What can coconut oil be used for? Is coconut oil harmful? |

In this article you will learn, among others:

• What can coconut oil be used for?

• Is coconut oil healthy?

• Is coconut oil worth consuming?

• What substitute for coconut oil?

What can coconut oil be used for?

For centuries, coconut products have been recognized as an anti-inflammatory agent in India. Coconut oil and milk have been used both externally and internally to treat burns, heart disease, and hair loss. In Poland, it has been used for a long time, among others: as an additive for the production of ice cream, for frying peanuts, for coating grain seeds and crackers, and for the production of coffee and margarine whiteners. It can also be found in chocolate. Due to the high content of lauric acid, it improves the appearance of chocolate. It gives it smoothness. Thanks to its presence on the chocolate, there is no gray coating of crystallized fat.

Coconut oil is the most-bought product of recent years. Marketers convince to its use both as a food and for external use. It is considered to have almost miraculous effects on the human body.

Chemical composition of coconut oil:

500 g of such oil can cost even PLN 75. Is it just an advertising gimmick or is the oil really “heals”? We asked prof. dr hab. Józef Korczak from the Department of Human Nutrition Technology at the University of Life Sciences in Poznań.

I don’t understand why this oil is a hit. The grip is probably about medium chain fatty acids (MCTs). Coconut oil is a good source of these. These fats are easily absorbed by the body. They go straight into the bloodstream, and the body uses them directly as an energy source.

MCTs are used in the nutrition of patients with disease states in which fat absorption is impaired, e.g. in pancreatic insufficiency, pancreatitis or Crohn’s disease.

Is coconut oil healthy?

Over 90% of the acids in coconut oil are saturated fatty acids. Nutritionists warn against excessive consumption. They are found not only in coconut oil, but also in meat and animal fats. When we eat too much of them for a long period of our lives, it increases the level of cholesterol, especially the “bad” cholesterol. This may result in cardiovascular disease.

Lauric acid has the largest share in coconut oil. It accounts for over 50% of the content. -Humans need long-chain fatty acids, for example, to build structures of cell membranes. Coconut oil acids will not be used for this. The latter are only a source of energy – adds prof. Korczak.

Coke oil came to us from the East. A review of the research of the local institute of physiology and biophysics of the KPC Medical College and Hospital (2011) indicates, among others: such beneficial features of coconut oil itself (excluding other coconut products) as:

• lowering the level of cholesterol, triglycerides, “bad” LDL cholesterol
• increasing the level of “good” HDL cholesterol
• anticoagulant effect
• antiatherosclerotic effect

In those civilizations, both coconut oil and coconut products were widely used. However, these civilizations lead a completely different lifestyle than Western societies. They also eat a completely different diet consisting of different products than ours.

Is coconut oil worth consuming?

– I would advise against it, because we have other, better cold-pressed oils, e.g. linseed, rapeseed or fish oils, which are a rich source of essential (and therefore needed) unsaturated fatty acids – EFAs. Better to swallow a capsule of cod liver oil than eat coconut oil. If we want to consume it, it is best to avoid excess of it. – says the professor.

Coconut fat is still fat. – Due to the type of fatty acids, 1g of it may have slightly less kcal compared to other fats. Excessive consumption of it will promote obesity as well as eating other types of fat or junk food.

What substitute for coconut oil?

Coconut oil has its counterpart. It is palm kernel oil. It has a similar composition to coconut fat. – Now coconut oil is in fashion. He is positively associated by consumers. When it is fresh it is tasty. Maybe that’s also one of the reasons for this coconut fashion. Other, very broad and highly publicized health-promoting properties of coconut fat are not fully proven – believes prof. Korczak. Will this trend pass and it will be replaced by the fashion for other fats, e.g. palm kernel oil? We will find out over the years.  

Do you use coconut oil? What do you use coconut oil for? Let me know in the comments!