Here’s our nutritionist Shane’s view on the latest news about Coconut oil.

Coconut oil has been getting a little more attention in the media recently.

You may have seen a few more articles popping up over recent days/weeks…

I just wanted to get a post up about this, it’s important we know what information we are exposed to is worth ‘worrying’ about or not.

Saturated fats have been linked with an increase in ‘bad’ cholesterols, which essentially cause a build up of plaque on the inner walls of your arteries, increases blood pressure, and a variety of other health issues.

Coconut oil is high in saturated fats, higher than many other fats like butter for example,

But does this mean that it’s ‘worse’ for you? That it’s actually ‘BAD’??!

Sounds scary!

But in my opinion the fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as bad or good foods.

Only foods we can consume more or less of without health risks.

Using coconut oil instead of rapeseed oil for cooking is going to mean that you will hit your recommended intake amounts of saturated fats quicker for example.

But the coconut oil will only have a negative effect if you’re above the recommended intake threshold, and also above this consistently over time!

Men = 30g sat fats per day
Women = 20g Sat fats per day
On the whole, I wouldn’t worry at all, and I would recommend a variety of fats and cooking oils throughout the week.

Personally, I use sesame oils in stir fry’s, extra virgin olive oil for salads and dressings (not cooking) and rapeseed oil for most other cooking.

A variety of oils will reduce the likelihood of spiking over that threshold.

Hope that helps you in your decision making when it comes to the oils!!

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