Coconut Oil: Bringing History, Common Sense and Science Together
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26534/kimika.v28i2.55-61Abstract
The modern Western diet has suffered the damaging effects of trans fats, much of it from soybean oil. It is suffering another blow, this time from the damaging effects of an excess of omega-6 fats, again from soybean oil.
The vast majority of epidemiological studies do not distinguish between coconut oil and animal fat, and simply refer to them collectively as “saturated fat.†This is a fatal mistake for two reasons: first, the fatty acid profiles of coconut oil and animal fat are very different, and second, coconut oil hardly has any cholesterol while animal fats contain a lot of cholesterol. This means that the results based on animal fat cannot be applied to coconut oil.
Contrary to the claim of the AHA, there is abundant evidence to show that coconut oil and a coconut diet do not raise the incidence of heart disease and are, in fact, part of many healthy traditional diets. Many populations who shifted from a traditional coconut diet to a Western diet have suffered worse health outcomes. However, the historical and scientific evidence in support of coconut oil may not be enough to convince the AHA which favors a high omega-6 diet.
References
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Dayrit F (2017a). The Warning on Saturated Fat: From Defective Experiments to Defective Guidelines.
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Eyres L, Eyres MF, Chisholm A, Brown RC (2016). Coconut oil consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in humans. Nutrition Reviews 74(4): 267–280.
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Feranil AB, Duazo PL, Kuzawa CW, Adair LS (2011). Coconut oil predicts a beneficial lipid profile in pre-menopausal women in the Philippines. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 20(2): 190–195.
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Galanis DJ, McGarvey ST, Quested C, Sio B, Afele-Fa’Amuli S (1999). Dietary Intake of Modernizing Samoans: Implications for Risk of Cardiovascular Disease. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 99(2): 184–190.
Gunn BF, Baudouin L, Olsen KM (2011). Independent Origins of Cultivated Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Old World Tropics. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21143.
Harris WS, Mozaffarian D, Rimm E, Kris-Etherton P, Rudel LL, Appel LJ, Engler MM, Engler MB, Sacks F (2009). Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation 119: 902-907.
[KFF] Kaiser Family Foundation (2017). Number of Heart Disease Deaths per 100,000 Population by Gender, Timeframe 2014. http://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/heart-disease-death-rate-by-gender/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
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Prior I (1973). Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases in Asian-Pacific region. Singapore Medical Journal 14(3): 223-227.
Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z (1981). Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau Island studies. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34: 1552-1561.
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Sacks FM, Lichtenstein AH, Wu JHY, Appel LJ, Creager MA, Kris-Etherton PM, Miller M, Rimm EB, Rudel LL, Robinson JG, Stone NJ, Van Horn LV (2017). Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease, A Presidential Advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 135: e1-e24.
Shurtleff W, Aoyagi A (2007). History of Soy Oil Hydrogenation and of Research on the Safety of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils. (http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/hydrogenation1.php. downloaded July 3, 2017).
Shahidi F, Hamam F, Zhong Y (2007). High-laurate canola oil in production of structured lipids. Proceedings IRC Wuhan, vol 5, p 237-238.
Simopoulos AP (2002). The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Biomed Pharmacother 56(8): 365-79.
Simopoulos AP (2008). The Importance of the Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio in Cardiovascular Disease and Other Chronic Diseases. Exp Biol Med 233(6): 674-688.
Simopoulos AP (2010). Genetic variants in the metabolism of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids: their role in the determination of nutritional requirements and chronic disease risk. Exp Biol Med 235: 785–795.
Staprans I, Pan XM, Rapp JH, Grunfeld C, Feingold KR (2000). Oxidized Cholesterol in the Diet Accelerates the Development of Atherosclerosis in LDL Receptor– and Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 20: 708-714.
[USDA] United States Department of Agriculture (2017). United States Department of Agriculture. Food Composition Databases. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/; (downloaded: May 15, 2017).
Vijayakumar M, Vasudevan DM, Sundaram KR, Krishnan S, Vaidyanathan K, Nandakumar S, Chandrasekhar R, Mathew N (2016). A randomized study of coconut oil versus sunflower oil on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with stable coronary heart disease. Ind. Heart J. 68: 498-506.
[WHO] World Health Organization (2003). Diet, food supply and obesity in the Pacific. WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. ISBN 92 9061 044 1.
[WHO] World Health Organization (2015). Healthy Fact Sheet No. 394, updated Sept. 2015. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs394/en/. downloaded March 1, 2017)
[WHO] World Health Organization (2016). Obesity and overweight. Fact sheet No. 311. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/. downloaded July 4, 2017)
Allison DB, Egan SK, Barraj LM, Caughman C, Infante M, Heimbach JT (1999). Estimated intakes of trans fatty and other fatty acids in the US population. J Am Diet Assoc 99: 166-174.
Blair EH, Robertson JA (1906). The Philippine Islands 1493-1803. Vol 5, p 167. Translation of the writings of Miguel de Loarca (1582 – 1583).
Blasbalg TL, Hibbeln JR, Ramsden CE, Majchrzak SF, Rawlings RR (2011). Changes in consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the United States during the 20th century. Am J Clin Nutr 93: 950–62.
[CDC] Center for Disease Control (2017). Health, United States, 2016. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus16.pdf#056
Cañero AH (1999). Mortality from ischemic heart disease in Cuba. The role of diet and serum cholesterol. Revista Cubana de CardiologÃa y CirugÃa Cardiovascular 13(1): 8-12.
