Coconut Oil and Saturated Fat

[Rod Grundy]

Hi Gillian,

Thanks for posting such an interesting question. I fully understand your confusion with the issue of saturated fat in the diet as there seems to have been a shift in opinions recently and some sources are saying that saturated fat is not harmful to health.

First things first what are the current recommended levels for saturated fat consumption? The government currently recommends that an average man should consume no more than 30g of saturated fat per day and an average woman should consume no more than 20g. My personal opinion is that everybody should stick to these guidelines as they are based on years of scientific study; an excess of saturated fat in the diet has been proven to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain forms of cancer.

Foods high in saturated fats include the following:

• Fatty cuts of meat.
  Meat products including: bacon, sausages and pies.
  Butter, lard and ghee
  Cheese - especially hard cheese
  Cream, soured cream and ice cream
  Biscuits, cakes and pastries

So that's saturated fat out of the way but what about "good fats"? Well first of all what are "good fats". Well good fats is a catch all term for unsaturated fats.

The following foods are good sources of unsaturated fats:

• Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines
  nuts and seeds
  sunflower and olive oil

So where do good fats fit into the equation? Well good fats have been scientifically proven to benefit health and it is recommended to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats; I totally agree with this approach.

So all well and good but where do the recent studies fit in, claiming that saturated fat is not as harmful to health as first thought. Well the first thing to say is whilst they are also based on scientific studies, they do not have the same volume of data as all of the studies which show that saturated fat is bad for you. Also do they take into account that people's diets have changed massively in recent years; we eat far more processed foods than say 20 years ago. In addition I think that a lot of people cut back on saturated fat and replaced it with carbohydrate-rich food such as bread, rice, potatoes and pasta rather than replacing with foods rich in unsaturated fats; carbohydrates in excess will cause weight gain and people tend to consume more of them as they are less satisfying than foods rich in fat.

So until there are more scientific studies showing that saturated fat is not harmful I would recommend recommend that you stick to the guidelines for daily saturated fat consumption (30g for men, 20g for women) and increase your intake of unsaturated or "good" fats.

Finally, Coconut oil which is being touted as a healthy fat. Coconut oil contains approximately 93g of saturated fat per 100g, full fat butter by comparison has approximately 50g of saturated fat per 100g. Unlike butter Coconut oil is cholesterol free and contains certain fatty acids, in particular lauric acid, which are claimed to reduce blood cholesterol. I have not seen any scientific studies backing up claims that coconut oil can reduce cholesterol so I would recommend consuming coconut oil in moderation and I would stick to using olive oil or sunflower oil for cooking.

I hope this helps, I have tried to keep this as brief as possible, but if you need any further information please get in touch.

Best wishes,

Rod.