Coconut oil?!

[Carol.hope]

R.B., would you please look at this and tell us what you think? Thanks for your articles. For those of us recovering from chemo brain, a few sentences in simple language are helpful, too. Thank you! - Carol

From: http://www.mercola.com/products/coconut_oil.htm

And polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to use in cooking. Omega-6 oils are especially prone to this because of all the double bonds they have which are highly susceptible to heat damage.

Why?

Reason #1: Most people believe that frying creates trans fats. That is not the major problem; although some are created, they are relatively minor. There are FAR more toxic chemicals produced by frying omega-6 oils than trans fats.

Frying destroys the antioxidants in oils and as such oxidizes the oils and causes cross-linking, cyclization, double-bond shifts, fragmentation and polymerization of oils that cause far more damage than trans fats.

Reason #2: They contribute to the overabundance of omega-6 fats in your diet, and the imbalance of the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. As you know from my extensive writing on this subject, excessive omega-6 fats contribute to many chronic diseases and are essentially a prescription for poor health.

There is only one oil that is stable enough to resist heat-induced damage, while it also helps you prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol and even lose weight -- coconut oil.

So, whenever you need an oil to cook with, use coconut oil instead of butter, olive oil, vegetable oil or any other type of oil called for in recipes.

Curiously, coconut oil contains the most saturated fat of all edible oils. We continue to be inundated by media portrayals of saturated fats as dangerous, but now you know better ...

[R.B.]

I would not regard my self as an expert. I am just trying to sumarise and regurgitate what I read with odd occasional questions and thought of my own.

I am convinced a very great deal more reserch is required as a matter of ugrency on trans fats, and the omega three six balance and their impacts on disease.

Omega six - in essence I agree please see omega three six posts on this site.


High temparature cooking

Production of trans fats. High temperatures are reported as producing trans fats. I have not looked for, or at trials that give specific figures for particular lengths temperatures etc. A chip pan is clearly going to be more of an issue than an in and out the pan use once.

There are a huge number of unanswered questions on trans fats. The Danes? felt sufficiently worried to have made big efforts to very significantly reduce them in processed foods.

Trans fats MAY interefere in the pathway that makes the longer chain fats EPA and DHA etc according to trials which is serious. The body is reported as incorporating trans into membranes etc. Whether it knows what to do with them is another question as the body may not have seen them before. My view is why take the risk (margerines etc)

BUT

What ever you choose to use to cook in why use seed and nut oils that contain high levels of omega six. So irrespective of what heat does to them just dont use them if you are trying to balance omega threes and sixes. And the exception flax why risk damaging the valuable omega threes.


Coconut

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-B00001-01c224P.html

I used coconut for a while. It has a good flavour. In nutrirtional terms the body can make all fats except the essential fats omega three and six which are not present in coconut oil (except in small amount see link). So as far as fats go in theory it should not add to what you can make in terms of main fats.

IF you must cook with fats it is an include on the choice list.

I have not looked in sufficient depth to argue coconut v olive v butter or ghee, or thought about how they are used in cooking terms etc to express an opinion as to which is better. They all have different properties ups and downs.

The little I have seen of this site it is a useful reseach tool and well written.

My postion would be ideally don't cook with fats except in the most minimal amounts if you must. For heavy duty frying etc IF chips etc are a must then lard, coconut etc then come into the frame, but large amounts of saturates have been associated with heart conditions, and increasing fat consumption seems to be bad news, above the required minimum. I have not specifically looked at coconut. Any issues with it in heart terms etc may be more about what it is consumed with omega sixes, or without omega threes than coconut fat itself. But I simply have not read enough to come to a definative conlusion on cocnut and heart conditions etc.


IF you want to use a small amount of virgin olive or tiny amount of butter etc add after cooking - {both of which have consituents reported as benificial to BC to some extent CLAs (for olive oil see olive oil posts a subject on its own)}.

So why not use your limited allocation on fish/fish oil, virgin olive, a hint of butter (which contains CLA) and a hint of coconut for a change.

I am sorry I cannot be more precise, but I have not specifically looked at the impact of cooking as my personal postion would be per the previous sentence - which means casserole type cooking for minimum time required, conservation of goodness etc.

Please do talk to youe medical advisors re significant dietary change.

There are no definative answers. It is a case of do your reading and make your chioce Im afraid.

Thanks for the post.

RB

[Carol.hope]

Thank you, R.B. I have read most of your posts on the Omega 3:6 ratios and am reading Smart Fats, at your suggestion. Sometimes I understand better than other times, as my brain feels overloaded quite a bit these days. It does seem like this is at the root of so many health issues, including cancer.

I have been using only olive oil, after reading so many articles on its benefits. I fry hardly anything, but a use small amount for eggs, to keep them from sticking to the cast iron pan (no Teflon!). I thought coconut oil was bad (because it's saturated). But I do have a nagging pre-chemo memory that heat changes everything. So maybe I should cook with coconut oil?! Also, I lost weight through chemo and need to gain a few pounds, so that's not a problem for me, which it might be for others who gained weight on chemo (isn't that interesting, that some gain and some lose?).

