Coconut Oil benefits/drawbacks

[dockhl]

So, how do you dig through the health food website hype about coconut oil and find out if it is good or bad?

The pro guys say it helps metabolism/cholesterol; the con guys say it clogs arteries.

I love the taste and smell. Expensive but worth it, if it dossn't kill me

Input? Users, can you tell me what you've found?

[Sam Salmon]

I completely ignore any web sites-instead I look to the health of people in countries where Coconut oil is an important part of everyday diet-especially countries I've been to.

Without reservation people are healthy as anyone with no particular worries-'nuf said.

[ruthcooks]

The soy producers "killed" coconut oil back when the cholesterol scare came into being. Yes, coconut oil contains saturated fat, but it does not have the same effect on the body that saturated fat from animals has. (And I've never been convinced that there is solid proof of that, either.)

In fact, coconut oil contains the fat closest in approximation to the fat in mother's milk. How could that ever be bad?

Just be sure you get organic, extra virgin. cold pressed oil.

[star792]

i am interested in this- i just bought some from the indian food store. i have heard it is really a good fat to use from various things i have read. i just am not used to using it..i keep forgetting i have it.

[kellycolorado]

I started using it a few years ago and lost 5 stubborn post baby pounds, so it works for me! I only use EV coconut oil, EV olive oil, butter and lard now.

-Kelly

[dockhl]

i really love the smell and taste. I got the organic , cold presses, EV and it is rreally HARD and pretty expensive. ($15.95 for a pint?)

[tejon]

Do all forms of coconut oil taste that strongly of coconut? I bought a bottle a while back on the advice of a friend, and just can't seem to use it because I can taste it strongly in just about anything I use it in. Didn't want to buy the cold pressed kind for fear that it tastes the same for more money.

[piazzola]

I guess it is widely used in the tropics for obvious reasons none other so when in Rome do as The Romans do! I'd say.

Personally, I have no real justification to pay much money for something that can be readily substituted although with one exception if I eat a good Brazilian vatapa then dende should be used.

[cookman]

I'm reviving this thread, following today's article on coconut oil in the NYT. Click here.

I'm curious if anyone has experience replacing vegetable shortening with coconut oil in piecrust recipes that call for a combo of butter and Crisco. I hate the oily mouthfeel Crisco gives,and I wonder if coconut oil might increase flakiness without the yuck factor.

[janeer]

Have no experience with it, but read the article yesterday, too, and am curious to try it, especially in pastry

[andiesenji]

I've been using coconut oil for several years and I love it for baking as well as for other culinary uses.

I also prepare my own moisturizer using it.

Some people apparently do not like the flavor of foods prepared with the virgin oil but I prefer it and as most of the foods have significant flavors, the coconut flavor is masked.

In pastries and etc., I think it enhances other flavors, such as vanilla, etc.

[Darienne]

I have been using coconut oil for decades now for the carob/stevia recipes in Dr. Mercola's cookbook, Just what the Doctor Ordered. Also make 'Magic Shell' for ice cream. Yumm. Brings out the kid in me. For some frying.

One note. One of our local health food stores carried at least two brands, including a really expensive organic you can't get any purer than this brand...which tastes awful. Sort of fishy. Lends a horrible note to everything. Not all coconut oils are created equal.

[Jenni]

I have found that a lot of the coconut oils in the UK do not necessarily have a strong coconut fragrance and taste, so you should try before you buy if you can, or buy a small bottle till you know the brand well. Having said that, I guess some people do not like coconut oil that actually tastes of coconut, poor them!

By the way, coconut oil is great for the hair - just ask any South Indian woman!

[Mjx]

I haven't the strength to investigate the details of the health effects--although if you're genetically predisposed to cholesterol-level problems, you should probably go easy on it--but what caught my eye was the word 'expensive'. I used to buy the stuff in largish jars (Spectrum Naturals was the brand, I think) when I was studying massage, partly because it was so cheap (by the way, if you do use it, keep it away from light coloured clothing: it never quite washes out, and eventually oxidizes to dingy brown marks).

If your coconut oil is expensive, look for an alternative source.

[Dakki]

I was also under the impression it was inexpensive, and that it was used in so many packaged products for that reason.

Maybe the price difference is due to healthy/gourmet branding markups? One possibility would be to look in ethnic-type food stores, as opposed to the locally grown organic granola purveyors.

