How to Be a Conscious Eater

18

THE OLIVE OIL VS.

COCONUT OIL SHOWDOWN

A

rguably the two most top-of-mind cooking oils are olive

and coconut. Here’s the gist of why olive is the winner.

WHY OLIVE OIL?

Thanks to plenty of scientific research, we know that olive oil

has protective effects against a vast array of diseases and even

the overall risk of premature death. It has among the high-

est percentages of monounsaturated fats of any cooking fat,

along with antioxidants in the extra-virgin oil. Olive oil has a

high enough smoke point to be useful in everyday cooking and

baking and is low on the list of cooking fats carrying social or

environmental baggage.

WHY NOT COCONUT OIL?

Compared with a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of coco-

nut oil contains about six times the amount of saturated fat.

Although some research has linked the main type of satu-

rated fatty acid in coconut oil, lauric acid, to increased levels of

HDL, or “good” cholesterol, it still appears to raise LDL, or “bad”

cholesterol.

Proponents of coconut oil point out that it is rich in phyto-

chemicals that have healthful antioxidant properties. Although

it’s true that extra-virgin coconut oil, like extra-virgin olive oil,

contains phytochemicals, most of the coconut oil on the mar-

ket is refined and provides few of those antioxidants. Even so,

the high sat-fat content would far outweigh any benefit of the

antioxidants.

66 how to be a Conscious Eater