There is the healthy side of natural fats. Coconut oil, being a highly saturated fat (96%), is the least vulnerable of all the dietary oils to oxidation and free-radical formation and therefore is the safest to use in cooking. One distinct advantage that all saturated fats have other unsaturated fats (mono- and polyunsaturated fats) is that they don’t have any missing hydrogen atoms or double-bonded carbons. This means that they are not vulnerable to oxidation and free-radical formation as unsaturated fats are. Food manufacturers have known this for decades. They add saturated fats (often coconut and palm kernel oils) to foods because they help prevent spoilage caused by free radicals.
Coconut oil, being highly saturated, is very stable and extraordinarily resistant to oxidation. When oils oxidize, they become rancid and form toxic free radicals. Coconut oil is so stable when heated, it is 12x more resistant to oxidation than canola oil; 16 x more resistant than soybean oil; and 300x more resistant than flaxseed oil.
Most cooking oils in the market are either hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. Hydrogenation is a process where unsaturated vegetable oil is chemically altered to form a more saturated fat. Increasing the saturation makes the oil less susceptible to spoilage. Hydrogenation is a way of making vegetable oil harden at room temperature. Hydrogenation involves heating oils to very high temperatures under pressure for up to 8 hours while bombarding and injecting them with hydrogen gas.. This process destroys the essential fatty acids in the oil and replaces them with deformed, toxic trans fatty acids.
Trans fatty acids are artificial fats and are structurally different from natural fats. Our bodies can handle natural fats, but trans fatty acids have no place in our bodies and are linked to many health problems. Trans fatty acids cause our cells to freeze up, so to speak ,leaving them dysfunctional. The more trans fatty acids eaten, the greater the cellular destruction. Many researchers believe trans fatty acids have a greater influence on the development of cardiovascular disease than any other dietary fat. Many studies have also demonstrated a very close association between consumption of unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer.
Even if the brand of bottle of oil on your kitchen shelf has not been hydrogenated, unless the vegetable oil has been ""cold-pressed"" or ""expeller-pressed"", it contains trans fatty acids. Most of the common brands of vegetable oil and salad dressing contains trans fatty acids . Trans fatty acids are also found in processed foods and fried foods.
Saturated fats from any source are much more tolerant of the temperatures used in cooking and do not form any trans fatty acids or create harmful free radicals; therefore they make much better and safer cooking oils. Saturated fats is not the enemy because they offer a number of health benefits and play important roles in the body. Trans fatty acids are much worse for you than saturated fats as they raise bad cholesterol levels and lower good cholesterol and have also been linked to heart disease.
In addition, not all saturated fats are created equal - since coconut oil is composed primarily of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), (unusually rich level of 62%, the highest source of saturated medium chain triglycerides of any naturally occuring vegan source), it is not like the long-chain saturated fatty acids that raise blood cholesterol levels. And unlike almost all saturated and unsaturated oils, it does not promote the platelet stickiness that leads to blood clot formation. The medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil give it properties that make it unique and considered by many to be the "healthiest oil on earth".
Research shows that replacing other cooking oils with virgin coconut oil generally creates a more favorable HDL (good cholesterol) /LDL(bad cholesterol) ratio. This oil has antiviral, antibacterial, antimicrobial and antiprotozoal properties and, like all whole foods, contains nutrients for a healthy body. By eating coconut oil you can reduce your chances of suffering a heart attack!
