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They are not the evil fats that a few but noisy and influential people are preaching out there.
As a result, many were led to believe (more like "brainwashed") that saturated tropical oils like coconut oil are bad for you, and monounsaturated/polyunsaturated fats like canola and soybean oils are the best. Yeah right...
Saturated dietary fats have many valuable roles in your body's chemistry such as:
- Protect your liver from toxins
- Lower Lp(a), a substance in your blood that suggests predisposition to heart disease
- Help strengthen your bones
- Boost your immune system
- ... many more ...
Types of Fats
A fatty acid is classified as "saturated" if two (maximum) hydrogen atoms are attached to each carbon atom in its chain. This type of fatty acid is called a "saturated-fat" because it's loaded or saturated with hydrogen.
Unlike saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats have several missing hydrogen atoms which make them extremely sensitive to oxidation (getting rancid) and free-radical formation. The food industry have known this unsaturated fat dilemma for a long time which is why they have been hydrogenating (make more saturated) cheap unsaturated vegetable oils ever since.
In contrast, highly saturated organic virgin coconut oil is so stable and resistant, it can stay fresh for at least three years even without refrigeration.
Please visit types of fats for a clearer understanding on how the saturation of a fat or lack of it affects your health.
Greatest Saturated Fat
Because they are durable enough to withstand normal cooking temperatures, saturated fatty acids are what mainly constitute healthy cooking oils. That's a fact!
Coconut oil is the most saturated of all fats and has "much more" health benefits than others, both saturated and unsaturated. That's because aside from being 92% saturated, coconut oil is also 67% Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA).
98-100% of all the fats you consume, including saturated animal fats, consist entirely of long chain fatty acids (LCFA). These bigger fat molecules are hard to digest, and the source of the fat that collects in your fat cells and clogs your artery walls.
MCFAs generously present in coconut oil are so easy to digest that they seldom get stored as body fat. MCFA-packed coconut oil is mainly used to produce energy, not body fat.
Thanks to MCFAs, coconut oil possesses potent antimicrobial properties capable of wiping out even the dreaded AIDS and SARS viruses. Coconut oil is so deadly to many viruses, bacteria, fungi and other microbes, yet so safe for human consumption.
REFERENCES:
A. A. Nanji, et al. Gastroenterology 109(2) (August 1995):547-554; Y. S. Cha and D. S. Sachan, J Am Coll Nutr 13(4) (August 1994): 338-343; H. L. Hargrove, et al., FASEB Journal, Meeting Abstracts 204.1 (March 1999):A222.
Dahlen, G. H., et al., Journal Internal Medicine 244(5) (November 1998): 417-424; Khosla, P. and Hayes, K. C., Journal American College Nutrition 15 (1996):325-339; Clevidence, B. A., et al., Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis Vascular Biology 17 (1997): 1657-1661.
Watkins, B. A., et al. Importance of vitamin E in bone formation and in chrondrocyte function, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, AOCS Proceedings, 1996
Sutter, F., et al. Comparative evaluation of rumen-protected fat, coconut oil and various oilseeds supplemented to fattening bulls. 1. Effects on growth, carcass and meat quality. Arch. Tierernahr. 2000;53(1):1-23.
Chowhan, G. S., et al. Treatment of Tapeworm infestation by coconut (Cocos nucifera) preparations. Journal Association Physicians India 1985;33:207.
Crouch, A. A., et al. Effect of human milk and infant milk formulae on adherence of Giardia intestinalis. Transactions Royal Society Tropical Medicine Hygiene 1991;85:617.
PLEASE SEE REFERENCE NUMBERS 2-6, 13-27, 31, 32, 80 FOR MORE.
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