Coconut\noil came under criticism for its high level of saturated fat. But new studies\nshow benefits in health and beauty uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valerie J. Nelson <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nutrition<\/a>American Heart\nAssociation<\/a>Alzheimer’s Disease<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coconut oil is showing up in health-food stores, but is it\nhealthful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coconut oil has a new image as a health and beauty booster, but\nis it deserved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coconut oil stages a comeback as health and beauty aid, but use\ncaution, experts say<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once vilified for its abundant fat content, coconut oil is being\ntrumpeted as a miracle elixir. As a health fad, it’s dual purpose, bandied\nabout as a head-to-toe natural beauty product and as a food that can cure what\nails you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coconut oil’s health connection reaches back a few thousand years\nto a system of natural healing with origins in India. Modern science has\ndocumented its effectiveness as a moisturizer, but evidence to support its\ndietary health benefits is largely anecdotal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The coconut oil we see today is not the same that we saw in the 1970s and\n1980s. Earlier coconut oils were highly processed and refined, and that has\nchanged.- Susan Mitmesser, director of nutrition research for Sundown\nNaturals<\/p>\n\n\n\n “As a society, we tend to be people who like that quick\nBand-Aid approach, but there is no magic bullet. The science is still\ngray,” says Vandana Sheth, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and\nDietetics. “Coconut oil is just the latest product out there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, believer beware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1994, the Center for Science in the Public Interest pilloried\ncoconut oil in a study that concluded that a large container of popcorn \u2014 often\npopped in partially hydrogenated coconut oil \u2014 sold at movie theater concession\nstands contained the saturated fat of six Big Macs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But two decades later, coconut oil is a staple of health food\nstores, a remarkable turnaround that’s related to improvements in processing\nand “the evolution of the science around it,” says Susan Mitmesser,\ndirector of nutrition research for Sundown Naturals, whose nutritional\nsupplements include coconut oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The coconut oil we see today is not the same that we saw in\nthe 1970s and 1980s,” she says. “Earlier coconut oils were highly\nprocessed and refined, and that has changed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grocery stores carry two main types of coconut oil for baking and\ncooking: virgin and refined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The virgin oil is extracted from the meat of fresh coconut\nwithout the use of high heat or chemicals and retains the distinct coconut\naroma and taste. Virgin oil has a higher nutrient content than its refined\ncousin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Made from dried coconut meat that’s been chemically bleached and\ndeodorized, refined coconut oil is tasteless. But since it can withstand higher\ntemperatures than the virgin oil, it is useful as a plant-based replacement for\nbutter and stands up well in baking and saut\u00e9ing, according to the Academy of\nNutrition and Dietetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The academy recommends reaching for virgin coconut oil \u2014 in\nmoderation. “It’s still a fat,” reminds Sheth, a South Bay\nnutritionist. She advises following American Heart Assn. guidelines that\nrecommend limiting total saturated fat consumption to less than 7% of total\ndaily calories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coconut oil is made up of about 90% saturated fat, but “the\nscientific community has started to figure out that not all saturated fats are\nequal,” Mitmesser says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research has shown that more than half of the fat molecules in\ncoconut oil are shorter than those in animal-derived saturated fat. These\n“medium chain” fatty acids appear to increase “good”\ncholesterol and are easier to metabolize and digest. Still, nearly 40% are\n“long chain,” the type found in meat products and linked to heart\ndisease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Coconut oil should never be an addition; it should be a\nsubstitution for other saturated fats,” says Mitmesser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies have shown that overweight participants who restricted\ncalorie intake and included coconut oil in their diets lost more weight and\nbody fat than those who did not. But the substitution of coconut oil for other\nfats could be behind the results, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If beauty magazines and blogs are to be believed, coconut oil is\na bottomless jar of beauty tricks. (Soothe your hands! Condition your scalp!\nRevitalize your feet!) Many of the tips directly relate to the oil’s\ndemonstrated ability to moisturize skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research has shown coconut oil to “hydrate as well as\nmineral oil and reduce bacterial skin colonization of dangerous Staph aureus<\/em>\ninfections,” says Dr. Cynthia Bailey, a dermatologist in Sebastopol,\nCalif. Many of her patients prefer chemical-free products, and she has found\ncoconut oil to be effective in treating eczema, dermatitis and skin\ninflammation. “It’s also economical and lasts forever if you keep it in\nthe fridge.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some sources of information about coconut oil:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, www.eatright.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n National Standard Research Collaboration, www.naturalstandard.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n University of South Florida plan for a trial including coconut\noil for Alzheimer’s disease, lat.ms\/1hMOUuy<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe popcorn scare <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
At the market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The big fats truth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Smoothing moves<\/h3>\n\n\n\n