Coconut Oil… Fact or Fad?

By Mariah  Haddad

 There are hundreds of ways to use coconut oil, with more being discovered each day.

(Photo: Mariah Haddad)

With popular celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie reportedly using coconut oil daily, the natural beauty product is hard to ignore.

Coconut oil comes from the flesh of a mature coconut. According to CoconutOilPost.com, there are two different types of oil you can purchase: the industrially manufactured oil that comes from copra, the low-grade, dried flesh of the coconut, or “Cold Pressed Virgin Certified Organic” coconut oil. The latter is recommended.

Cold pressed, virgin, and certified organic are all important when it comes to choosing your oil. Cold pressed is the term associated with the low temperatures used to dry the coconut naturally. Virgin oil ensures that your oil has come directly from the coconut and has not been refined, bleached or deodorized.  Organic coconut oil (is) made from coconuts grown without using artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemical additives during the growing process.

NiuLife, a coconut oil distributer for over 20 years, states, “The Oil of Life” benefits your metabolism, weight loss, heart health, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, reverses aging, and it even good for your pets.

There are hundreds of ways to use coconut oil, with more being discovered each day. A stable cooking oil, substituting coconut oil in for your polyunsaturated fatty oils is a common way to consume it. Since the oil is a solid at room temperature, it may also be used in place of butter or margarine for a bread spread. 

Not everyone stands behind the coconut oil trend. Dr. Carol DeNysschen, associate professor and chair of the Department of Health and Nutrition & Dietetics at (SUNY) Buffalo State does not recommend using coconut oil daily.

“First, 92 percent of its fat is saturated,” she said. “That makes coconut oil far more saturated than most other oils and fats. Olive and soybean oils, for example, are about 15 percent saturated, while beef fat is about 50 percent saturated and butter is 63 percent saturated.” Only palm kernel oil, at 82 percent saturated, rivals coconut oil.” she said.

“All those saturated chemical bonds explain why coconut oil is solid at room temperature and doesn't go rancid quickly,” DeNysschen said. “That makes it attractive to many candy makers, who use it in chocolate, yogurt, and other coatings that don’t melt until they hit your mouth. It's also why some vegans—who eat no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy foods—use it as a butter substitute.”

Tara Peters, a 23-year-old Canisius College graduate, disagrees.

“Oil pulling makes me feel like I just went to the dentist,” she said. “I love the way it tastes in my meals and the way it feels on my skin. I even use it daily as chap stick.” Peters pulled out a pocket size tin of coconut oil from her handbag. “Oh, and it is great for split ends on your hair.”