Coconut Oil and its cult like following, WHY?

[DrewZ]

I've always called BS on coconut oil ever since it started becoming popular after a quick scan of the nutritional facts.

I would use a little butter before I'd use coconut oil, but whatever.

I still see people constantly preaching coconut oil this coconut oil that.

Here's Jerry Ward laying into this topic a bit;

[DrewZ]

Follow up video;

[ppwc1985]

I married a Filipino so I have coconut around, I like coco water occasionally but from what I've looked into no studies or anything like that just basic info a little is good. But to much than it can not be so good. I know drinking coco water hydrates me more than regular h2o. We use olive for cooking though. She uses coco milk, flakes in a lot her cooking.

[thisAngelBites]

I have never seen this person before (and will go out of my way to avoid him in the future).

Everything is kind of half true, and he doesn't know a lot, but thinks he does.

Saturated fat is not bad as previously thought; his information is just out of date on this.

Coconut oil is about 60% MCTs, 40% LCTs. MCTs are better for us (generally speaking, the shorter the fatty chain, the higher the HDL ends up rising), and coconut oil has more MCTs than most other oils we eat. He didn't say what he thinks is better than coconut oil, but he complained about LCT presence, and almost all other oils have more LCTs, so then what is recommending? An absence of fats in the diet???

Carbohydrates and MCTs are not the same. I don't know what he is talking about unless he thinks that because MCTs do not need to be broken down like LCTs, and can be used more directly that they are like carbohydrates (except for simple sugars, they need to be broken down, so again, no idea what this guy is talking about). MCTs are metabolised differently than other fats, but just because that is true does not mean that they are like carbohydrates.

I wouldn't count on MCTs being some miracle food that is going to throw you immediately into ketosis or ramp up your metabolic rate. But it does have some good qualities, lauric acid, and additionally being so highly saturated it is less resistant to the oxidising effect of heat. In saturated fats all the carbon chains have single bonds and then have hydrogen atoms bonding with the rest of the electrons via single bonds, as opposed to having double bonds between the carbons (which uses the extra electrons and therefore has no place for the hydrogen atoms to bond). These double bonds are heat sensitive, and this is why cooking with oils that are not saturates creates free radicals. Its high saturation is why coconut oil is so good to cook with - it lacks the double bonds which are damaged by heat.

Look, maybe this guy is a master bodybuilder, and knows a lot about exercise, but I would not trust anything he says about food science or nutrition without researching it yourself.

[DrewZ]

I have never seen this person before (and will go out of my way to avoid him in the future).
He's hard to watch I know, every other word is the F word.
I like some of his videos though because of his stories about AAS, seems genuine.
But not some of his advice clearly, he's schilling for PH in one video. [dislike]

Everything is kind of half true, and he doesn't know a lot, but thinks he does.

Saturated fat is not bad as previously thought; his information is just out of date on this.

Coconut oil is about 60% MCTs, 40% LCTs. MCTs are better for us (generally speaking, the shorter the fatty chain, the higher the HDL ends up rising), and coconut oil has more MCTs than most other oils we eat. He didn't say what he thinks is better than coconut oil, but he complained about LCT presence, and almost all other oils have more LCTs, so then what is recommending? An absence of fats in the diet???
After a few google searches about how much MCT/LCT make up the saturated fat in other oils, I can't find anything on butter/olive oil.
I guess I just don't know where to look.


Carbohydrates and MCTs are not the same. I don't know what he is talking about unless he thinks that because MCTs do not need to be broken down like LCTs, and can be used more directly that they are like carbohydrates (except for simple sugars, they need to be broken down, so again, no idea what this guy is talking about). MCTs are metabolised differently than other fats, but just because that is true does not mean that they are like carbohydrates.

I wouldn't count on MCTs being some miracle food that is going to throw you immediately into ketosis or ramp up your metabolic rate. But it does have some good qualities, lauric acid, and additionally being so highly saturated it is less resistant to the oxidising effect of heat. In saturated fats all the carbon chains have single bonds and then have hydrogen atoms bonding with the rest of the electrons via single bonds, as opposed to having double bonds between the carbons (which uses the extra electrons and therefore has no place for the hydrogen atoms to bond). These double bonds are heat sensitive, and this is why cooking with oils that are not saturates creates free radicals. Its high saturation is why coconut oil is so good to cook with - it lacks the double bonds which are damaged by heat.

Look, maybe this guy is a master bodybuilder, and knows a lot about exercise, but I would not trust anything he says about food science or nutrition without researching it yourself.

When things gain popularity so quickly and it's the new cool thing, I tend to steer clear because the majority of the time they are wrong.
Case in point, the recent Dr. Oz thread.

I appreciate your input on the subject, Thank you.

[DrewZ]

"Everything popular is wrong." -- Oscar Wilde

[OdinsOtherSon]

After a few google searches about how much MCT/LCT make up the saturated fat in other oils, I can't find anything on butter/olive oil.
I guess I just don't know where to look.

All too often it seems we try to encapsulate our rational for X, Y, or Z based on "a few Google searches." I'm as guilty as anyone. Fact is, there is probably WAY more to this, as with most subjects regarding health and food composition, than even the "experts" are aware of...interactions between this food and that, this food and that drug, etc, etc...new info and discoveries are coming out, daily it seems.

[thisAngelBites]

I'm not averse to swearing, and I'll admit to having a pretty bad mouth myself sometimes, but there is just something about all the arrogant swearing PLUS not knowing what he was talking about that I found super annoying.