[Codex] Codex Alimentarius 210-1999, amended 2015.
Dayrit F (2017a). The Warning on Saturated Fat: From Defective Experiments to Defective Guidelines.
Dayrit F (2017b). A Half-Truth is Not the Whole Truth: The AHA Position on Saturated Fat.
[EFSA] European Food Safety Authority (2009). Scientific Opinion: Labelling reference intake values for n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The EFSA Journal. 1176, 1–11.
Eyres L, Eyres MF, Chisholm A, Brown RC (2016). Coconut oil consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in humans. Nutrition Reviews 74(4): 267–280.
[FAO/WHO] Interim Summary of Conclusions and Dietary Recommendations on Total Fat & Fatty Acids, in Expert Consultation on Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition. Nov. 10-14, 2008: Geneva.
[FDA] Food and Drug Administration. Food Labeling; Trans Fatty Acids in Nutrition Labeling; Final Rule and Proposed Rule. Federal Register. July 11, 2003.
Feranil AB, Duazo PL, Kuzawa CW, Adair LS (2011). Coconut oil predicts a beneficial lipid profile in pre-menopausal women in the Philippines. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 20(2): 190–195.
Florentino RF, Aguinaldo AR (1987). Diet and Cardiovascular Disease in the Philippines. Phil. J. Coconut Stud. 13(2): 56-70.
Galanis DJ, McGarvey ST, Quested C, Sio B, Afele-Fa’Amuli S (1999). Dietary Intake of Modernizing Samoans: Implications for Risk of Cardiovascular Disease. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 99(2): 184–190.
Gunn BF, Baudouin L, Olsen KM (2011). Independent Origins of Cultivated Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Old World Tropics. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21143.
Harris WS, Mozaffarian D, Rimm E, Kris-Etherton P, Rudel LL, Appel LJ, Engler MM, Engler MB, Sacks F (2009). Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation 119: 902-907.
[KFF] Kaiser Family Foundation (2017). Number of Heart Disease Deaths per 100,000 Population by Gender, Timeframe 2014. http://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/heart-disease-death-rate-by-gender/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
Kumar PD (1997). The role of coconut and coconut oil in coronary heart disease in Kerala, South India. Tropical Doctor 27: 215-217.
Lands B (2012). Consequences of Essential Fatty Acids. Nutrients 4: 1338-1357;
Lipoeto NI, Agus Z, Oenzil F, Wahlqvist ML, Wattanapenpaiboon N (2004). Dietary intake and the risk of coronary heart disease among the coconut-consuming Minangkabau in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 13(4):377-384.
Lutz D (2011). Deep history of coconuts decoded. Washington University of St. Louis, June 24, 2011. https://source.wustl.edu/2011/06/deep-history-of-coconuts-decoded/
Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC (2006). Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease. N Engl J Med 354: 1601-13.
Prior I (1973). Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases in Asian-Pacific region. Singapore Medical Journal 14(3): 223-227.
Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z (1981). Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau Island studies. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34: 1552-1561.
[SCF] Scientific Committee on Food, Commission of the European Communities. Reports of the Scientific Committee for Food: Nutrient and energy intakes for the European Community. 1992.
Sacks FM, Lichtenstein AH, Wu JHY, Appel LJ, Creager MA, Kris-Etherton PM, Miller M, Rimm EB, Rudel LL, Robinson JG, Stone NJ, Van Horn LV (2017). Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease, A Presidential Advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 135: e1-e24.
Shurtleff W, Aoyagi A (2007). History of Soy Oil Hydrogenation and of Research on the Safety of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils. (http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/hydrogenation1.php. downloaded July 3, 2017).
Shahidi F, Hamam F, Zhong Y (2007). High-laurate canola oil in production of structured lipids. Proceedings IRC Wuhan, vol 5, p 237-238.
Simopoulos AP (2002). The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Biomed Pharmacother 56(8): 365-79.
Simopoulos AP (2008). The Importance of the Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio in Cardiovascular Disease and Other Chronic Diseases. Exp Biol Med 233(6): 674-688.
Simopoulos AP (2010). Genetic variants in the metabolism of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids: their role in the determination of nutritional requirements and chronic disease risk. Exp Biol Med 235: 785–795.
Staprans I, Pan XM, Rapp JH, Grunfeld C, Feingold KR (2000). Oxidized Cholesterol in the Diet Accelerates the Development of Atherosclerosis in LDL Receptor– and Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 20: 708-714.
[USDA] United States Department of Agriculture (2017). United States Department of Agriculture. Food Composition Databases. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/; (downloaded: May 15, 2017).
Vijayakumar M, Vasudevan DM, Sundaram KR, Krishnan S, Vaidyanathan K, Nandakumar S, Chandrasekhar R, Mathew N (2016). A randomized study of coconut oil versus sunflower oil on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with stable coronary heart disease. Ind. Heart J. 68: 498-506.
[WHO] World Health Organization (2003). Diet, food supply and obesity in the Pacific. WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. ISBN 92 9061 044 1.
[WHO] World Health Organization (2015). Healthy Fact Sheet No. 394, updated Sept. 2015. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs394/en/. downloaded March 1, 2017)
[WHO] World Health Organization (2016). Obesity and overweight. Fact sheet No. 311. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/. downloaded July 4, 2017)
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Published
2017-12-19
How to Cite
Dayrit, F. M. (2017). Coconut Oil: Bringing History, Common Sense and Science Together. KIMIKA, 28(2), 55–61. https://doi.org/10.26534/kimika.v28i2.55-61
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