Comments on: Coconut Oil – Good, Bad or Ugly?

By: Melanie

Melanie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:47:48 +0000

Thanks Lois. It’s a topic I need to address again soon.

By: Lois

Lois — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:19:43 +0000

I keep looking for more info. on coconut oil. The good, the bad? I read all you had to say. Yes, very open minded. Wish there were more info. I guess know one know’s for sure. I say a thing on you-tube….CBS new’s look under coconut oil. Then Dr.Oz and stuff on his show about it. The lady at my health food store say’s it’s the best thing EVER. Bottom line. No one know’s for sure.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:39:27 +0000

Great ideas, Oishi. Dates are very healthy. However, like all dried fruits, they are very concentrated in natural sugars, so just don’t eat too many.

By: Oishi

Oishi — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:57:07 +0000

Hi Melanie,

Just read all the comments and would be great to hear feedback from some on how they are doing from using the coconut oil. Did you try it for your eczema?

I’ve been using for a few months now externally on my skin and never felt so soft!

I’m trying to incorporate the oil in my diet but not a big fan of coconut but do like chocolate mixed with it. Put some oil, coaco, dates and almond milk in food processor other day and loved it. Even tried with rum instead of the almond milk, let sit in the fridge for awhile and then rolled into balls and in coconut flakes. Turned out good!

Am going to use dates instead of sugar ground up (medjool) in recipes. Wondering if you have any information whether dates are as good as all the information I’ve been finding on the internet.

Thanks for this site, looking forward to exploring more of it.

cheers!

By: Melanie

Melanie — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:50:41 +0000

The saturated fat in coconut oil is different, because it contains mostly medium chain fatty acids.

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 04:05:08 +0000

I thought any kind of Saturated fat was bad for you.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:01:51 +0000

Thanks so much Altug. I do try to keep an open mind, which is probably easier for me than some dietitians, since I don’t work for a hospital etc. I have been meaning to address this topic again, as I’ve learnt so much more in recent days about it. Thanks for your comment.

By: Altug

Altug — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:22:59 +0000

Hey Melanie,

I too was searching for a conclusive answer on whether Coconut Oil was good or bad for us and I’m really glad I stumbled upon your article.

I love the “non-guru” style that this piece is written and you echo my sentiments exactly about studies and their accuracy.

Far too often people online and offline feel the need to give a definitive answer to something they don’t know for sure..Maybe in fear of being ridiculed for sitting on the fence? I dunno!

I was even more impressed that you were a dietician because we used to have one at our Cardiac Rehab program that I used to run for heart patients and she’d offer a diet session after our exercise session.

I must say I’d sit there cringing at her giving advice with 100% certainty that people should eat margarine to reduce heart disease etc Her attitude was really bad too if you suggested an alternative.

So thank you for being so down to earth and approaching this topic so wonderfully! The verdict is still out there on Coconut Oil? That’s a good enough answer for me

Altug

By: Hella van der Velde

Hella van der Velde — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:32:18 +0000

I fully agree with Emmab,
Here in the Netherlands our food centre gives a negative advise about cocconut oil because it contains too many saturated fatty acids. However they don’t take in account cocconut fat had a fat profile of medium fatty acid chains as has palmpit oil. Allready for years now people are getting more aware of the harm that cooking of plant oil with high unsaturated fats can do to us. Therfore margerine and all kinds of diet butters are more harmfull.
So though there is a general awareness about this harm, the foodcentre (a government institute) tells us a different story. This makes me really angry.
In order to make a conclusion about any food it seems that we, laymen, will have to turn to PUBMED and do our own liturature research and also go back to our school chemistry.
I myself will make a PUBMED research.
At the moment I believe raw cold pressed cocconut oil is the best, allthough even with the mechanical extraction I read there is a temperature increase up to 30 celsius degrees. But wich type of cocconut fat is best for deep frying? We ducthies just love french fries and I want to make healthy french fries. If the raw extra virgin is the most healthy to eat as raw food is it therefore also the best to deep fry in? After one frying session upto 180 celsius degrees the raw oil has undergo a refined step. Myself I think I can conclude that as long as the oil is unrefined and mechanically extracted sothat it’s completely pure it’s okay to use for deep frying! So even if the cocconut odour is taken out (I think it can be done by bleeching?) it will not be completly pure.
The best option is to start with a cocconut and extract the oil yourself. Or visit a cocconut oil factory and find out if they do what they say.
Anyway here in Holland there is awareness that deep frying is better in staturated fat only don’t do this everyday. But I want to optimalize this method sothat it will be okay to do deep frying once a week or so!
I also started to make smoothies in the morning with a bit of cocconut milk and I will add pure unrefined cocconut oil aswell. I’ll have to buy a new jar because for now all my precious cocconut oil is in my deep fryer, LOL.

By: amy

amy — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 17:30:01 +0000

avoiding eating out is denying yourself a great pleasure. Staying healthy is one thing but devoting your life to preserving your life for as long as possible is another. I’d rather die at 70 having allowed myself to have a good time sometimes than die at 95 having never eaten out or allowed myself to ease up on myself a little