A Doctor Explains Why Saturated Fat In Coconut Oil Isn't A Problem

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of eating fat as a way to reach optimal well-being, and coconut oil is one of my favorites. And yet, if you've ever read a nutrition label on the back of a jar of organic, raw, cold-pressed coconut oil, you'd see that it's high in saturated fat. Isn't that a no-no; doesn't saturated fat cause cholesterol to increase?

MCTs help balance appetite-controlling and other hormones. They keep you feeling full and satisfied. They improve your cholesterol profile.

They also help you burn fat. One study1 found MCT oils help reduce body fat and triglycerides better than omega-6 vegetable oils. After eight weeks, the MCT-oil group lost more weight, body fat, and subcutaneous fat while experiencing a 15 percent drop in triglycerides and LDL ("bad” cholesterol).

Here's the deal. Cholesterol is not black and white, so classifying it as "good" or "bad" vastly oversimplifies this molecule, which helps synthesize vitamin D and hormones while maintaining cell structure among other duties. Some fats do raise cholesterol whereas others lower cholesterol. Yet even when saturated fat does raise your cholesterol, the type of cholesterol becomes more important than cholesterol itself.

Studies show saturated fat raises LDL, yet it also raises HDL ("good" cholesterol). On the other hand, sugar lowers HDL2. Ultimately, the ratio of total cholesterol to LDL cholesterol3 better predicts heart attacks than LDL on its own. Coconut oil can contain up to 40 percent saturated fat, yet interestingly, countries with the highest intakes of coconut oil have the lowest rates of heart disease4.

While some research5 shows coconut oil contains higher amounts of saturated fat and does increase total cholesterol, those amounts do not increase our heart attack or stroke risk. In fact, one study6 among lean, heart-disease- and stroke-free Pacific Islanders who consumed up to 63 percent of their calories from coconut fat found total cholesterol rose but so did their "good" HDL.

Coconut oil provides other benefits too, like lowering insulin levels and protecting against heart disease. The predominant fatty acid in coconut oil is lauric acid, which provides antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiviral benefits. Quality saturated fat in coconut oil or MCT oil becomes far different from what you get in a fast-food cheeseburger. Lumping them all together becomes like putting cauliflower and cupcakes under the carbohydrate category.

Don't be afraid of saturated fat, but get it from healthy sources like coconut and grass-fed beef, which automatically edges out unhealthy sources. Likewise, total cholesterol does not accurately predict heart disease or stroke. Inflammation becomes the culprit for most diseases, and coconut oil is highly anti-inflammatory.

If you still have high cholesterol, ask your doctor the right questions, and most importantly, get the right tests. Request a particle-size test to check for particle size and number. Other cholesterol tests are simply outdated. A routine, regular cholesterol test won't reveal particle size.

Simply put, the real villain that robs our health and increases our waistlines is sugar and anything that breaks down to sugar like refined carbohydrates. Quality fats like coconut oil and more anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats help edge out those sugars and inflammatory omega-6 fats.

Combine healthy fats with a whole, low-processed-foods diet, and you have an effective strategy to normalize cholesterol while reducing your risk for heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and numerous other chronic conditions. With a healthy, whole foods diet, saturated fat should not be a problem.