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By Bienvenido O. Juliano, PhD
VIRGIN Coconut Oil from fresh
mature coconut is a Philippine phenomenon of the 21st century.
It is a food supplement taken
orally by the spoonful or by capsule or applied externally for
various ailments.
Currently, there is no approved
therapeutic claim. But researches reviewed by scientists show the
scientific basis for the benefits of virgin coconut oil.
Testimonials by satisfied consumers have also increased the demand
for virgin coconut oil, or VCO.
Coconut oil has been
controversial for the last few decades. It has been termed both as a
bad oil and as a good oil.
Refined bleached and deodorized
coconut oil from copra is mainly used as a cooking oil. It is the
most saturated of oils and rich in medium-chain (eight to 12 carbon)
fatty acids.
Coconut oil has been erroneously
grouped with the long-chain (14 or more carbon) saturated fats that
are claimed to cause heart diseases, based on the controversial 1970
Lipid-Heart Theory: that saturated fats increase blood cholesterol,
which in turn contributes to heart disease.
Coconut oil exports to the United
States for food use was then severely reduced and replaced by
partially hydrogenated corn and soybean oils produced by American
farmers.
Studies favorable to coconut oil
were suppressed from publication to the benefit of unsaturated US
corn and soybean oil industries.
The health benefits of
medium-chain fats, such as coconut oil, have been established in
studies conducted since 1950 by unbiased Western scientists. But
they were hidden behind names like medium-chain triglycerides (MCT)
when published.
Still, the studies concluded that
MCT derived from coconut oil were acceptable and good for infants,
the elderly, convalescent and athletes.
Despite these publications and
conferences extolling the merits of coconut oil, many Filipino
physicians, nutritionists and consumers continue to consider coconut
oil as a bad oil. Today, local coconut oil producers continue to
label their products as vegetable oil, with coconut oil in fine
print.
To protect the US vegetable oil
industry, a similar suppression of the high content of transfatty
acids in partially hydrogenated unsaturated oils was undertaken. But
the toxic effects of transfatty acids contributory to heart disease
is now accepted to be worse than that of saturated fats.
The US Food and Drug
Administration (US FDA) now requires the presence of saturated and
transfatty acids to be indicated on food labels.
To correct the adverse publicity
against coconut oil, the Department of Science and Technology’s
National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2004 submitted
a position paper to the US Senate, US Secretary of Health and Human
Services and to the US FDA and clarified the unique properties of
coconut oil relative to other oils.
The position paper is based on
scientific evidence and researches abroad and in the Philippines
that show the benefits of coconut oil.
Citing the studies, NAST
explained that coconut oil has about 63-percent saturated
medium-chain fatty acids. With very low (2 percent) polyunsaturated
fatty acids, coconut oil is very stable and resistant to oxidation,
making it an excellent cooking oil.
It does not release free radicals
which damage human cells. In comparison, other oils with
polyunsaturated fats easily generate free radicals.
Since coconut oil is more than
90-percent naturally saturated, it does not need
hydrogenation—meaning it does not have transfatty acids.
Transfatty acids—formed by partial hydrogenation of
polyunsaturated fats—lead to high blood cholesterol.
Because coconut oil enters
directly into the portal vein, it is not deposited as fat but
transported directly to the liver to immediately provide energy. In
contrast, long-chain saturated fatty acids is used by the cells and
deposited as fat.
Coconut oil is thermogenic—
that is, it raises the metabolic rate of the body and prevents the
accumulation of fat. It even causes weight loss.
Coconut fatty
acids—particularly lauric acid (about 48 percent of the
medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil)—are antimicrobial. In
laboratory tests, it kills viruses (and the human immunodeficiency
virus that causes AIDS), fungi and protozoa, and bacteria (including
those that cause TB and peptic ulcer).
Human milk contains medium-chain
fatty acids like coconut oil. Infant formulas derived from cow’s
milk have been fortified with coconut oil (or medium-chain fatty
acids) to protect the baby from infection.
Coconut oil with medium-chain
fatty acids is useful for critically ill patients and patients
(including premature infants) with difficulty in digesting fat.
NAST cited researches that show
coconut oil does not raise the cholesterol level in the blood. In
fact, coconut oil benefits humans by maintaining or increasing good
cholesterol in blood, it said.
“Among the edible fats and
oils, coconut oil is not only nutritious, but may offer better
health benefits than comparable vegetable oils because of its unique
fatty acid composition and metabolism,” the NAST position paper
concluded.
(National Scientist Bienvenido
Juliano is a member of the National Academy of Science and
Technology and chairs the NAST Committee on Coconut Oil Research for
Health.)
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