The Coconut Oil Miracle (4 page)

Studies have clearly shown that natural coconut oil as a part of a normal diet has a neutral effect on blood cholesterol. Nonhydrogenated, nonadulterated coconut oil has absolutely no adverse health effects. Epidemiological studies show conclusively that populations that consume large amounts of coconut oil experience almost no heart disease, as compared to other populations whose diets contain only a small amount of coconut oil. If coconut oil did have any adverse health effects associated with it, we would see it reflected in the morbidity and mortality in populations that are high consumers of coconut oil. Yet they are among the healthiest people in the world. Simple logic clearly refutes the ASA smear campaign. As you will discover in the following chapters, coconut oil offers so many health benefits that it is correctly labeled “the healthiest oil on earth.”

In this chapter I describe
the differences between saturated and unsaturated fats and explain the reason why coconut oil is different from all the rest. Since the uniqueness of each oil depends on its chemical makeup, I am forced to describe the differences in chemical terms. Unfortunately, when chemistry is discussed it is easy for those people who lack a scientific background to become confused. Please bear with me; I will make my explanation simple enough for the layperson to understand. If you get confused, that’s okay—skim through the material and go on to the end of the chapter. The purpose of this chapter is to provide you with a scientific foundation, but you don’t need to know chemistry in order to benefit from using coconut oil.

Doctors often use the term
lipid
in referring to fat. Lipid is a general term that includes several fatlike compounds in the body. By far the most abundant and the most important lipids are the triglycerides. When we speak of fats and oils we are usually referring to triglycerides. Two other lipids—phospholipids and sterols (which include cholesterol)—technically are not fats because they are not triglycerides. But they have similar characteristics and are often referred to as fats.

What is the difference between a fat and an oil? The terms
fat
and
oil
are often used interchangeably. Generally speaking, the only real difference is that fats are considered solid at room temperature while oils remain liquid. Lard, for example, would be referred to as a fat, while corn oil is called an oil. Both, however, are fats.

When you cut into a steak, the white fatty tissue you see is composed of triglycerides (cholesterol is also present, but it is intermingled within the meat fibers and undetectable with the naked eye). The fat that is a nuisance to us, the type that hangs on our arms, looks like jelly on our thighs, and can make your stomach look like a spare tire, is composed of triglycerides. It is the triglycerides that make up our body fat and the fat we see and eat in our foods. About 95 percent of the lipids in our diet, from both plant and animal sources, are triglycerides.

Triglycerides are composed of individual fat molecules known as
fatty acids
. It takes three fatty acid molecules to make a single triglyceride molecule. Fatty acids are linked together by a single glycerol
molecule. The glycerol molecule acts as a backbone, so to speak, for the triglyceride.

There are dozens of different types of fatty acids. Scientists have grouped these into three general categories: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Each category contains several members. So there are many types of saturated fat, just as there are many types of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Each of the fatty acids, regardless of whether it is saturated or not, affects the body differently and exerts different influences on health. Therefore, one saturated fat may have adverse health effects, while another may promote better health. The same is true of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. For example, olive oil has been hailed as one of the “good” fats because those people who eat it in place of other oils have less heart disease. Olive oil is composed primarily of a monounsaturated fatty acid called oleic acid. However, not all monounsaturated fats are healthy. Another monounsaturated fatty acid, known as erucic acid, is extremely toxic to the heart, more so than perhaps any other fatty acid known (Belitz and Grosch, 1999). The difference between the two, chemically, is very slight. Likewise, some polyunsaturated fatty acids can also cause problems. On the other hand, the saturated fatty acids that are found in coconut oil have no harmful effects and actually promote better health. So we cannot say one oil is “bad” because it is saturated while another is “good” because it is monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. It all depends on the type of fatty acid and not simply on its degree of saturation.

No dietary oil is purely saturated or unsaturated. All natural fats and oils consist of a mixture of the three classes of fatty acids. To say
an oil is saturated or monounsaturated is a gross oversimplification. Olive oil is often called “monounsaturated” because it is
predominantly
monounsaturated, but, like all vegetable oils, it also contains some polyunsaturated and saturated fat as well (see
table 2.1
for the amounts of each kind of fatty acid found in different fats and oils).

