A Harvard University professor recently made the outrageous claim that coconut oil is “pure poison.” Professor of Epidemiology Karin Michels said in a lecture at Germany’s University of Freiburg that coconut oil is not only “pure poison,” but it’s also “one of the worst things you can eat.” She said the problem is the oil’s saturated fatty acid content, which she believes can raise people’s levels of bad LDL cholesterol.
According to the American Heart Association, coconut oil is around 82 percent saturated fat. The group, which is heavily funded by pharmaceutical firms, has also said that coconut oil is bad for your heart – and what it’s really bad for is Big Pharma’s bottom line as its many benefits help people avoid getting sick. This is the same group that spent so many years telling heart attack sufferers that they could eat all the sugar and sweeteners they wanted as long as they avoided all fats.
Homeopathic practitioner and radio host Robert Scott Bell, speaking in a clip on The Robert Scott Bell Show, which can be viewed on Brighteon.com, pointed out just how ridiculous her statement was. He asked: “If coconut oil is pure poison, what does that make vaccines?”
He said that saturated fats are not the enemy. They don’t clog arteries or cause heart disease; instead, it’s the inflammation that precedes it that is problematic – and coconut oil can actually help to fight inflammation. Bell feels trans fats like margarine are the real problem; hydrogenated oils causes inflammation.
Even Dr. Michels’ colleagues take a different view. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition Dr. Walter C. Willett told CNN: "Coconut oil is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum in terms of types of fats. It's probably better than partially hydrogenated oils, [which are] high in trans fats, but not as good as the more unsaturated plant oils that have proven health benefits…”
It’s also worth noting that coconut oil raises HDL or good cholesterol, particularly when it replaces carbohydrates in the diet. It is also believed to reduce neurological degradation and the severity of dementia.
It’s hard to take Dr. Michels’ comments seriously. In lots of cultures around the world, coconut oil has been a culinary staple for thousands of years. How could they still be around if their diet was based on something so dangerous?
The health value of saturated fats might still be a topic of debate in some circles, but that doesn’t change the fact that coconut oil is a beneficial food, not a poison. Putting coconut oil in the same category as cyanide is completely insane – there is simply no other way to describe it.
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