Is Coconut Oil Good For You?

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The effect of the saturated fat in coconut oil on cholesterol levels.

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Coconuts may not really be nuts, but they are a whole plant food. People don’t typically eat whole coconuts, though, so let’s break it down:

Coconut oil, widely touted on the internet for its health properties.

Coconut milk, which is now being used to make a variety of nondairy products.

And dried coconut flakes.

Now, none of these should be confused with coconut water, which is the fluid inside coconuts— which, interestingly, is so close in composition to human plasma that in an emergency, you can use coconut water intravenously. You can literally hook up a series of coconuts and drip them right into you. So, if you’re ever on a desert island and just happen to have some IV tubing laying around…

Anyway, coconut oil. Harmful? Harmless? Or, helpful?

In terms of what it does to our cholesterol, it is as harmful as butter.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Coconuts may not really be nuts, but they are a whole plant food. People don’t typically eat whole coconuts, though, so let’s break it down:

Coconut oil, widely touted on the internet for its health properties.

Coconut milk, which is now being used to make a variety of nondairy products.

And dried coconut flakes.

Now, none of these should be confused with coconut water, which is the fluid inside coconuts— which, interestingly, is so close in composition to human plasma that in an emergency, you can use coconut water intravenously. You can literally hook up a series of coconuts and drip them right into you. So, if you’re ever on a desert island and just happen to have some IV tubing laying around…

Anyway, coconut oil. Harmful? Harmless? Or, helpful?

In terms of what it does to our cholesterol, it is as harmful as butter.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Doctor's Note

For more on coconut oil:
Does Coconut Oil Clog Arteries?
Does Coconut Oil Cure Alzheimer’s?

Update: In 2017 and 2018, I released new coconut oil videos: Coconut Oil & the Boost in HDL “Good” CholesterolWhat About Coconuts, Coconut Milk & Coconut Oil MCTs?, and Coconut Oil & Abdominal Fat. See all of my coconut oil videos on the topic page.

For further context, see my associated blog posts: Stool Size and Breast Cancer Risk and Soy milk: shake it up!

If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here. Read our important information about translations here.

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