Cholesterol Concerns...?

As a result of all of the misinformation which has been spread about coconut oil over the past 30 years as well as the constant media harping on the dangers of fat and cholesterol we are frequently asked the following question: "Isn't coconut oil bad for my cholesterol?"

Although this question is discussed in the various references on our "coconut info links" page, we have decided to address it here specifically for those who don't want to dig through all of the other references. For the answer to this question we quote the book, Know Your Fats, by Mary Enig, Ph.D. "  (Who is Mary Enig?)

"The following is an exchange in 1999 with a European-based journalist.

Question: Specifically, I would like [a] comment on the veracity and accuracy of this report, which I got off the Internet, from India's Health Education Library for People (HELP) organization. In particular, I would be interested in whether [you agree] that the MCFA v. LCFA distinction gives coconut oil the advantages in digestion that this article says it does and, if so, why experiments have shown it to increase deposits of cholesterol. THANKS...

Here is the text: "Coconut oil is rich in saturated fat, which is why it is bracketed with animal fat by many people. It should be noted that coconut oil has no cholesterol, as the latter is a component of animal fat only. However, intake of saturated fat may result in the elevation of the blood cholesterol levels. But all oils are not the same. Coconut oil is a good food, as most of its saturated fatty acids are what we call medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). They account for nearly 64% of the fatty acids in coconut oil. It is only coconut oil and palm kernel oil, among all of the edible oils, that contain these good MCFAs.

All other vegetable oils and the animal oils contain long chain fatty acids (LCFAs).

The only exception is butterfat, with 12% short chain fatty acids. Unfortunately those who equate coconut oil with other saturated fats do not know that there are different varieties of saturated fats. Coconut oil is, therefore, different from all other oils containing saturated fatty acids. Being a MCFA oil, coconut oil has certain definite advantages over other LCFAs. The digestion of coconut oils is faster and starts almost in the mouth itself and undergoes complete digestion in the stomach and upper intestine not requiring the pancreatic juice lipase for its digestion. It also has better solubility in biological fluids, getting absorbed directly into the portal blood and carried to the liver directly to undergo rapid oxidation to release energy. Other oils and animal fats containing LCFAs need pancreatic lipase for their digestion and do not easily mix with biological fluids, and so are absorbed after being re-esterified inside the intestinal cells into triglycerides. They are first incorporated into large insoluble particles called chylomicrons by the intestinal cells. These then go to the liver via the lymphatics and the circulatory system, thereby going round all parts of the body before going to the liver for final oxidation. They are, therefore, more likely to get deposited as fats and also change the blood fat content. Coconut oil, therefore, does not produce any significant change in the circulating VLDL [very low density lipoprotein], which is supposed to be bad for vessel thickening. (Emphasis ours.)