<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

About this post:  It is in two parts:  Part one is the summary
information and the second part is links related to what listmates
said and some of the ones that I checked.

Listmates,

First let me apologize to Mary and all of you.  When I did my post
"Coconut & Health--Source of Saturated Fat" I did not intend to say
that what Mary said was bunk.  I was tying to say that we all need to
review all of the positions and make our own decisions.   My title
was not well stated.  Apparently my post was taken as a contradiction
to what was posted.  It was intended as a caution for individuals to
consider all information before making their own decision about
coconut oil as with any other product.

Second I did not let you all know that I had looked at many of the
references sent to me by listmates.  I have done Internet searches,
read book reviews, and reread the position of my resource on tropical
oils before I did my post.  I am not a food scientist, nutritionist,
or dietitian.  I always seek more information.  I checked what one of
my resources on health said.  Dr. Andrew Weil discussed coconut oil
and stated that "Coconut oil is one of the few saturated fats that
doesn't come from animals, but like other saturated fats can raise
cholesterol levels and, therefore, should play only a very limited
role, if any, in our diet."  He notes that coconut oil is high in
lauric acid and contains trace amounts of caprylic acid, but feels
that the two fatty acids and their impact on health are being studied
and stresses that more and better evidence is needed.  He does
discuss palm oil  and notes that minimally processed palm oil is
better than the processed palm kernel oil.  Palm kernel oil is less
healthy.  I elected to focus on the traditional resources which were
suspect to some of you--to me they represented the accepted
guidelines at this point in time.

Lauric acid seems to be the big player in health benefits.
Monolaurin is a patented ester of lauric acid, which is a fatty acid
found in breast milk. Monolaurin contains the monoester of the fatty
acid lauric acid.  It has potential value in combating viruses and
other diseases.  Most of the studies with positive results seem to be
on animals, in laboratories, and with small groups of human beings in
the United States, have "could" or "may" in the title.  There are
recurring requests for more studies.  Population examples, as from
the Philippines, do not give information about the life span in the
population, the normal diet (vegetarians?), the smoking behaviors,
alcohol intake, and numerous other risk factors related to heart
disease.  The McGill University study is only one study--dietary
changes need more than one study to back them up before they are
made.  Other sources stress the value of coconut oil in heart disease
and other illnesses.

Summary of what listmates said:

A few responses were positive and recognized the cautionary aspects,
two responses were positive and negative--adding some additional
information.  The majority of responses related to the benefits of
coconut oil and information overlapped in some cases.  I have
condensed and merged some information.  (info=dates)  [info=my
comments, added information]

-believe that cholesterol comes from animal products, such as milk,
meat and eggs, and cannot, in fact, be found in oils which are
derived from plants
-saturated fat does not necessarily mean it contains cholesterol.
Coconut oil does not contain cholesterol or transfatty acids
-plant saturated fat is quite different from animal fat.  The
saturated fat in coconut oil contains MEDIUM chain fatty acids that
are rapidly metabolized giving instant energy and cannot be highly
refined, bleached--needs to be virgin, from the Philippines, India,
etc.
-countries, as the Philippines, where coconut oil is used the
incidence of heart disease is low
-India has a low rate of MS which is thought to be from the lauric
acid content of coconuts (54%)--the same lauric acid found in
mother's milk.
-in perfect health at 64 years of age [implied use of coconut oil,
but not stated]
-pigs lost weight when fed coconut oil
-coconut oil is good for hypothyroidism
-good cholesterol has increased to 129...my ratio is close to
nil....I do no use oil & butter in my cooking and baking
-began using Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditons.com
18 months ago....use it in my cooking, do not take it by the spoonfuls
- subscribe to www.mercola.com and his beliefs... if it works for me
I will stick to it
-use it as a cooking oil and do not consume it by the tablespoonfuls
-look further than the American Heart Association as they have
questionable connections with the food processing industry.  The food
processing industry has a financial interest in promoting domestic
processed oils and discouraging the consumption of tropical oils.
-one trusted source of information is the Weston Price Foundation as
they do not accept funding from the food industry.
-new article (11/30) sent by a listmate:  "Coco-nuts:  What was once
a nutritional pariah is now being touted as a miracle weight-loss
tool," by Elizabeth Horton, Vogue Magazine, December 2004, pages
312-315.  [Do look at pages 314 & 315--narrative ends on page 313.]

Books, suggested and recommended by listmates:
-"Good Fat"   (Note:  This book is probably "Good Fat Bad Fat: How to
Lower Your Cholesterol & Beat the Odds of a Heart Attack (1989) by
Glen C. Griffin)
-Bruce Fife's:  The Coconut Oil Miracle (September 2004)
-Mary Enig's book:  Know Your Fats:  The Complete Primer for
Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol (2000)
-Sally Fallon's book:  Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That
Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
(1999) [Note barnesnoble.com list the authors as:  Sally Fallon, Pat
Connolly, & Mary G. Enig]
-Mary Eng & Sally Fallon's book:  Eat Fat, Lose Fat: Lose Wight And
Feel Great With The Delicious, Science-based Coconut Diet {to be
published December 22, 2004)  [Note:  amazon.com lists the author as
Mary G. Enig]
-Cherie & John Calborn's book: The Coconut Diet (to be published,
January 4, 2005) [Note:  This book is listed in the new  article in
Vogue above and was not on the above books which listmates had
suggested.]

We all have many choices to make in our lives, including what we eat.
The area of fats and their metabolism in our bodies is very complex.
There is no absolute answer to the question of what or how much
saturated fat and which kinds should be in each individual's diet.
Many risk factors contribute to heart disease and most vary with
individuals.  At this time all we have guidelines.  Changes have been
made in them in recent years and more will come.  The jury is still
out on the effects of low fat and high fat diets over time.  Specific
diets, such as the coconut diet, need to be studied as well.  The
best reason for reducing the amount of animal fat in one's diet has
nothing to do with heart health--it is to lessen our exposure to
toxins as dioxin.  They are in the animal fats that we eat.

In the meantime the best approach seems to be to eat a diet with a
variety of foods--making sure to include some variety in fats--the
Omega's are still good.  Good luck with your individual choices.  As
I conclude this, I have to wonder how much time should be devoted to
these "peripheral" topics on our list when so many are trying to
manage the basic essentials of the gluten-free diet.  Yes, coconut
oil potentially relates in the areas of our immune systems and
general health--but should that be the focus of this Listserv?  Other
listserv groups exist related to the topic of low carb diets, heart
health, and even more on a variety of health related sites.
Personally I am more concerned about labeling, GF products, and where
to find products.

Betsy
Austin, Texas

P.S.  In our posts we go out of our way to assure our listmates that
we have no financial interest in the product or whatever we are
describing/recommending/testifying about.  I find it interesting that
when we get advice off of the Internet we don't notice that a product
is being promoted with the information we are receiving and/or using.
Both Dr. Weil and Dr. Mercola market products on their web sites.

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List*