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Eat Saturated Fat

 Erin Chamerlik, MS

Yes – Coconut Oil is a Healthy Fat!

Don’t be Confused by MSNBC.com’s info on Trans Fats and coconut oil

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Here is their reportDon’t be tricked into eating the “lesser” of two evils. As “trans fats” gained a bad rap over the last few years, food manufacturers responded by replacing hydrogenated vegetable oils with tropical oils. The problem? Oils made from palm, coconut, and palm kernel might not be manipulated with hydrogen as trans fats are, but they are still astronomically high in saturated fat, another artery clogger.”

We NEED saturated fats in our diet

– fats from animal products and coconut or palm oil are essential. We need them for energy, cell membranes, to make hormones, and pad organs. Visit Weston A. Price.org.

The “dangers” of saturated fats were first pointed out by the vegetable industry (follow the money). By hydrogenating oils this industry promoted margarine etc. as a healthy replacement for “dangerous” butter and saturated fat. Now we know that these hydrogenated oils are trans fats and they are deadly.

When we study traditional cultures that have never consumed the man-made oils that we consume, we find them eating the traditional oils like coconut oil and palm oil – and heart disease and cancer are virtually unknown in this population.

I eat eggs, grass-fed beef, organic butter, and raw unrefined coconut oil to get saturated fats in my diet.

Coconut oil makes you lean because it is converted quickly to energy and is not stored as fat.

This increases your metabolism, helps you lose weight, and increases your energy.

Eating low-fat diets causes your body to crave fat.

Eating healthy fats and oils will lower your appetite and cravings for food. You will feel satisfied.

Saturated fats are necessary to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12.

The MSNBC report stated that food manufacturers are replacing trans fats with tropical oils. The reporter worries that saturated fats are artery clogging.

Please read my recent post on why we need saturated fat and how the government continues to spread the myth that all saturated fat is evil.

The problem – the real artery-clogging problem – is the processed grain foods containing sugar and refined vegetable oils.

It is the processed junk that we don’t want to eat – the cookies, chips, baked goods and packaged foods.

So if you are asking me if it is ok to eat coconut oil – the answer is absolutely yes!

If you are asking me if it is ok to eat processed foods that contain coconut oil, the answer is probably not.

Coconut oil can be found in grocery stores and on the internet for household use, palm oil is a bit harder to find.

How to start using coconut oil or organic butter (grass-fed is best!):

Start by using 1 Tbs a day and then work up to 2 – 3 Tbs per day.

Use these fats to sauté veggies or fry eggs.

Add coconut oil or coconut milk to a smoothie.

This is not new information.

2010 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:  “A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.” [source]

2013 Advances in Nutrition: “Saturated fats are benign with regard to inflammatory effects, as are the MUFAs. The meager effect that saturated fats have on serum cholesterol levels when modest but adequate amounts of polyunsaturated oils are included in the diet, and the lack of any clear evidence that saturated fats are promoting any of the conditions that can be attributed to PUFA makes one wonder how saturated fats got such a bad reputation in the health literature. The influence of dietary fats on serum cholesterol has been overstated, and a physiological mechanism for saturated fats causing heart disease is still missing.”

Purchase

Raw and Unrefined Organic coconut oil

Use organic grass-fed butter or ghee from pasture-raised cows.

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