The Skinny on Fats, the Update

Multiple studies on Pacific Island populations who get 30-60 per cent of their total caloric intake from fully saturated coconut oil have all shown nearly non-existent rates of cardiovascular disease.

During this same time, the American levels of heart disease, obesity, elevated serum cholesterol and Alzheimer's have skyrocketed compared to our ancestors, and even compared to modern day primitive societies using saturated fat as a dietary staple.

The fact is, all saturated fats are not created equal.

The operative word is "created", because some saturated fats occur naturally, while other fats are artificially manipulated into a saturated state through the man made process called hydrogenation.

Hydrogenation manipulates vegetable and seed oils by adding hydrogen atoms while heating the oil, producing a rancid, thickened oil that really only benefits processed food shelf life and corporate profits.

THE MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES ARE NOW FAIRLY UNITED IN THE OPINION THAT HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE AND SEED OILS SHOULD BE AVOIDED.

These unsaturated fats, artificially manipulated into saturated fats, are also called trans fats, and no doubt you've heard about them lately. Some cities and states have now outlawed their use.

These are the same damaged trans fats that have been touted as "healthy" and "heart-friendly" for the last 60 years by the vegetable and seed oil interests!

Unfortunately, this rightful vilification of hydrogenated saturated fats has created a lot of confusion regarding NATURALLY occurring saturated fats, including coconut oil.

Back in the 1930's, a dentist named Dr Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet, and that heart disease was virtually non-existent.

Coconut oil and olive oil are the most healthy oils you can eat. Use coconut oil for cooking as it does not oxidize. Olive oil should not be used for cooking, but only be used cold, typically drizzled on salads and other foods.

Polyunsaturated fats are the absolute worst oils to use when cooking because these omega-6-rich oils are highly susceptible to heat damage. These oils include corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola oils.

Damaged omega-6-fats are disastrous to your health, and are responsible for far more health problems than natural saturated fats ever were.

Trans fat is the artery-clogging, highly damaged omega-6-polyunsaturated fat that is formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening or are USED IN COOKING.

Trans fat raises your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels while lowering your HDL (good cholesterol)levels, which of course in the complete opposite of what you want. In fact TRANS FATS AS OPPOSED TO SATURATED FATS-HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY LINKED TO HEART DISEASE. They can also cause major clogging of your arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.