Sales are booming. But increasing reports say this fave doesn’t live up to the hype.
It’s in our bliss balls and raw vegan slices. It’s taken up permanent residence in our pantry. It splashes out of the jar during summer and magically goes rock-solid in winter. But is coconut oil really the wonder ingredient it’s cracked up to be?
Well, no, according to some experts. In June, the American Heart Association made headlines worldwide when it named coconut oil as an example of a foodie trend without science behind it. Oh.
Before we go into why, a little background on the clear stuff: “Coconut oil is the fat component of coconut flesh (copra),” explains nutritionist Teresa Boyce. “[It] can be obtained from crushing and pressing the copra to extract the oil.” Yep, the unrefined oil is free from nasty chemicals, which is a big bonus. But, while it doesn’t have scary ingredients, it does have a whole lot of saturated fat. In fact, sat fats make up a startling 92 per cent of coconut oil. Bottom line: that coco-rich bliss ball might not be so blissful for your heart.
“While coconut oil has been claimed as a super food, the new report from the American Heart Association backs what the science has been saying for some time,” says Nicole Dynan, an accredited practising dietitian and spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia. “We know coconut oil can raise our unhealthy LDL cholesterol, which raises the risk of heart disease.”
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