The American Heart Association issued recently some updated advice on the coconut oil, which has become extremely popular recently. According to the US heart experts, it is just as unhealthy as butter or beef dripping. The reason for this is the fact that it is filled with saturated fats, which contribute to increased levels of “bad” cholesterol.
A Recent Trend
Coconut oil has truly been a recent trend, since more and more people started considering it healthy and used it in various ways. However, the AHA mentioned that there is no study to back up the fact that it would be better than other saturated fats we can find around.
The truth is that the advice found around which fats are good to eat can become really confusing at times. The general direction of the popular opinion seems to be the fact that animal fats (lard, for example) is seen as bad, while oils coming from plants (sunflower or olive oil) are seen as healthier.
Are Saturated Fats Bad?
Not everybody agrees on that, but most people seem to think that saturated fats are bad. If you have a diet which is rich in saturated fats, this means that your “bad” cholesterol (LDL) levels will rise. This will clog your arteries, thus increasing the risk of strokes and heart diseases.
The AHA reported that 82% of the fat found in coconut oil is saturated. This means it’s worse than butter (which is 63%), pork lard (39%) and beef fat (50%). Naturally, it can also increase the levels of LDL cholesterol, so it’s not that healthy. Some opinions claim that it’s still healthy because it contains a mixture of fats, but still, there is no reliable evidence for this.
The best idea would be to replace the saturated fats with unsaturated vegetable oils, such as sunflower or olive oil, as well as their spreads.
