What is virgin coconut oil
virgin Coconut Oil
by Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist
I believe Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is the most healthful oil available today. In this article I will discuss what this amazing oil is, the health conditions it appears to benefit and how to use it. (I recommend you also refer to Better Health Update #72 “The Big Fat Lie”, which is a general discussion of fats and oils.)
WHAT IS VIRGIN COCONUT OIL?
Not all coconut oil is the same. Most commercial coconut oil is made from copra, which is the dried coconut meat. Most copra is not dried in a sanitary way, so after extraction the unrefined oil must be refined for purification purposes. This produces what is known as RBD coconut oil (refined, bleached, deodorized). This involves high heat, filtering through bleaching clays and the use of sodium hydroxide to remove fatty acids and extend the shelf life. RBD coconut oil is also sometimes hydrogenated which produces the worst of the bad fats — trans fatty acids.
By contrast, Virgin Coconut Oil is always made from fresh coconut meat — what is referred to as non-copra. The VCO used at Pacific Health Center from the Tropical Traditions company in the Philippines is produced by a traditional fermentation method. First the coconut milk is mechanically expressed and fermented for 24-36 hours, during which water and coconut oil separate. The oil is slightly heated to remove any traces of water and then lightly filtered. This results in a clear coconut oil with the delightful aroma of fresh coconut.
The Tropical Traditions company works through church groups in rural, often remote areas of the Philippines for the gathering and processing of the coconuts. This VCO is made from fresh, organically grown coconuts within 24 hours of harvesting. The quality is incredible.
COCONUT OIL INGREDIENTS
Coconut oil is a saturated fat, as explained in Better Health Update #72. That means it’s chemically stable, it doesn’t go rancid and it’s solid at room temperature (coconut oil melts above 76 degrees). Contrary to the myth of the “big fat lie”, as explained in the Update, saturated fats like VCO have huge health benefits.
Saturated fats make up 50% or more of the cell membranes producing necessary strength . Our bodies require that 50% of our fat intake is saturated fat in order for calcium to be assimilated into our bones!
Coconut oil is the richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) apart from human breast milk. MCTs produce energy (rather than being stored as fat as long-chain triglycerides such as corn, safflower and soy oil are), increase metabolic rates leading to weight loss, improve thyroid function and help digestive problems like Crohn’s and IBS.
The main MCT in coconut oil is lauric acid, which has been shown to destroy bacterial and viral organisms including H. pylori, herpes simplex I virus, measles virus, influenza, cytomegalovirus and, even in some experiments, HIV. Lauric acid also anti-fungal, killing Candida albicans yeast organisms.
COOKING WITH COCONUT OIL
Due to its stability and health benefits, VCO is the only oil I now recommend for cooking with. Most oils people are cooking with today are either damaged by cooking so as to become unhealthy, or they were already damaged by heating during the hydrogenation process. Only saturated fats (those where all available carbon bonds are occupied by a hydrogen atom) like VCO and butter are not damaged by heating.
I no longer recommend olive oil for cooking, though it is a great oil to have in the diet uncooked. Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat, meaning it has only one double bond in its chemical structure and thus lacks two hydrogen atoms. Though monounsaturated fats are much more chemically stable than polyunsaturated fats, it’s chemical structure allows harmful breakdown. Dr. Joseph Mercola also notes that oleic acid is excessive in heated olive oil and has been related to increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
Polyunsaturated oils (corn, soy, safflower, etc.) are the absolute worst for cooking, since they are very chemically reactive and go rancid easily. These oils have two or more pairs of double bonds, meaning they lack four or more hydrogen atoms and thus making them the least chemically stable.
POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS
Reported health benefits from VCO include:
1. Increased Energy — As the richest source of medium-chain triglycerides other than breast milk, VCO is a great energy producer. Whereas, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) result in stored fat, MCTs burn immediately. They would be akin to burning paper or kindling, whereas PUFAs would be like burning a big, wet log.
2. Weight Loss — When I was first in practice, low fat diets were the rage for weight loss and everything else. Today, after several decades of responding to low fat diet propaganda, obesity in America is at an all-time high. Livestock producers know that you fatten an animal for slaughter by feeding it polyunsaturated oils like soy or corn oil. Now that leaner meat is in demand, livestock producers are now feeding saturated fats, including coconut oil, prior to slaughter. Because of the paranoia about fat, we now have lean cows and pigs and fat people!
Among other things fats add satiety, a feeling of satisfaction with the amount of food eaten. Avoidance of fat-containing foods stands as one reason why people eat carbohydrates to excess — they just don’t feel like they’ve had enough to eat.
Low carbohydrate diets have become very popular, and, with good reason. But for low carb diets to work, they need to also be high fat — the right kind of fats. Coconut oil is ideal in this respect for helping weight loss.
As mentioned previously, the fats from MCTs in coconut oil are generally not stored as fat deposits in the body. One animal study compared fat storage in the body on three different diets: (1) low fat diet, (2) high fat diet with LCTs (long-chain triglycerides like soy or corn oil) and (3) a high fat diet with MCTs. After 44 days the low fat diet group stored .47 grams of fat/day, the high fat LCT group stored .48 grams/day (virtually the same as the low fat group), and the MCT group (the fat in coconut oil) stored only .19 grams of fat/day. The MCT group experienced a 60% reduction in fat stored! Another study found that MCT containing diet resulted in a 12% increase in metabolic rate, where the LCT group only increased metabolism by 4%.
