appetizers, butter-based dishes, and a finale of cheese for dessert, yet they have a
longer lifespan than many other people in the world. As you can see, the French
paradox isn’t a paradox at all. Their low risk for heart disease is related to the
fact that saturated fats do not oxidize when they’re heated. On the other hand,
the polyunsaturated oils we consume in massive amounts in this country are
likely to damage cholesterol by creating free radicals and causing plaque
ruptures in the arteries. More heart attacks are related to plaque ruptures than
stenosis.
Saturated fat is classified as small chain, medium chain, and long chain,
depending upon the length of the fat molecule. When you eat small-and
medium-chain saturated fats in butter and coconut, your body uses most of the
fat for energy rather than storing it. For this reason, eating butter and coconut do
not impact your cholesterol level in any negative way. Plant sources of saturated
fat, such as coconut and palm kernel oil, have been used in cooking for hundreds
of years. They are very stable when heated and do not oxidize easily. In addition,
they do not contain any dangerous trans fats or added chemicals when extracted.
Coconut
Coconut was used extensively by the food industry in the United States before it
was replaced with hydrogenated fats (thanks to the edible oil industry and its
lobbyists). Coconut is the preferred cooking fat in many Asian countries,
including Thailand and Sri Lanka. In fact, coconut makes up nearly 50 percent
of the calories in the Sri Lankan diet (Sri Lankans eat an average of about 120
coconuts per person per year). Given that coconut is 90 percent saturated fat,
you’d expect heart disease to be rampant. Yet the incidence of heart disease in
Sri Lanka, according to the WHO, is the lowest in the world: 1 in 1,000.
Thailand, where coconuts are also a huge part of the daily diet, also has a very
low incidence of heart disease.
Coconut is mostly made of a medium-chain triglyceride called lauric acid, a
saturated fat that the body cannot make or store. It is used for energy and
actually can speed up your metabolism. This can help your body burn calories
more efficiently and can contribute to weight loss. However, research on weight
loss is contradictory on the topic. Some studies have shown fat loss, and others
failed to show any weight change. But there is one thing for sure: coconut is a
safe and healthy fat.
In addition, the lauric acid present in coconut changes in the body into
monolaurin, which has antimicrobial properties. The antimicrobial activity helps
the body fight infection from bacteria to viruses, including herpes and HIV.