Dr. Mehmet Oz called coconut oil a “Superpower”. Renowned Osteopath Dr. Joseph Mercola states that the benefits of coconut oil are “near miraculous”. CSPI WOW! I better get me some. But first let’s pause for a moment. What does the research tell us about this miracle cure?
Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat. Which is a higher percentage than butter (64%) and even lard (40%). What coconut oil does have is lauric acid which is responsible for boosting unusually high HDL (good cholesterol). Harvard
Mercola says “you might slim your waist in one week” By the way you can purchase a gallon of coconut oil on his website for $65. The problem is there is only one published study about whether or not these claims are true or not. A study was done in Brazil where 40 obese women cut their calories by 200 a day and exercised four days a week. Half of them used two tablespoons of coconut oil every day and the other half used soybean oil. After three months both groups lost the same amount of weight and the average waist size was the same in both groups. CSPI
So where is the proof?
I’m not telling you that coconut oil is all that bad either. But we all have to be cautious of falling into the trend of the moment. And just because someone has a television show or has MD right after their name or both doesn’t mean they’re correct either. Before digesting something new that has such claims do the research. Or better yet send me an email and I’ll let you know what I find out. Really when I began this article and began searching it didn’t take long to find proof or in this case lack of proof to substantiate the claims.
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