Is Coconut Oil a Healthy Fat?

Is Coconut Oil a Healthy Fat? 

For many years, I’ve heard people spouting the benefits of coconut oil. There are all kinds of claims related to coconut oil and how it can prevent heart disease, treat Alzheimer’s disease, is antibacterial and antimicrobial, and can treat cancer. Even help hormone balance and cure diabetes? And help with hair and skin. Coconut oil is the best oil under the sun, and we should buy it by the bucketful.

Unfortunately, most of this is not valid. A big red flag is the use of the words “may help,” “supports,” and the double red-flag word “cure.” 

In theory, coconut oil is antibacterial only because if you put it over a minor wound on your skin, it can help protect that wound from bacteria getting into it, like Vaseline or another barrier would work to keep bacteria out. However, eating coconut oil won’t cure your strep, it won’t keep you from getting the flu, and it certainly won’t keep you from contracting other infections just because you eat it. And people will say, “I use coconut oil all the time, and I never get sick.” That may be true, but coconut oil isn’t the reason.

Alzheimer’s Disease

It hasn’t ever cured Alzheimer’s disease considering there is no current cure for Alzheimer’s disease. And, no one is trying to keep this a secret as if this was the cure, and we are just trying to keep these poor individuals from a miracle treatment that is available in nearly every grocery and big box store. Those are the most absurd statements. I guarantee you that if this were even close to a “cure,” we’d be given it to all patients with Alzheimer’s disease or even the risk. Coconut oil is so atherosclerotic that it could increase the risk of brain disease. And one person claiming that their spouse was cured of Alzheimer’s when their spouse later died from complications of the disease isn’t considered a cure.

Here is what the Alzheimer’s Association has to say about coconut oil: “A few people have reported that coconut oil helped the person with Alzheimer’s, but there’s never been any clinical testing of coconut oil for Alzheimer’s, and there’s no scientific evidence that it helps.” 

Heart Disease

And when it comes to heart disease, this is clear: saturated fat is not a healthy fat and will not reduce the risk for heart disease. On the contrary, it will increase the risk of heart disease. That is a fact. For heart health, we want to consume healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. And coconut oil certainly doesn’t fall into that category.

Coconut oil is THE unhealthiest fat. It is the most saturated fat. It is hands down not a healthy fat, no question. People are often shocked when I tell them butter and lard are healthier fats than coconut oil. (And, not I am not saying to use those as your primary fats either. Just that they are healthier than coconut oil, but not healthy.) 

I have seen many cases in which people’s cholesterol levels are alarming, and they admit that they use coconut oil almost exclusively in their cooking. I have also seen vegan people use high quantities of coconut oil and still have high rates of heart disease.

I even knew a highly physically active vegan who died of heart disease and was a fan and advocate of coconut oil. Not that this was cause and effect, as I acknowledge that there could be other reasons for this heart disease that contributed to his death. This case is just one observation related to heart disease in someone vegan and an athlete.

What is an alarming range? A triglyceride of nearly 1500 mg/dl when normal is <150 mg/dl. The number of LDL is nearing 140; when preferred, it is <100.

Here is what the American Heart Association has to say about coconut oil: “…an analysis of more than 100 published research studies dating as far back as the 1950s, reaffirmed that saturated fats raise LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. Tropical vegetable oils such as coconut oil contain high levels of saturated fats, and…coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol in seven controlled trials.”

Diabetes and Cancer

The American Diabetes Association does not have any information about coconut oil’s benefits in managing, treating, and certainly not “curing” diabetes. The only mention is in the context of healthy vs. not-so-healthy fats under the category of saturated fats and states, “This type of fat can increase your cholesterol, and as a result, your risk of heart disease. This is one of the fats that should be limited in our diet. Typically, this fat is found in animal products and tropical oils that are solid at room temperature.” 

And as a cancer cure – there is no cure, only a treatment that involves a medical team. Cancer is not one disease and is not treated the same for everyone. So to suggest that one could “cure” cancer by eating coconut oil is just dumb – but also insulting. Are people going through surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation to treat a disease that one could cure with coconut oil? Don’t be ridiculous. And, no, there is no secret hidden cure for cancer that the CDC is keeping from us. 

The American Cancer Society has the same recommendation as the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats, including coconut and tropical oils. 

Hair and Skin? 

I don’t know, but I like to use it because it makes me smell nice. But, it does seem to help my skin, and I don’t get an allergic reaction to it like I sometimes contract with other lotions/moisturizers.  

The bathroom is the only place I have coconut oil in my home. 

But What About…

People will often talk about how coconut oil is an MCT, known as medium chain triglyceride. Structurally, that is true; however, in the body of behaves more like a long chain triglyceride and is a highly saturated fat. 

When I have read research touting the benefits of coconut oil, scientific research most of those studies are not using coconut oil but an MCT oil (something that is 100% MCT), suggesting that coconut oil and MCT oil are equal. They are not. You can purchase and obtain MCT oil and it is not coconut oil. Coconut oil contains MCTs but is not an MCT. That would be like saying beef is fat. It is not; it contains fat. (Coconut oil is less than 20% MCT.)

I needed to mention this because this is a tricky part of the people spewing the benefits of coconut oil that is not entirely accurate.

Coconut oil does have its place in cooking like any other type of oil or fat. For example, lard is the common ingredient in some of the native foods and cooking methods in the state where I live. However, it is used sparingly, only for certain dishes or occasions, not all the time.

Butter is also not the number one oil or fat used in cooking. It is used in baking and has its place in cooking, baking, and spreading on toast, but it is not the primary fat that people use in every single dish. At least it should not be the primary fat. 

What Oils I Recommend

And while some oils are specialty oils, such as peanut oil in certain dishes or, as I mentioned, lard in certain dishes or butter in certain items, the oils I use most often in my home are olive oil and canola oil. And yes, avocado oil is also beneficial, or grapeseed oil is also good; lots of oils are OK in moderation. However, I haven’t personally taken to purchasing avocado oil or other oils regularly because I can barely get through my olive and canola oil before they go rancid. I keep my canola oil in the fridge since it takes me a while to get through it, and I often throw it out. (I have fat in my diet; I don’t use a lot of added fats.)

Many people will ask me, “why does everybody talk about how great coconut oil is?”

I must ask them, “where did they learn this? And who said it?” Was it a medical professional, a doctor with a medical degree (and not Dr. Oz), or a dietitian? Or was it “on the internet” – which I acknowledge is where you are reading this – suggested by an influencer or someone with dubious credentials? 

Coconut oil has become very popular in recent years with some trending diets. But, unfortunately, popular doesn’t always mean healthy. And even touting a product as “natural,” also doesn’t make it healthy. When people say this, lead, mercury, and arsenic always come to mind. Natural. Not healthy. 

If you choose to use coconut oil, use it in moderation. If you are purchasing it monthly, that is probably not in moderation. Please don’t consider it as a miracle oil or even the best oil because, factually, it is not. 

It is the unhealthiest food oil and the most saturated fat that we can use. And while I’m not recommending the daily use of lard, it is a fact it is healthier than coconut oil.