Regarding olive oil, it contains mostly (~73%) monounsaturated fatty acids, which means they have one (mono) unsaturated (double bond between carbon molecules), so it's not bad for cooking either. It's the poly (many) unsaturated fats that oxidise and produce the most free radicals when they are heated. Most of the rest of the fatty acids in olive oil are saturated. It's mostly composed of linoleic, linolenic and oleic acids, all of which are long chain.

Olive oil has a lot of other good stuff going for it: antioxidants, vitamin E, vitamin k, oleic acid which helps to reduce inflammation The main criticism is that the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio is higher than 10:1. Hopefully take some extra omega 3, but I'd say that the good of olive oil overrides the bad omega ratio. You're not using a litre a day, right? And be sure to get the best, virgin non-solvent produced stuff you can find, because a lot of the mass market stuff is rubbish. If you google you can find helpful people who rate them and explain the awful things some manufacturers do to the oil.

Butter is 60-65% saturated fatty acids, and about 30% monounsaturated. It is composed of both long and short chain acids (more long). It is a good source of Vitamin A, and if you are lucky enough to get butter from cows that are fed grass instead of grain, butter contains a good amount of omega 3 fats (ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is 1:1) and it also contains vitamin K which we need in order to use calcium for bone health. Butter also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which has been well studied and has lot of health benefits. Grain fed butter has less CLA and more omega 6 than grass fed, but is still better than most vegetable oils.

[jimmyinkedup]

All I had to say was pretty much said!
I just want to add I think this guy is a douchebag. I work from home sometimes and cant even wacth his vid cause every ther word is f- this and shit that and so on. I had to go into the other room. We are all big boys & oh I talk like that at times but someone who generally speaks where 50% of the words used are those kinds of words it tends to speak to their level of intelligence. There are, of course, many exceptions I know. However in this case at least that holds true.

[Times Roman]

I haven't looked into coconut oil. my son swears by it...
...I think i'll just stick to the basics.

[DrewZ]

I'm not averse to swearing, and I'll admit to having a pretty bad mouth myself sometimes, but there is just something about all the arrogant swearing PLUS not knowing what he was talking about that I found super annoying.

Regarding olive oil, it contains mostly (~73%) monounsaturated fatty acids, which means they have one (mono) unsaturated (double bond between carbon molecules), so it's not bad for cooking either. It's the poly (many) unsaturated fats that oxidise and produce the most free radicals when they are heated. Most of the rest of the fatty acids in olive oil are saturated. It's mostly composed of linoleic, linolenic and oleic acids, all of which are long chain.

Olive oil has a lot of other good stuff going for it: antioxidants, vitamin E, vitamin k, oleic acid which helps to reduce inflammation The main criticism is that the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio is higher than 10:1. Hopefully take some extra omega 3, but I'd say that the good of olive oil overrides the bad omega ratio. You're not using a litre a day, right? And be sure to get the best, virgin non-solvent produced stuff you can find, because a lot of the mass market stuff is rubbish. If you google you can find helpful people who rate them and explain the awful things some manufacturers do to the oil.

Butter is 60-65% saturated fatty acids, and about 30% monounsaturated. It is composed of both long and short chain acids (more long). It is a good source of Vitamin A, and if you are lucky enough to get butter from cows that are fed grass instead of grain, butter contains a good amount of omega 3 fats (ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is 1:1) and it also contains vitamin K which we need in order to use calcium for bone health. Butter also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which has been well studied and has lot of health benefits. Grain fed butter has less CLA and more omega 6 than grass fed, but is still better than most vegetable oils.

Thanks Angel,

I always look for cold pressed extra virgin olive oil when I buy.
Have not tried to find grass fed cows butter, going to look for that now

I haven't looked into coconut oil. my son swears by it...
...I think i'll just stick to the basics.

I'm with you Roman - sticking to the basics, If it ain't broke don't fix it! right?

[jimmyinkedup]

My first post was kind of off the cuff. I want to add where I have found particularly good use for coconut oil. Especially the isolated MCT form. In a ketogenic diet for the first couple weeks while I adjust my energy levels tank. MCT oil gives me energy without effecting my ability to enter or stay in ketosis. It is a very useful tool in that situation.

[DrewZ]

^ thats good to know, thanks.

Sounds like it might be good to use when carb cycling as well

[jimmyinkedup]

^ thats good to know, thanks.

Sounds like it might be good to use when carb cycling as well

I can see that too.

[thisAngelBites]

My first post was kind of off the cuff. I want to add where I have found particularly good use for coconut oil. Especially the isolated MCT form. In a ketogenic diet for the first couple weeks while I adjust my energy levels tank. MCT oil gives me energy without effecting my ability to enter or stay in ketosis. It is a very useful tool in that situation.

People do say it moves you into ketosis quicker as well, but I haven't tried it for that.

[jimmyinkedup]

People do say it moves you into ketosis quicker as well, but I haven't tried it for that.

I could see the metabolic boost maybe doing so but if it does its negligible IMO. I used the ketostix which arent the best indication but it didnt seem to do so for me. Then again i have another trick for doing that so I may not be the best one to comment on how good it would really be for that purpose without using other means.

[Bigshotvictoria]

It's great for aftershave, cooking, and lube.

Never jumped on board with the Mike Aspry Bullet-Proof Coffee fad though. More snake oil for the masses.