The study abstracted below seems to indicate that (in rats fed an
otherwise ordinary, Standard Rat Diet) butterfat causes worse lipid
profile than coconut oil when consumed over a period of time.

I have seen other studies, the gist of which is the coconut oil ain't
bad, in fact is good f'r you.
--Richard


Serum lipids, lipid peroxidation and glutathione peroxidase activity in
rats on long-term feeding with coconut
oil or butterfat (ghee)

Ima Nirwana Soelaiman MBBS, PhD, Zainuddin Merican PhD, Jamaludin
Mohamed PhD and Khalid Bin Abdul Kadir MBBS, PhD, FRACP

Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1996) Volume 5, Number 4:
244-248

Key words: coconut oil, butterfat, ghee, serum lipids, lipid
peroxidation, glutathione peroxidase, rats

We determined the relative atherogenicity of two saturated fats by
studying their effects on lipid peroxidation (LP), by way of
malonaldehyde (MDA) and conjugated dienes (CD)
and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity in serum, liver and heart;
and on serum lipid profile after 4 months and 9 months of feeding. Male
Rattus norwegicus rats were fed a
basal diet (control) or basal diet fortified with 20% weight/weight
butterfat (ghee) (BF) or coconut oil (CO). Serum
high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-chol) and
HDL-chol:LDL-chol ratio was lower in the BF group compared to CO after
both feeding periods. Conjugated dienes (CDs) were higher in the serum
and liver after 4 months, and
heart after 9 months, of the rats fed BF compared to CO. Serum
low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-chol) was higher, but CD were
lower at 9 months than at 4 months
feeding for all three groups. Liver and heart MDA and CD were higher in
both groups after 9 months compared to 4 months. Liver GSHPx activity
was higher after 9 months
compared to 4 months in the BF group. Heart GSHPx activity was lower
after 9 months compared to 4 months for both BF and CO groups. In
conclusion, BF is potentially more
atherogenic than CO in terms of serum lipids and LP. The unfavourable
responses in serum lipids, with the exception of triglycerides, and LP
were exaggerated with the longer
duration of feeding with both oils.