Part of my research for healthy living is looking for the right kinds of oil to cook and eat with.
Of course, the easiest one to change to is olive oil. But Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is not a good oil to cook with especially for deep frying. So I had to do some research. I've learned about the benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) before but there's a lot of information out there against it. So I dug deeper.
Fortunately, new research on VCO has shed some light into it. The main proponent against coconut oil is from misinformation my the US vegetable oil producers to label "Tropical oils" meaning coconut oil or palm oil as bad because it was full of saturated fats.
They labeled soy, sunflower and safflower oil as better because it is low in saturated fat, high in unsaturated fat. What they didn't say that it was not as simple as that.
As in any type of fats, there is a difference between saturated fat and unsaturated fat.
Saturated FatsThe term "saturated" refers to hydrogen.
While there are several types of
saturated fats like lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid. I'm only going to discuss about fatty acid chain.
There are basically three types of fatty acid chain. Short, medium and long. Short and medium chain fatty acids are absorbed directly into the blood via intestine capillaries and travel through the portal vein just as other absorbed nutrients do. However, However,
long chain fatty acids (LCTs) are too large to be directly released into the tiny intestine capillaries. Instead they are absorbed into the fatty walls of the intestine
villi and reassembled again into
triglycerides.
In short, LCTs are typically stored in the body as fat, while MCTs are burned for energy. MCTs burn up quickly in the body. They are a lot like adding kindling to a fireplace, rather than a
big damp log.
Coconut oil is the richest source of medium chain fatty acid or MCTs. MCTs raises the body's metabolism and also contains a lot of
lauric acid. Also, the MCTs in coconut oil is similar to mother's milk and have the same nutriceutical effects. It also has anti-microbial and anti-viral properties.
So the claim that all saturated fats is bad is not completely true. Some such as LCT are not good for you but short and medium is good. But even completely eliminating LCTs will mean you will live longer and healthier life. All types of fats a necessary for normal body functions, even LCTs, triglycerides and cholesterol. There are even studies that show high saturated fat or high cholesterol can prolong your life.
So the verdict is still out. But the main thing to remember is that everything in moderation is still the key. Saturated fat is ok, as long as you take in the right type of saturated fats in the proper proportions. More SCTs and MCTs and fewer LCTs. But do not completely eliminate them as they are all needed for your body to function.
references:
http://www.coconutoil.comhttp://en.wikipedia.orghttp://www.helpguide.org
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