3. Thyroid Function — Many Americans suffer, often unknowingly, from low thyroid function (see Better Health Update #34). They may experience low body temperature, cold hands and feet, dry skin, fatigue, low libido and many other symptoms, including weight gain resulting from lowered metabolism.
While studies have shown polyunsaturated oils to cause hypothyroidism and resulting slow metabolism, the MCTs in coconut oil do just the opposite.
Thyroid disease is on the rise. For example, one study of over 25,000 people found that about 10% of them who were not on thyroid medication actually had thyroid disorders. One of the reasons for this relates to iodine deficiency, a deficiency not solved by decades of iodizing of salt. It’s not so much that people aren’t taking in enough iodine, as that their bodies are blocking the iodine they have. Two common iodine-blockers (goitrogens) are peanuts (peanut oil, peanut butter) and soybeans (soy oil and textured vegetable protein). Again we have the LCT fatty acids contributing to obesity.
Trans fatty acids, made from hydrogenating LCTs damage the cells in general and adversely affect the thyroid. Because of their chemical instability, LCTs, like soy or corn oil, are more likely to go rancid. That, in turn, interferes with the conversion of T4 thyroid hormone to T3 hormone, resulting in hypothyroidism. Stored fat cannot be turned into energy without converting T4 to T3.
4. Cholesterol & Heart Disease — For decades producers of low-fat foods and polyunsaturated oils have conned Americans into believing that saturated fats were the cause of high cholesterol and heart disease. If that were true, the areas of the world with the highest saturated fat consumption should have the highest heart disease. Actually, just the opposite is true. Americans consume less saturated fats than anywhere else in the world, yet have the highest heart disease rates!
A study of two South Pacific islands showed that when 60% of the calories were coming from the saturated fat in coconut oil, there was virtually no obesity, heart disease or other common degenerative diseases. The study concluded:
Vascular disease is uncommon in both populations and there is no evidence of the high saturated fat intake having a harmful effect in these populations. (Prior IA, et. al. “Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls . . .” Am J Clin Nutr 1981 Aug; 34(8):1552-61.)
While coconut may increase total cholesterol, it improves the HDL and LDL ratios. HDL (erroneously called “good cholesterol”) increases, while LDL (erroneously called “bad cholesterol”) decreases. These lipo-protein transporters of cholesterol are the bigger issue. Lipid authority, Mary Enig, Ph.D., notes that dietary deficiency of fatty acids actually increases serum cholesterol levels! Hydrogenated soy, corn, or cottonseed oils may be essential fatty acid deficient, in addition to containing trans fatty acids — known destroyers of cardiovascular health.
No wonder a study of “aortic plaques” at the Institute for Metabolic Research in London found their composition 26% saturated fat and 74% polyunsaturated fats. The later oils are the ones clogging your arteries!
5. Skin Conditions — VCO internally and topically on the skin has been noted to improve dryness, fungal infections, eczema and psoriasis. The high usage of coconut oil in the tropics is probably the main reason there is little skin cancer in spite of spending long hours in the sun. Coconut oil has excellent antioxidant properties which exert a protective influence on the skin.
VCO can be used topically on the skin as well for sun protection, instead of toxic sun block lotions. Note that this will not block out all UV radiation, so you still need to limit sun exposure to keep from burning. Part of what causes sunburn is actually the internal consumption of the wrong fats — the polyunsaturated fats, which oxidize causing free radical damage.
6. Digestive Diseases — Many people have noted improvement in Crohn’s Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) with the usage of VCO. The MCTs in coconut oil absorb into the digestive tract readily, while the LCTs in corn or soy oil do not.
7. Candidiasis — Systemic and localized Candida yeast overgrowth is also helped by VCO, due to the anti-fungal properties of lauric acid. VCO is helpful both internally and on topical yeast infections.
HOW TO USE VIRGIN COCONUT OIL
The number one question on coconut oil is, “What do I do with it? How do I take it?” Here are some possibilities:
1. Use it for all cooking requiring oils. Definitely don’t fry or stir-fry with anything else.
2. There are many recipe usages of VCO for dressings, sauces, soups, vegetables and main dishes. The book, Virgin Coconut Oil by Brian & Marianita Jader Shilhavy (available at PHC clinics), contains a 76 page recipe section.
3. Use VCO any place you could use butter (butter is also okay, but this is a good way to take in coconut oil). I especially like it on hot cereal.
4. Add VCO to smoothies.
5. It can be added to hot drinks like herbal teas or herbal coffee substitutes.
6. Massage onto the skin, where it not only benefits skin conditions, but is also absorbed into the body.
7. Just take a spoonful directly into the mouth. I like it fine this way, though some people don’t. It seems to digest better if you already have food in the stomach.
Typical amounts to use range from 1 to 3 tablespoons per day.
Enjoy this incredible oil!
