Coco-I'm-a-nut

So one of those things I feel I must share is information about fats and diet and saturated fats and heart health. It stems from my dad having a heart attack over a year ago and my eyes being opened to the world of the AHA (American Heart Association) from the eyes of a patient/patient's family vs my previous view as a physician.

But that's a story for another day...all I really want to post about now is coconut oil. I love this stuff! It's a saturated fat and it's a medium chain triglyceride. If you simply Google "medium chain triglyceride" you will find a WEALTH of information. The best thing I can tell you about MCTs is they don't require bile to emulsify them (yay if you don't have a gallbladder!), and they diffuse into the blood directly, which means the cells in your digestive tract don't have to work to absorb them and they don't have to be "packaged" as HDL or LDLs! They are instant energy and not going to be stored as excess fat in most cases. It can actually lead to weight LOSS!

In particular, I am amazed at the reaction to "saturated fats"...say this phrase to any Joe Schmo and watch the facial expressions of horror begin! Ask Joe why he reacts negatively and he will usually not be able to give you a good reason other than "they say they're bad."

Here's a really good description of saturated fats. Even though it's a prostate page, the definitions and descriptions are very well done, even for the lay-person (I think...).

So back to the coconut oil. This stuff is awesome. No taste or smell of coconut. Great to cook with and stands up to heat very well. IMHO healthier than olive oil. And you should taste the brownies, chicken, fish, pasta, green beans, etc with a little bit of this stuff drizzled over, cooked in, or made with!! People actually "take" this stuff a spoonful at a time (not me) as a supplement.

Oh, and take a look at lauric acid...one of the fatty acids that are part of coconut oil. AMAZING benefits with that stuff too!!

This is by no means a complete description of this stuff. I just have to get some thoughts started...to either start conversations or remind me to come back and post more later.