Day 25: The Case of Virgin Coconut Oil
We know that trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated fats are harmful. Whenever you look at the food label and see these in the ingredient list, please put them back on the shelf. Your heart and blood vessels will thank you.
Where do we see these hydrogenated oils and trans fats? Usually, the processed foods and baked goods rich in dairy fats and partial hydrogenation of corn oil. Palm oil is also a form of saturated fat with 16 carbons (palmitic acid) and is often used in commercial products.
What about medium-chain fatty acids? How does the body metabolize them?
Those with 8 to 10 carbon chains like caprylic and caproic are absorbed and transported via the portal circulation and cleared by the liver.
But the medium-chain fatty acid, lauric acid with 12 carbon chains, such as the one found in virgin coconut oil, is metabolized differently. One-third enters the portal circulation as free fatty acid, but two-third of which is transported via chylomicron as triacylglyceride.
The fate of triacylglyceride depends on what your body does with it. If your body needs it for energy (exercise, work, fasted state), it’s broken down and released for use. But if you have too
much of it, the VLDL remnant gets metabolized into LDL. So if you’re wondering where the high LDL from your lipid profile is coming from, it can be from too much saturated fat. The reason why virgin coconut oil is controversial and studies reveal different results is because it can both act as a substrate for good or bad fats. If you consume it and do not use it (sedentary lifestyle), your body stores it.
Some people use virgin coconut oil before I exercise or during fasting. This helps with hunger pangs. But we don’t have enough scientific evidence to say it’s an excellent pre-workout food. This is merely anecdotal evidence. So far, scientific evidence does not support cardiac benefits based on a recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials unlike the ones we’ve seen with omega-3 fatty acid as a precursor of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). If you want to understand how coconut oil is metabolized and what is its effect on your HDL and LDL cholesterol, check out the video below.
For now, if you’re taking virgin coconut oil for its purported health benefits, be mindful of its possible side effects. Just like medicine, too much can have adverse effects on your health. Check your blood lipid profile, total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels, and determine if the fats that you are consuming is helping or putting you at risk for heart and liver disease. Remember, 1 gm of oil is equivalent to 9 calories. It’s a good energy source, but the muscles need to be working to use the energy efficiently. Otherwise, it remains stored as fat.
Bottom line: Both the monounsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids can be synthesized from protein and carbohydrates and therefore are NOT essential in our diet.
What is essential in our diet are the fatty acids that we cannot make, such as omega-3 and omega-6. And although omega-3 and omega-6 compete for the same enzymes to elongate their chains to make DHA, EPA (from omega-3), which are essential for membrane structure, our nervous tissue, retina, and even spermatozoa, and arachidonic acid (from omega-6), which is essential for acute inflammatory reaction and clotting mechanisms, the body preferentially converts omega-3 before it acts on omega-6 and oleic acid. So people who are concerned about inflammation should not avoid eating omega-6 rich food because we also need it for our body to function well. Just eat more omega-3-rich food.
In the Mediterranean diet, eating fish rich in EPA and DHA twice a week will add point to your score.
Click the link below on FDA’s advisory about fish consumption and which types of fish have high methylmercury that can be toxic for our bodies.
Where do we see these hydrogenated oils and trans fats? Usually, the processed foods and baked goods rich in dairy fats and partial hydrogenation of corn oil. Palm oil is also a form of saturated fat with 16 carbons (palmitic acid) and is often used in commercial products.
What about medium-chain fatty acids? How does the body metabolize them?
Those with 8 to 10 carbon chains like caprylic and caproic are absorbed and transported via the portal circulation and cleared by the liver.
But the medium-chain fatty acid, lauric acid with 12 carbon chains, such as the one found in virgin coconut oil, is metabolized differently. One-third enters the portal circulation as free fatty acid, but two-third of which is transported via chylomicron as triacylglyceride.
The fate of triacylglyceride depends on what your body does with it. If your body needs it for energy (exercise, work, fasted state), it’s broken down and released for use. But if you have too
much of it, the VLDL remnant gets metabolized into LDL. So if you’re wondering where the high LDL from your lipid profile is coming from, it can be from too much saturated fat. The reason why virgin coconut oil is controversial and studies reveal different results is because it can both act as a substrate for good or bad fats. If you consume it and do not use it (sedentary lifestyle), your body stores it.
Some people use virgin coconut oil before I exercise or during fasting. This helps with hunger pangs. But we don’t have enough scientific evidence to say it’s an excellent pre-workout food. This is merely anecdotal evidence. So far, scientific evidence does not support cardiac benefits based on a recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials unlike the ones we’ve seen with omega-3 fatty acid as a precursor of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). If you want to understand how coconut oil is metabolized and what is its effect on your HDL and LDL cholesterol, check out the video below.
For now, if you’re taking virgin coconut oil for its purported health benefits, be mindful of its possible side effects. Just like medicine, too much can have adverse effects on your health. Check your blood lipid profile, total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels, and determine if the fats that you are consuming is helping or putting you at risk for heart and liver disease. Remember, 1 gm of oil is equivalent to 9 calories. It’s a good energy source, but the muscles need to be working to use the energy efficiently. Otherwise, it remains stored as fat.
Bottom line: Both the monounsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids can be synthesized from protein and carbohydrates and therefore are NOT essential in our diet.
What is essential in our diet are the fatty acids that we cannot make, such as omega-3 and omega-6. And although omega-3 and omega-6 compete for the same enzymes to elongate their chains to make DHA, EPA (from omega-3), which are essential for membrane structure, our nervous tissue, retina, and even spermatozoa, and arachidonic acid (from omega-6), which is essential for acute inflammatory reaction and clotting mechanisms, the body preferentially converts omega-3 before it acts on omega-6 and oleic acid. So people who are concerned about inflammation should not avoid eating omega-6 rich food because we also need it for our body to function well. Just eat more omega-3-rich food.
In the Mediterranean diet, eating fish rich in EPA and DHA twice a week will add point to your score.
Click the link below on FDA’s advisory about fish consumption and which types of fish have high methylmercury that can be toxic for our bodies.
FAT CHALLENGE #5
If you have a hard time eliminating coconut oil or milk from your dishes and your lipid profile is problematic, cut back on the portion size. For example, a can of coconut milk has 65% of saturated fat. Use one can for a dish that serves 15 people. If you want to make the dish thicker, use other nutritious thickening agent like blended silken tofu, blended cooked oats, or blended cooked urad dal (white lentil) instead of adding more cans of coconut milk. I usually use these thickening agents to my “ginataan” or coconut milk-simmered dishes and just add 1 tsp of virgin coconut oil at the end of cooking for a dish that serves 4 people. That cuts the saturated fat to 5% per serving and still imparts the savory coconut creaminess to my favorite Filipino dishes.
If you have a hard time eliminating coconut oil or milk from your dishes and your lipid profile is problematic, cut back on the portion size. For example, a can of coconut milk has 65% of saturated fat. Use one can for a dish that serves 15 people. If you want to make the dish thicker, use other nutritious thickening agent like blended silken tofu, blended cooked oats, or blended cooked urad dal (white lentil) instead of adding more cans of coconut milk. I usually use these thickening agents to my “ginataan” or coconut milk-simmered dishes and just add 1 tsp of virgin coconut oil at the end of cooking for a dish that serves 4 people. That cuts the saturated fat to 5% per serving and still imparts the savory coconut creaminess to my favorite Filipino dishes.