO on various lipid parameters were conducted by Nevin and Rajamohan (2004). The findings indicated that triglycerides in serum and tissues were significantly lower in VCO-treated animals compared to copra oil and control animals. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in VCO fed animals was increased while low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level were significantly decreased compared to copra oil. Polyphenol fraction of VCO was found to be more beneficial than polyphenol fractions of copra and groundnut oils in preventing the copper-induced oxidation of LDL as indicated by the low thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and reduced carbonyl formation.

In the subsequent study, Nevin and Rajamohan (2006) determined the antioxidant status of rats fed VCO. The results indicated that the activities of catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) which were mutually supportive team of defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and preventing lipid peroxidation, were increased in VCO. The lipid peroxide levels were significantly less in the heart, liver and kidney of VCO fed animals compared to the other oil fed groups. Compared to groundnut and copra oils, VCO feeding was found to increase the total glutationine (GTN) content, a sensitive indicator of antioxidant status. The study concluded that consumption VCO was superior in antioxidant property than coconut oil extracted by dry process.

In a recent study, the influence of VCO on blood coagulation factors, lipid levels and LDL oxidation in cholesterol fed Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated by Nevin and Rajamohan (2008). The lipid levels and thrombotic risk factors as indicated by platelets, fibrin and fibrinogen levels were lower in rats fed VCO compared to copra oil and comparable to sunflower oil. The antioxidant vitamin levels were found to be higher in VCO fed animals compared to the other groups. The LDL isolated from VCO fed animals when subjected to oxidant in vitro, showed significant resistance to oxidation as compared to LDL isolated from the copra and groundnut oils.

VCO, just like coconut oil, is also known for its high MCT. MCT is unique due to its physicochemical properties such as having shorter chain length and smaller molecules compared to long chain triglyceride (LCT), making them more rapidly absorb and hydrolyze in the body. MCT has been using in the clinical area for enteral and parenteral nutrition in diverse medical conditions for treatment of patients suffering from fat malabsorption (Che Man & Marina, 2006). The relevance of the positive consequences of clinical studies on VCO has been widely contributed by its bioactive components. Apart from the physicochemical properties, the scientific investigation of VCO on health effect can further enhance the quality of VCO. Hence good knowledge on the molecular and bioactive components in VCO is highly desired.

Here's an excerpt from a review article that I pulled up.

A.M. Marina, Y.B. Che Man, I. Amin, Virgin coconut oil: emerging functional food oil, Trends in Food Science & Technology, Volume 20, Issue 10, October 2009, Pages 481-487, ISSN 0924-2244, 10.1016/j.tifs.2009.06.003.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224409002052)

There is something we are taught in medical school when it comes to reading research articles. That is... when something is tested on animals, it doesn't produce the same effects as in humans. ALSO, when something is in vitro (in a test tube) or in vivo (an isolated cell), it doesn't react or metabolize the same it does in the body. These tests, while providing questions to test or hypotheses, are not levels of information that we can base health decisions off of.