In a message dated 10/9/02 6:35:12 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

>Regarding coconut oil -- one of Cordain's main points is that saturated
>fat
>should be limited as much as possible -- this is why he condemns coconut
>oil.

Boy is Cordain off here -- last year I did a little paper on coconut oil.  It
is saturated (nothing wrong with that anyway), but most of the saturates are
lauric acid -- a phenomenal oil (lots of it in human breast milk) -- it has
extraordinary anti-microbial, anti- viral, etc. properties. In addition,
coconut oil, since it's mostly medium chain fatty acids, actually is utilized
more efficiently by our bodies -- directly enters the portal vein and
by-passes the carnitine system. Much less likely to be stored than longer
chain fatty acids. Several experiments have used it in weight loss programs
with incredible success!
People who live on traditional diets that rely on the coconut for sometimes
as much as 50% of  dietary calories are remarkable for their leanness as well
as their lack of CVD, stroke and cancer. Jon Karbara (prof emeritus of U of
Michigan??) is credited with much of the original bench work; he's been
exploring its basic properties since the 1960s. Coconut oil /lauric acid
derivatives are even used in AIDs patients and the research looks promising.

Namaste, Liz
<A HREF="http://www.csun.edu/~ecm59556/Healthycarb/index.html">
http://www.csun.edu/~ecm59556/Healthycarb/index.html</A>