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

Listmates,

COCONUT OIL, a tropical oil, is high in SATURATED FAT.  Saturated Fat
is a bad fat.  The tropical oils are used in some commercial
products.  The tropical oils add to the saturated fat content in many
products that we buy.  Palm oil and coconut oil are not commonly used
for home baking and cooking.  Coconut and coconut milk are used more
often.   Consuming coconut, coconut milk, and/or coconut oil for
healing/health benefits should consider the amount of saturated fat
in your diet.  The American Heart Association recommends selecting
fats with 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=9203  Coconut
oil has 11.8 grams in each tablespoon.  Olive oil contains 1.8 grams
in each tablespoon.
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s00e4.html

I did go through the information given in the post for 11/22 "Coconut
Oil and Healing"--marketers stress that this is an unrefined form of
coconut oil and comes from one certain type of coconut grown in the
Philippines.  I could not find a detailed nutritional analysis for
any of the products being sold.  I did find statements that coconut
oil was mostly saturated and is not a source of hydrogenated oils
(tropicaltraditions.com).  I did find the recommended dose as 3 to
3.5 tablespoons per day (mercola.com).  The ingredient being promoted
seems to be lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid.  There are
unsaturated and saturated fatty acids.  Fatty acids are discussed in
the American Heart Association's Online Guide about diet.  "Saturated
fatty acids are the main dietary culprit in raising blood
cholesterol."  The section on Fatty Acids is at:
http://www.deliciousdecisions.org/ee/wbd_acids_def.html

As with all posts each person needs to evaluate/verify information
before applying the information to his/her situation.  I will not add
any coconut oil to my pantry or medicine cabinet.  I will continue to
use coconut milk (low fat) and shredded coconut occasionally in my
cooking.  I will read labels and will give priority to buying
products made without palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil.

Betsy
Austin, Texas

Two References on Saturated Fats:

"Saturated fats are found predominantly in animal products such as
meat and dairy products, and are strongly associated with higher
cholesterol levels. Tropical oils such as palm, coconut, and coconut
butter, are also high in saturated fats."  Source:   MedlinePlus,
section on Fats.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002468.htm , click on
Saturated fats link under the 4th picture.

Fats and Cholesterol - The Good, The Bad, and The Healthy Diet
indicates that just "Eat(ing) a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet"  is
not really correct today.   "What really matters is the type of fat
in the diet.  Bad fats increase the risk for certain diseases and
good fats lower the risk."
  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats.html  Do look at
the table on the first pages identifying the types of fats and their
food sources, along with the effect of each on serum/blood
cholesterol.  A table on the percentages of the good and bad fat
content of commonly used oils appears toward the middle of the
article.

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