Harvard Professor, Dr. Karin Michels Reveals Why Coconut Oil Is Poisonous
Coconut oil has often been portrayed as a healthy alternative to other oils, but recent study has opined that it is more harmful than other oils, especially those that remain solid even at room temperature.
Speaking at Harvard University, Dr Karin B. Michels, an expert in epidemiology at the university, called coconut oil ‘one of the worst foods you can eat’.
The professor described the oil as “pure poison” and claimed it is more likely to clog arteries than lard made from pig fat – yet 70% of Americans believed it to be one of the healthiest oils available.
During her talk, titled “Coconut Oil and other Nutritional Errors”, Dr Michels explained that eating super foods was unnecessary, because we already get enough nutrition from everyday foods.
“We are well and sufficiently supplied,” she said.
According to Michels, coconut oil is more dangerous than lard because it almost exclusively contains saturated fatty acids, ones that can clog the coronary arteries.
This isn’t the first time that experts have warned about the dangers of coconut oil. Dr Michels’ claims follow a move by the American Heart Association (AHA) last year to update its guidelines, which recommended that people avoid the saturated fatty acids found in coconut oil.
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Victoria Taylor, a dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said:
“There has been speculation that some of the saturated fat present in coconut oil may be better for us than other saturated fats, but so far there is not enough good-quality research to provide us with a definitive answer.”
Worryingly, coconut oil is about 86 per cent saturated fat. This is about one-third more than in butter. Ms Taylor added:
“We know that diets high in saturated fat are associated with increased bad (LDL) cholesterol in the blood, and high cholesterol is a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke.”
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You can identify fats that contain large quantities of saturated fatty acids by checking to see whether they remain solid at room temperature, as is the case with butter or lard.
Based on the fact that coconut oil contains a lot of unsaturated fatty acids, experts recommend olive or rapeseed oil as an alternative.
Source: Standardmedia