{"id":59747,"date":"2017-06-22T11:15:35","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T15:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=59747"},"modified":"2021-05-18T02:41:27","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T06:41:27","slug":"coconut-oil-saturated-fat-study-062217","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/coconut-oil-saturated-fat-study-062217\/","title":{"rendered":"Coconut Oil and Health: Should We Worry About Saturated Fat?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Coconut
Photo: Twenty20<\/a><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For years now, health experts weren\u2019t shy about touting the health benefits of coconut oil \u2014 from curbing hunger to increasing good cholesterol to promoting healthy skin. So when the American Heart Association<\/a> (AHA) issued a statement earlier this week advising people against using coconut oil for heart health, the wellness world let out a collective gasp.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Why You Should Eat More Fat and Less Sugar<\/a><\/p>\n

Cracking the Code on Coconut Oil<\/h3>\n

Bonnie Taub-Dix<\/a>, MA, RD, CDN, founder of Better Than Dieting<\/a>, says, \u201cEven though there have been various studies that support the benefits of coconut oil, they were done in the 70s and 80s, and we need to go back and analyze them again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coconut oil first hit the health food scene after researchers discovered that its lauric acid profile \u2014 a type of saturated fat \u2014 was shown to help decrease LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Another so-called win for Team Coconut Oil came with a 2014 study<\/a> from the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine. <\/em>It found that people who ate more saturated fat did not<\/em> develop heart disease more often than those who ate less.<\/p>\n

Some Paleo folks have taken this to heart and started adding grass-fed butter to their morning java (aka bulletproof coffee<\/a>), but most health experts agree it\u2019s smarter to cut back on saturated fat. Saturated fat is saturated fat, whether it\u2019s from cheddar or coconut oil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there is some evidence that there\u2019s a place for saturated fats in your diet, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that all foods with it are good for us,\u201d Taub-Dix explains. \u201cAnd it certainly doesn\u2019t mean we can enjoy it in unlimited amounts.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat have been shown to lower cholesterol levels,” Marisa Moore, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Daily Burn in a 2014 interview<\/a>. “There’s no evidence that saturated fat helps us in any way.”<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Bring on the Cheese! 7 Portion Size Rules for High-Fat Foods<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturated Fats\u2026in Moderation?<\/h3>\n

The AHA recommends limiting your consumption of saturated fats to no more than five to six percent <\/a>of your total daily calorie intake. That\u2019s 13 grams of saturated fat.<\/p>\n

To put this into perspective, one tablespoon of coconut oil has 12 grams of saturated fat. So if you\u2019re using a tablespoon of oil to make your coffee in the morning, you\u2019re already close to maxing out for the day. Add another tablespoon to your skillet for your veggie stir-fry, and you\u2019re well over. But is it really necessary to obsess over saturated fat?<\/p>\n

Instead of focusing on the saturated fats in food, Taub-Dix says to pay attention to the overall nutrition profile of the food. \u201cTake whole Greek yogurt, for example. It\u2019s full of saturated fat, but it\u2019s also high in protein, calcium and essential probiotics<\/a>,\u201d Taub-Dix says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Skim Milk vs. Whole Milk: Which Is Healthier?<\/a><\/p>\n

When we become too fat phobic, we begin to reach for sugary foods<\/a>, which can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Cardiologist Stacey Rosen, M.D., vice president of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health at North Shore-LIJ Health System, says some people fall into the trap of loading up on carbs to help them feel more satisfied when they give up fat. “Increased intake of carbohydrates can have a negative effect on heart health by increasing ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels,\u201d Rosen told Daily Burn. \u201cIt can also lead to weight gain and pre-diabetes.”<\/p>\n

With that said, Taub-Dix notes, \u201cFat makes us feel satiated, and it adds flavor to our meals.\u201d So if you like the way coconut oil tastes and how well it cooks, go for it. But as with all foods, it\u2019s best to exercise moderation.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>What 5 Days of a High-Fat Diet Does to Your Muscles<\/a><\/p>\n

Stick to the Good Guys: Unsaturated Fats<\/h3>\n

Taub-Dix also recommends taking your own family history of heart disease into account, too. \u201cIf you have a family history of heart disease, then you want to be extra cautious about limiting saturated fats from your diet.\u201d Taub-Dix says coconut oil isn\u2019t going to fill everyone\u2019s dietary needs the same way, especially if you\u2019re already predisposed to developing cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

In place of coconut oil, Taub-Dix suggests reaching for foods rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats: avocados, olive oil, walnuts and salmon. These foods are high in omega-3 fatty acids<\/a>, which have continuously been proven to improve heart health and cholesterol levels.<\/p>\n

Still, you should limit your consumption of these \u201cgood\u201d fat foods since they\u2019re calorie dense. Going overboard can pack on pounds and cause a plateau in your weight loss, Taub-Dix warns.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: You don\u2019t need to obsess over fat, sugar and carbs if you\u2019re already following a balanced diet. Aiming for variety in your fat sources \u2014 whether it\u2019s avocados, grass-fed butter or coconut oil \u2014 is the best way to practice moderation. \u201cMaybe that means not enjoying a full tablespoon of coconut oil,\u201d Taub-Dix says.<\/p>\n

Contributing reporting by Barbara Brody.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, the American Heart Association advised against consuming coconut oil for heart health. But is there a place for saturated fat in our diets?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":59756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7],"tags":[204,59,251,71,341,402],"class_list":["post-59747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","tag-cooking","tag-healthy-substitutions","tag-news","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2heart-disease"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}