Table 2.1. Composition of Dietary Fats

Animal fats are generally the highest in saturated fat. Vegetable oils contain saturated fat as well as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. Most vegetable oils are high in polyunsaturated fats, the
exception being palm and coconut oils, which are very high in saturated fat. Coconut oil contains as much as 92 percent saturated fat—more than any other fat, including beef fat and lard.

There are many factors that contribute to the healthfulness of each type of fat—its saturation, the size of the carbon chain, and its susceptibility to peroxidation and free-radical generation.

We hear the terms
saturated, monounsaturated,
and
polyunsaturated
all the time, but what do they mean? What is saturated fat saturated with? How does the degree of saturation affect health? Let me answer those questions. All fatty acids consist primarily of a chain of carbon atoms with varying numbers of hydrogen atoms attached to them. Each carbon atom can hold a maximum of two hydrogen atoms. A fatty acid molecule that has two hydrogen atoms attached to each carbon is said to be “saturated” with hydrogen because it is holding all the hydrogen atoms it possibly can. This type of fatty acid is called a saturated fat. A fatty acid that is missing a pair of hydrogen atoms is called a monounsaturated fat. If more than two hydrogen atoms are missing, the fatty acid is called a polyunsaturated fat. The more hydrogen atoms are missing, the more polyunsaturated the fat is considered to be.

Wherever a pair of hydrogen atoms is missing, the adjoining carbon atoms must form a double bond (see the illustrations
here
), which produces a weak link in the carbon chain that can have a dramatic influence on health.

Figure 2.1. Saturated fats are loaded, or saturated, with all the hydrogen (H) atoms they can carry. The example shown above is stearic acid, an 18-carbon saturated fat commonly found in beef fat.

Figure 2.2. If one pair of hydrogen atoms were to be removed from the saturated fat, the carbon atoms would form double bonds with one another in order to satisfy their bonding requirements. The result would be an unsaturated fat. In this case it would form a monounsaturated fatty acid. The example shown is oleic acid, an 18-chain monounsaturated fatty acid that is found predominantly in olive oil.

Figure 2.3. If two or more pairs of hydrogen atoms are missing and more than one double carbon bond is present, it is referred to as a polyunsaturated oil. The example illustrated is linoleic acid, an 18-chain polyunsaturated acid. This is the most common fatty acid in the majority of vegetable oils.

The concept of saturation can be described using the analogy of a school bus full of kids. The bus could represent the carbon chain and the students the hydrogen atoms. Each seat on the bus can hold two students, just as each carbon can hold two hydrogen atoms. A bus filled to capacity so there are no empty seats would be analogous to a saturated fat. No more students can fit on the bus. If two students get off the bus and leave one seat vacant, that would be analogous to a monounsaturated fat. If four or more students get off the bus, leaving two or more empty seats, that would be like a polyunsaturated fat. A
school bus that is only half filled would be like a fatty acid that is very polyunsaturated.

The length of the fatty acid chain, or size of the school bus, is also important. Some fatty acids contain only two carbon atoms, while others have as many as 24 or more. The two-carbon fatty acid would be like a bus that has only two seats, so that it can carry a maximum of four students—two in each seat. A fatty acid with 24 carbon atoms would be like a long bus with 24 seats, accommodating 48 students.

Acetic acid, found in vinegar, has a chain only two carbon atoms long. A longer acid chain may have four, six, eight, or more carbon atoms. Naturally occurring fatty acids usually occur in even numbers. Butyric acid, one type of fatty acid commonly found in butter, consists of a four-carbon chain. The predominant fatty acids found in meats and fish are 14 or more carbon atoms long. Stearic acid, common in beef fat, has an 18-carbon chain. The 14- to 24-carbon fatty acids are known as long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) range from 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and short-chain (SCFAs) consist of less than 6 carbon atoms. The length of the carbon chain is a key factor in the way the dietary fat is digested and metabolized and how it affects the body.