Tag Archive for: American Heart Association

Why I’ll Keep Using Coconut Oil

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The research that the authors of the American Heart Association Presidential Advisory on Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease, specifically on coconut oil, seems to be in conflict. The authors suggested coconut oil is bad for us, but the research studies they used didn’t really seem to confirm that conclusion. What gives?

The criteria that the Advisory’s panel used were limited in scope. There’s no evidence that the regular use of coconut oil contributes to CVD, even in cultures that regularly use coconut oil. They used a part-equals-whole logic. As they reported, there were significant increases in LDL-cholesterol when subjects increased coconut oil in their diet in the studies they cited. Because a high LDL-cholesterol level contributes to CVD, therefore coconut oil must contribute to CVD. That’s why the Panel does not recommend its use.

I understand what they said. The data they used supported their conclusion. However, they used a very narrow use of the data on coconut oil to support their recommendation.

They are correct when they state that coconut oil is high in saturated fat; in fact, it has the highest percentage of saturated fat of all fats and oils including lard and butter. But it also has a very high percentage of short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids as opposed to longer chain fatty acids. The advantage is that short- and medium-chain fatty acids can by-pass the liver and be used directly to produce energy in most organs of the body, which makes coconut oil an option for getting energy quickly.

Let’s examine the statement that LDL cholesterol increased when subjects were taking coconut oil (1). In one study, LDL rose from 166 to 171 mg/dl in men and 155 to 156 in women (2). In another study, LDL rose from 118 to 128 mg/dl in a study of men and women (3). These were studies that lasted six weeks and five weeks respectively. There’s no evidence it would continue to rise had the subjects continued to use coconut oil. An increase of 3–6% in LDL-cholesterol wasn’t translated into a risk for CVD. Statistically significant? Yes. Meaningful in the real world? No.

The panel did not recommend coconut oil because it has saturated fat and has no other health benefits, but that point is debatable. Research on other benefits of coconut oil is really just beginning. Too many health gurus are overstating the benefits, especially when it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, and that creates the hype and most likely, the reason the Panel singled out coconut oil to examine more closely.

 

The Bottom Line

The Panel suggested we keep fat intake to no more than 30% of dietary intake; of that, only 10% should be saturated fat. They recommend that we substitute poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats and oils for saturated fat. That’s not really controversial and it’s a good idea.

What they did not say was that we couldn’t use coconut oil as one of our sources of saturated fat. If we eat 2,000 calories per day, that would mean up to 200 calories per day can come from saturated fat; that’s about two tablespoons per day, and that seems to be a reasonable source of saturated fat consistent with their recommendation.

Here’s the real bottom line: if you’re going to use a sat fat as a source of immediate energy, coconut oil is a healthier choice than lard or butter. And that’s why I use coconut oil; I don’t use a lot, but it works for me and makes sense to me as a scientist.

My recommendations never change. Eat less. Eat better. Move more. And in my opinion, using coconut oil is eating better.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference:
1. Circulation. 2017;135:00–00. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000510
2. J Lipid Res. 1995;36:1787–1795.
3. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;94:1451–1457

 

Coconut Oil Research vs. the AHA

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For this memo, I’ll print conclusions from the papers cited in the American Heart Association Presidential Advisory on Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease and then print what the authors wrote about the research studies they used to assess coconut oil (1). I’ll confess, it’s hard to understand how they reached some of these conclusions.

The study:
The findings suggest that, in certain circumstances, coconut oil might be a useful alternative to butter and hydrogenated vegetable fats (2).

AHA:
“A carefully controlled experiment compared the effects of coconut oil, butter, and safflower oil supplying polyunsaturated linoleic acid. Both butter and coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol compared with safflower oil, butter more than coconut oil.”


The study:
In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that it may be premature to judge SFA-rich diets as contributing to CVD risk solely on the basis of their SFA (saturated fatty acid) content.

AHA:
“Another carefully controlled experiment found that coconut oil significantly increased LDL cholesterol compared with olive oil (3).”


The study:
There was no evidence that coconut oil acted consistently different from other saturated fats in terms of its effects on blood lipids and lipoproteins.

AHA:
“A recent systematic review found seven controlled trials, including the two just mentioned, that compared coconut oil with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils. Coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol in all seven of these trials, significantly in six of them.”

The Advisory’s conclusion: “Because coconut oil increases LDL cholesterol, a cause of CVD, and has no known offsetting favorable effects, we advise against the use of coconut oil.”

Significantly. That’s a meaningful word in statistics but how about in the real world? I’ll finish this up in Saturday’s memo.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

References:
1. Circulation. 2017;135:00–00. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000510
2. J Lipid Res. 1995;36:1787–1795.
3. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;94:1451–1457
4. Nutr Rev. 2016;74:267–280.

 

Coconut Oil: Healthy or Not?

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The headlines screamed “Coconut Oil is Alarmingly High in Saturated Fats!” News post after news post talked about how Americans have been sold a bill of goods on the health benefits of coconut oil. Now the American Heart Association says it’s harmful. They published a Presidential Advisory on Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease, a review paper to examine one issue: does saturated fat contribute to cardiovascular disease? They state that both the public and healthcare professionals are confused over this issue. The reasons are complex but primarily due to recent research publications that questioned the role saturated fat plays in the development of CVD.

The paper is 19 pages long with six pages of references. I’m not going to cover the entire paper because for the most part, there’s nothing new in what they’ve said. I’m only going to address a single issue: coconut oil. They begin the section by citing a New York Times survey that looked at which foods nutritionists consider healthy and what a group of registered voters consider healthy; nutritionists say coconut oil is not healthy while the public believes it is. The authors speculate that this is the result of the marketing of coconut oil in the popular press. Evidently they don’t spend much time on the Internet, because that’s where the bulk of claims for coconut oil are made.

I’m a fan of coconut oil for one primary reason (other than the fact that I love coconut): it contains short- and medium-chain fatty acids that can by-pass the liver and be used as energy for most organs. Is it still a saturated fat? Absolutely. Does it cause an increase in your risk of CVD? I’ll review their research on Thursday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: Circulation. 2017;135:00–00. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000510

 

Why You Should Keep Moving

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When I read the online articles published with the science-by-headline titles “Exercise Isn’t Enough,” it really got to me. If you’re in the category of following the recommended 30 to 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise five days a week, based on these articles it really doesn’t do you any good if you sit too much the rest of the day. What evidence did they provide?

The articles cited the results of several studies that had subjects fill out questionnaires about their daily activity with follow-ups to find out who got sick and . . .

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Does Sitting Cancel Out Exercise?

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This past Friday, I ran 4.5 miles on a great running and biking trail in Grand Rapids; it was a great morning and with the canopy of trees, it was cooler than it would have been in the sun. The rest of the day, I recorded my radio show, read, wrote, and finished off the day watching some home improvement shows. I typically spend more than eight hours sitting while I do what I do.

Unfortunately, that run won’t reduce my risk of dying from cardiovascular disease—not based on the headlines for a scientific statement just released . . .

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Optimism and Heart Health

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Every day, I check the health headlines to see the latest research in medicine, nutrition, and fitness. Recently an intriguing headline said “Optimistic People Have Healthier Hearts”; I’ve seen that type of statement before and it makes sense. The problem is that pencil and paper tests on mental health and attitude and the occurrence of heart disease are not metrics based on hard numbers like blood pressure, but I think this study did it right.

In 2000, researchers began the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) of over 6,000 subjects aged 52–84. Data were collected for 11 . . .

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