It is commonly believed that coconut oil, if used in cooking, is bad for health. It is a saturated fat which is supposed to increase LDL (bad) cholesterol in humans and thereby increase the incidence of heart disease. Many doctors discourage the use of coconut oil for this reason.
Expert opinion against coconut oil seems to have become hardened after the prestigious National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the US published a report on the bad effects of various tropical oils including coconut oil.
But this opinion seems to contradict the fact that people living in the coastal areas use coconut oil as the main medium of cooking, but incidence of heart disease among them is not higher than other groups of people who do not use coconut oil. Studies (Lancet 1994;344:1195) have shown no correlation between saturated oils (such as coconut oil) and plaque formation in arteries (a cause of heart disease). Other studies (e.g., Journal of Indian Medical Association 1998, Oct;96(10):304-7) have shown that in selected populations, the incidence of heart disease (and diabetes) increased after the consumption of traditional oils such as coconut oil decreased and the consumption of the so called good oils (e.g. sunflower oil and safflower oil) increased. So coconut oil's bad reputation may not be deserved at all.
To get authoritative information on other health benefits of coconut oil, Mysore Grahakara Parishat wrote to the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad under the Right to Information Act. The following is a summary of the reply given by the Institute.
1. Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid from which monolaurin is derived. Monolaurin has several health benefits particularly in developing immunity towards bacterial, viral and fungal infections.
2. There are some reports that coconut oil may stimulate the thyroid gland and improve body metabolism. (Since it is well-known that thyroid hormone lowers LDL levels in the blood, this might explain why use of coconut oil reduces incidence of heart disease as revealed in the JIMA study quoted above).
3.Coconut oil is excellent as a topical application for several types of skin problems.
4. Foods prepared with coconut oil (especially fried foods) are thermally more stable and have longer shelf life. Coconut oil itself has a long shelf life and does not easily become rancid unlike other oils.
Therefore, it appears that coconut oil provides many health benefits, either as a cooking medium or as a topical application.
Dr.H.A.B. Parpia, Mysore Grahakara Parishat