Then early in 1987, the ASA petitioned the FDA to require labeling of "Tropical Fats," and by mid-1987, the Soybean Digest continued an active and increasing anti-tropical oils campaign. At about the same time (June 3, 1987), the New York Times published an editorial, "The Truth About Vegetable Oil," in which it called palm, palm kernel, and coconut oils "the cheaper, artery-clogging oils from Malaysia and Indonesia" and claimed that U.S. federal dietary guidelines opposed tropical oils, although it is not clear that this was so. The "artery-clogging" terminology was right out of CSPI.

Two years later in 1989, the ASA held a press conference with the help of the CSPI in Washington DC in an attempt to counter the palm oil group's press conference of 6 March. The ASA "Media Alert" stated that the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and National Research Council "recommend consumers avoid palm, palm kernel and coconut oils." Only months before these press conferences, millionaire Phil Sokolof, the head of the National Heart Savers Association (NHSA), purchased the first of a series of anti-saturated fats and anti-tropical fats advertisements in major newspapers. No one has found an overt connection between Sokolof (and his NHSA) and the ASA, but the CSPI bragged about being his advisor.

V. WHAT ABOUT HEART DISEASE AND COCONUT OIL?

The research over four decades concerning coconut oil in the diet and heart disease is quite clear: coconut oil has been shown to be beneficial. This research leads us to ask the question, "should coconut oil be used to both prevent and treat coronary heart disease?"

This statement is based on several reviews of the scientific literature concerning the feeding of coconut oil to humans. Blackburn et al (1988) have reviewed the published literature of "coconut oil's effect on serum cholesterol and atherogenesis" and have concluded that when "...[coconut oil is] fed physiologically with other fats or adequately supplemented with linoleic acid, coconut oil is a neutral fat in terms of atherogenicity."

After reviewing this same literature, Kurup and Rajmohan (1995) conducted a study on 64 volunteers and found "...no statistically significant alteration in the serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio and LDL cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio of triglycerides from the baseline values..." A beneficial effect of adding the coconut kernel to the diet was noted by these researchers.