Contrary to mainstream thinking, I believe that virgin coconut oil is the smartest oil you can consume. It is rich in lauric acid, which is known for helping to support your immune system, and it contains no trans fat.
Learn more about the myths behind low-fat diets and why coconut oil is your best and smartest choice for cooking in the second of a three-part series.
By Brian Shilhavy, Tropical Traditions
Low-Carb Diets: Half the Story
Gary Taubes wrote a startling article in the New York Times in 2002, titled "What If it Were All a Big Fat Lie!" In it he stated:
The cause of obesity [is] precisely those refined carbohydrates at the base of the famous Food Guide Pyramid--the pasta, rice and bread--that we are told should be the staple of our healthy low-fat diet, and then add on the sugar or corn syrup in the soft drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks that we have taken to consuming in quantity if for no other reason than that they are fat free and so appear intrinsically healthy. While the low-fat-is-good-health dogma represents reality as we have come to know it, and the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in research trying to prove its worth, the low-carbohydrate message has been relegated to the realm of unscientific fantasy. Over the past five years, however, there has been a subtle shift in the scientific consensus. It used to be that even considering the possibility of the alternative hypothesis, let alone researching it, was tantamount to quackery by association. Now a small but growing minority of establishment researchers have come to take seriously what the low-carb-diet doctors have been saying all along. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, may be the most visible proponent of testing this heretic hypothesis. Willett is the de facto spokesman of the longest-running, most comprehensive diet and health studies ever performed, which have already cost upward of $100 million and include data on nearly 300,000 individuals. Those data, says Willett, clearly contradict the low-fat-is-good-health message "and the idea that all fat is bad for you; the exclusive focus on adverse effects of fat may have contributed to the obesity epidemic."4
The cause of obesity [is] precisely those refined carbohydrates at the base of the famous Food Guide Pyramid--the pasta, rice and bread--that we are told should be the staple of our healthy low-fat diet, and then add on the sugar or corn syrup in the soft drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks that we have taken to consuming in quantity if for no other reason than that they are fat free and so appear intrinsically healthy. While the low-fat-is-good-health dogma represents reality as we have come to know it, and the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in research trying to prove its worth, the low-carbohydrate message has been relegated to the realm of unscientific fantasy.
Over the past five years, however, there has been a subtle shift in the scientific consensus. It used to be that even considering the possibility of the alternative hypothesis, let alone researching it, was tantamount to quackery by association. Now a small but growing minority of establishment researchers have come to take seriously what the low-carb-diet doctors have been saying all along.
Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, may be the most visible proponent of testing this heretic hypothesis. Willett is the de facto spokesman of the longest-running, most comprehensive diet and health studies ever performed, which have already cost upward of $100 million and include data on nearly 300,000 individuals. Those data, says Willett, clearly contradict the low-fat-is-good-health message "and the idea that all fat is bad for you; the exclusive focus on adverse effects of fat may have contributed to the obesity epidemic."4
This started the current low-carb tidal wave because people generally have found that it is true: If you cut out refined carbohydrates, you will lose weight.
But while these new low-carb diets are now challenging the low-fat hypothesis, there still seems to be mass confusion as to which fats and oils are actually beneficial, and which ones aren't.
And no wonder. Probably no other food group has been politicized more in American nutrition than fats. With all the books and literature written on the subject, and each one practically contradicting each other, there is really only one book written by a lipid expert with no commercial ties to anyone in the edible oil industry.
That book is "Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol" by Dr. Mary Enig, a nutritionist/biochemist with her Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Maryland. Much of her work is featured in the Weston Price Foundation that studies traditional foods.
Let's face it. The low-fat dietary dictum is a multi-billion dollar industry built upon a foundation of sinking sand.