I do take a spoonful of Carlson's Cod Liver Oil every day. It's so hard to know what's enough, what's best, what's healthiest. I get guidance from my Naturopath, and I share articles with her, too. Who could keep up with it all? The MDs don't even acknowledge this stuff, until there's a double-blind study. I try to use what I can from many approaches/disciplines.

Thanks for your efforts to educate us. You do remind us lots that you're not an expert, but since you research this area, you are well-informed and help the rest of us (when we can understand it!).
- Carol

[CLTann]

The merit of having high omega 3/omega 6 ration has been well expounded by our resident adviser, R.B. As to the use of coconut oil, I am very much against it because of its high melting point. As a yardstick in judging the suitability of any oil/fat for body consumption, we should always stay away from those that are solid at room temperature. Higher melting fats creat more solid deposit in our veins. While it is true that saturated fats are more oxidation resistant, the other properties of coconut are just too horrible.

Ann

[R.B.]

Carol

With all the caveats because the trials have not been done, the extent of opinions, the discussion, the complexity, my simple observations based on my reading would be

2 grams of DHA minimum a day which equates to about 5 TPS of a quality cod or fish oil (which will supply EPA DHA and a mix of other fats including omega nines)(or vegetarian DHA EPA alternative)

There are arguments for taking double that or more at least till you get your body fats balanced out - see posts of Greek Diet comparing lower and higher doses. (But you MUST talk to your medical advisor as fats are very powerful and there are limited but serious side effects with omega threes for some due to reduction in clotting etc.)

Watch the sixes like a hawk and make every effort to more or less balance with omega threes. Use the links to look up fat contents if you are not sure. Look at all labels - dried fruit, olives in oil, "health foods" etc omega high omega six oils are everywhere.

For salads low temp fast cooking olive but better added after cooking or at end. A hint of butter now and then if you like.

Include some antioxidants to protect the omega threes etc - there are suggestions they work better with antioxidants (but again please check with advisors)

Make sure you are getting adequate selenium as low selenium is reported as tipping the fat lengthening to omega six.

Try and ensure your digestion is working well. Omega threes will help with IBS etc. but you may need to look at cutting out likely antagonists, grain, milk products, and one author suggests cut out complex sugars (Elaine Gottschall breaking the viscous cycle).

Include flax seed or oil to ensure a supply of ALA 18:3 n3 (see posts on flax and flaxseed as to phyto-oestrogens)

And nuts mixed in moderation full of good things but generally high in sixes.

GLA fro me the jurys out. For the specific group who cannot make long chain sixes and other specialist complaints it is reported as of benifit, but I cannot get excited on what I have seen as I do about the generality of the threes and sixes. Evening primrose etc are high in sixes as well as GLA so if you do take please factor that in.

Apart from that as wide a diet as possible fresh and whatever sort meets the budget, different herbal teas. Maybe a good green powder with digestive enzymes, Lactobaccillus lots of herbs etc, and personal choice as to Coq10, Alpha Lipoic acid, and things that work at a cellular level, etc and antioxidants. There are some interesting look products but it is a matter of budget Lots of greens (roughage), Highly coloured fruit and veg, fish varies but including oily, mixed ground herbs and spices, nuts in moderation and what ever else you feel happy with preferable from whole food.

Whey protein has been shown to be benificial and is a good source of protein, branched chain aminos etc which sports people and body builders use, can be added to juiced vegetables (addback some of waste as fibre and to get additional benifit).

My latest "discovery" is sea weed which is actually delicious, and should be theory be a good source of micro minerals etc. It comes as herbs, spagetti shaped, chopped into powder, flat sheets it is delicious as an extra vegetable in a casserole, different flavours and textures. This is a UK site but there must be vendors all over the place.

http://www.seaveg.co.uk/ And lots of interesting ideas for those who enjoy experimenting with food.

There are lots of books on diet - The Omega Diet - Cracking the Metabolic Code - The Zone Inflamation Diet - Dr Gaynors Cancer Prevention Program are ones that stuck in my mind.

My impression is that it is important not to get too hung up on a particular food source as many have not been investigated yet becuase they are no sufficiently "sexy" to market e.g. cabbage. Button mushrooms show aromatase inhibition for example. My intuition is that variety is important too.

Again please do discuss significant dietary changes particular supplements with your onc.

If you want to go armed with trials or check things for yourself this is a useful resource. http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/
You will find a surpring number of trials on omegas threes DHA etc 14,000 plus, and some of them double blind. Many say this could be signficant and helpful more reserch required but it seems to stop there. I suppose no money to be made - no funding - human nature . Unless the research is BOTH and on a large enough scale AND based on body tissue samples as well as asking people waht they ate it is inherently unreliable. Many of the big trials are based on what did you eat and paying people to participate - unsurprisingly the results of these trial often contradict the more rigorous trials looking at tissue samples as well - the cry arises it makes no difference which if you are a drugs company with an investment of millions to intervene in the same pathways may be a welcome sound. Until governments get involved and fund some serious large scale research using tissue samples and relating them to outcomes not much will change. Cynical I'm afraid - but based on comments from students that they lied in paid dietary trials to remain on the trial - and observation of human nature, me included.

Finally if there is a lot you dont understand dont worry there is lots I don't understand and I have been reading about it for something like a year.

RB