And science confirms it; in a recent report published in the journal Circulation, the American Heart Association found little to no difference between coconut oil and other highly saturated oils like butter and lard. "Coconut oil is high in calories and saturated fat—more saturated fat than even lard, at 90 percent vs. 40 percent," says Farzaneh Daghigh, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and a gastroenterological sciences course director at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia." After all of this work, I think they’ve done a convincing job showing that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats can have a benefit for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. A later study proved smaller doses of the medium chain triglycerides — like the amount found in coconut oil — do not help with calorie burning and another study found coconut oil

OK so there’s some pretty convincing evidence that the coconut oil as a healthy alternative is bogus, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to toss all your coconut oil. The Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease advisory reviewed existing data on saturated fat, showing coconut oil increased LDL ("bad") cholesterol in seven out of seven controlled trials. "We recommend replacing the saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats - using oils instead of butter and choosing foods like avocado, oily fish, nuts and seeds instead of foods high in saturated fats like cakes, biscuits, chocolate and fatty meat." "Because coconut oil increases LDL cholesterol, a cause of CVD [cardiovascular disease], and has no known offsetting favorable effects, we advise against the use of coconut oil," the American Heart Association said in the Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease advisory. Advertisement

The AHA released a review yesterday because “meta-analyses of observational studies and randomized clinical trials have come to discordant conclusions about the relationship between dietary saturated fat and risk of [cardiovascular disease],” they write, “creating confusion.”

The review is fine. In general, olive oil (especially extra virgin olive oil) and other vegetables oils such as canola, safflower, and sunflower oils are still the best choices in the kitchen." The lead author for the study, Franks Sacks, said “you can put it on your body, but don’t put it in your body.”

WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
• 4 DEAD, INCLUDING GUNMAN, AFTER SHOOTING AT SF UPS CENTERthe company estimates the loss of the avocados at around $300,000.
A study published in the United States advises against the use of coconut oil and instead proposes using American-produced vegetable oils, such as canola, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower oil.