Not only does scientific research show that the polyunsaturated vegetable oils promote weight gain, it also shows that they are not good as an animal feed either. While they do promote weight gain in livestock, they do so at the expense of another essential fatty acid: Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
CLA is found primarily in beef and dairy products and cannot be produced in the human body. Research has shown that animals grazed strictly on grass--their natural diet--can have levels of CLA hundreds of times higher than animals raised on grain feeds. Also, a study done by the Department of Animal Science at Southern Illinois University in 2003 found that beef finished off on soybean oil directly reduced the amount of CLA produced by ruminant animals.5
What are the known benefits of CLA, now that we have almost lost it from our meat and dairy sources? Among its benefits:
So while many people are seeing weight loss on low-carb diets because they are cutting back on refined carbohydrates, many do not see weight loss because they are still lacking proper fats in their diet. And most of the popular low-carb diets are giving mixed messages about which fats are healthy and which ones are not.
If you choose the wrong fat and consume large quantities of it, such as hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats full of trans fatty acids, not only will you not have much success in losing weight, you will probably develop a whole host of other health problems.
Flawed "Science"
When a dietary philosophy has been promoted as long as the current low-fat dogma has, and a multi-billion dollar industry feeds off it, we can expect it to die a slow death with much opposition, as America gets fatter and fatter because the popular media continues to propagate the low-fat myth.
It is amazing to read new studies conducted that start with this myth as fact, and then construct their whole study to support it, never once questioning the "wisdom" behind the myth that is just accepted without question as fact.
In a study published by British Journal of Nutrition, titled "Effects of including a ruminally protected lipid supplement in the diet on the fatty acid composition of beef muscle," here's how the abstract begins:
"Enhancing the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and decreasing the saturated fatty acid content of beef is an important target in terms of improving the nutritional value of this food for the consumer."
With this "truth" declared without any supporting evidence whatsoever, it goes on to show how one can increase the PUFA content of beef while decreasing the saturated fat content by feeding cows soybean, linseed and sunflower-seed oils.6 And because this entire generation has been brainwashed into believing saturated fats are bad and polyunsaturated fats are good, this is seen as positive!
But wait, it gets even worse. Have you noticed all the news lately about the epidemic of obesity among children? A study was published in 2003 by the Journal of the American Diet Association titled "Soy-enhanced lunch acceptance by preschoolers."
The objective: "To evaluate acceptance of soy-enhanced compared with traditional menus by preschool children. Soy-enhanced foods were substituted on a traditional cycle menu, and the amount eaten, energy, and nutrient values for traditional and soy-enhanced lunches were compared."
The conclusion? "Soy-enhanced foods were successfully substituted for 23 traditional foods included in the cycle menus. Soy-enhanced foods tended to be higher in energy, protein, and iron. Traditional lunches tended to be higher in fat, saturated fat, and vitamin A." Therefore, "Preschool programs can substitute soy-enhanced for traditional foods, which will add variety to the diet without sacrificing taste, energy, or nutrient value."6
Great! So since we start with the presupposition that saturated fats are bad and polyunsaturated fats are good, we can now design a study to "prove" we should be feeding preschoolers soy instead of "traditional foods."
Other concerns about soy and children are not even addressed in this study, such as how large amounts of plant hormones (phyto-estrogens) in soy are equal to adult levels and can cause severe damage to the endocrine system of children.7
Stay tuned for Part III in the next newsletter.
References
Related Articles:
What Oil Should You be Cooking With, and Which Should You Avoid? The Truth About Coconut Oil: Why it Got a Bad Rep When it's Actually Good Scientist Questions Benefits of Low Fat Diets Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century Coconut Oil: You Want a Food Loaded with Real Health Benefits? You Want Coconut Oil Low-Fat, High-Fiber Diet May Lower Calcium Absorption
What Oil Should You be Cooking With, and Which Should You Avoid?
The Truth About Coconut Oil: Why it Got a Bad Rep When it's Actually Good
Scientist Questions Benefits of Low Fat Diets
Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century
Coconut Oil: You Want a Food Loaded with Real Health Benefits? You Want Coconut Oil
Low-Fat, High-Fiber Diet May Lower Calcium Absorption
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