[andiesenji]

The brands I buy are Organic virgin coconut oil.

I'm willing to pay more for the certified organic.

I buy Tropical Traditions Gold Label and

Nutiva Organic

I don't care for the Spectrum product.

I don't buy the heavily processed stuff that has no odor or taste - it is hydrogenated and I don't want that.

[Dianabanana]

On the strength of the NYT article, I went out and bought two jars of coconut oil today: Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, and Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. Interestingly, although the Spectrum has a stronger, fresher coconut smell, the Nutiva has a cleaner, fresher taste. The Nutiva seems to have more solids in it, almost like milk solids, whereas the Spectrum is more oily. I'm cooking a few Indian dishes tonight and plan to use this instead of ghee.

[andiesenji]

My Nutiva is solid at room temp - 68° F. - clear when it melts at 85° & above.

If I'm going to use it in baking, as for scones, biscuits, etc., I spread some on a plate, about 1/2 inch thick, put it into the freezer for 30 minutes or so, then turn it out onto a cutting board and cut it into small cubes/dice before adding it to the dry ingredients in the food processor or TMX.

[Will]

The good thing is no trans fats, pretty nice taste.

However, if you read "Queen of Fats" and subscribe to its ideas about the proper balance between Omega-6 and Omega-3 EFAs, it's not so great (tropical oils, and most other oils that are fairly shelf stable, tend to have a high or infinite ration of Omega-6 to Omega-3). According to the book's author, having too much Omega-6 will make your body unable to absorb / benefit from the Omega-3s, so even though we need more 6 than 3, too high an imbalance causes problems.

That said, I do use coconut oil some for baking, simply because I don't eat butter, and it works better than most of the other alternatives in terms of taste and texture.

[Mjx]

The brands I buy are Organic virgin coconut oil.

I'm willing to pay more for the certified organic.

. . . .

I'm with you on that, although I was buying the cheapest stuff Integral Yoga's shop on Thirteenth had (it wasn't being used in food), but as far as I can remember, even the most expensive product wasn't what I'd describe as expensive, compared to, say, almond or olive oil. Perhaps the price has spiked?

Buying organinc makes sense, given the apparently heavy use of pesticides on conventionally farmed coconuts, but 'virgin' may be a slightly misleading label, since it is applicable to any coconut oil that is produced from fresh, rather than dry coconut, and does not implicitly exclude the possibility of subsequent processing.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Mjx (log)

[LindaK]

Trader Joe's offers an organic virgin coconut oil, 16 oz for $5.99. I picked up a jar today. Nice, light coconut aroma and flavor.

[sculptor]

The MC has a chapter of the health effects of food and it debunks a lot of misinformation about the health effects of saturated fats. The bottom line is if it is not a transfat then it's OK. PS Coconut oil might prove to be problematic for those with food allergies...

Edited February 3, 2012 by sculptor (log)

[jrshaul]

The soy producers "killed" coconut oil back when the cholesterol scare came into being. Yes, coconut oil contains saturated fat, but it does not have the same effect on the body that saturated fat from animals has. (And I've never been convinced that there is solid proof of that, either.)

IIRC, cholesterol is actually a steroid, and forms a white crystalline powder if you isolate it. It's essentially a minor by-product of eating tasty, tasty animal fat, and isn't found much in vegetables or fungi.

Coconut oil has effectively no cholesterol. It's heavily saturated like an animal fat, though, so it can be used the same way. However, it's not a fully hydrogenated fat like Crisco - it's basically cholesterol-free bacon grease.

It also makes chocolate ganache kinda rubbery. I can't answer as for why.

Edited February 3, 2012 by jrshaul (log)

[mukki]

I also love using it in homemade Magic Shell. Quite addictive.

[andiesenji]

I prepare a lot of nut butters. Some nuts seen to have oil that separates more readily and more rapidly and is less easy to recombine - cashews, for instance.

The last couple of times I prepared cashew butter, I added a tablespoon of coconut oil for each cup of cashews and whether for this reason, or from some mysterious factor which I can't imagine, the stuff has not separated after more than a month of sitting at room temp in my kitchen (ambient temp this time of the year around 62-65° F.).

Usually there would be at least 1/2 inch of oil on top of the stuff in this container. I'm hoping the effect is due to the inclusion of the coconut oil.

I'm going to try a batch of sunflower seed butter, which is even worse at separating. If I get the same effect, I will post about the success or failure.