The Coconut Oil Miracle (5 page)

When three fatty acids of similar length are joined together by a glycerol molecule, the resulting molecule is referred to as a long-chain triglyceride (LCT), medium-chain triglyceride (MCT), or short-chain triglyceride (SCT). You will often see
medium-chain triglyceride
or
MCT
listed as an ingredient on food and supplement labels.

Both the degree of saturation and length of the carbon chain of the fatty acids determine their chemical properties and their effects on our health. The more saturated the fat and the longer the chain, the
harder the fat and the higher the fat’s melting point. Saturated fat, like that found in lard, is solid at room temperature. Polyunsaturated fat, like corn oil, is liquid at room temperature. Monounsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature, but in the refrigerator it begins to solidify slightly and becomes cloudy or semisolid.

Table 2.2
lists the most common fats found in foods. The fats found in animal tissue, as well as our own bodies, are mainly the triglycerides consisting of stearic, palmitic, and oleic acids. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fat. Stearic and palmitic acids are saturated fats. The saturated fats found in food consist of a mixture of the different types. Milk, for example, contains palmitic, myristic, stearic, lauric, butyric, caproic, caprylic, and capric acids. Each of the fatty acids exerts different effects on the body that are governed by the length of the carbon chain and its degree of unsaturation (number of double bonds).

Saturated fatty acids with up to 26 carbon atoms (C:26) and as few as 2 carbon atoms (C:2) in the chain have been identified as constituents of fats. Of these, palmitic acid (C:16) is the most common, occurring in almost all fats. Myristic (C:14) and stearic (C:18) acids are other common saturated fatty acids.

Short-chain fatty acids are relatively rare. The most common sources are vinegar and butter. Milk contains tiny amounts of short-chain fatty acids. These fats are concentrated in the making of butter and comprise about 12 percent of its total fat content. Medium-chain fatty acids are also relatively rare but found in moderate concentrations in some tropical nuts and oils.

Long-chain fatty acids are by far the most common fatty acids found in nature. They provide the most efficient or compact energy package and thus make the best storage fats in both plants and animals. Fat cells in our bodies and those of animals are almost entirely long-chained, as are the fats in plants. The vast majority of the fats in our diet are composed of long-chain fatty acids. There are only a few good natural sources of short-chain fatty acids. The best source by far is coconut oil.

Table 2.2. Carbons and Double Bonds in Fatty Acids

Coconut oil and its relatives palm and palm kernel oils are unique in that they are the best natural source of medium- and short-chain fatty acids, which give them their incredible health-promoting properties.

Palm oil contains only a very small amount of medium-chain fatty acids. Coconut and palm kernel oils are by far our richest dietary sources of MCFAs: palm kernel oil contains 58 percent MCFAs and coconut oil 64 percent. Because they are both composed predominantly of MCFAs, their effects on health are characterized by the chemical and biological properties associated with these fatty acids.

Most fats in our foods, if not used immediately as an energy source, are stored as fat tissue on our bodies. Coconut oil, being composed primarily of medium- and short-chain fatty acids, has a totally different effect on the body from that of the typical long-chain fatty acids (both saturated and unsaturated) found abundantly in meat and vegetable oils. Medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil are broken down and used predominantly for energy production and thus seldom end up as body fat or as deposits in arteries or anywhere else. They
produce energy, not fat. Medium-chain fatty acids do not have a negative effect on blood cholesterol and help protect against heart disease.

Research over the past three decades has identified free radicals as a key player in the cause and development of degenerative disease and aging. Simply put, a free radical is a renegade molecule that has lost an electron in its outer shell, leaving an unpaired electron. This creates a highly unstable and powerful molecular entity. Free radicals will quickly attack and steal an electron from a neighboring molecule. The second molecule, now with one less electron, becomes a highly reactive free radical itself and pulls an electron off yet another nearby molecule. This process continues in a destructive chain reaction that may affect hundreds and even thousands of molecules.

Once a molecule becomes a radical, its physical and chemical properties are permanently changed. When this molecule is part of a living cell, it affects the function of the entire cell. Free radicals can attack our cells, literally ripping their protective membranes apart. Sensitive cellular components like the nucleus and DNA, which carry the genetic blueprint of the cell, can be damaged, leading to cellular mutations and death.

The more free radicals attack our cells, the greater the damage and the greater the potential for serious destruction to vital organs, joints, and bodily systems. Free-radical damage has been linked to loss of tissue integrity and to physical degeneration. As cells are bombarded by free radicals, the tissues become progressively impaired. Some researchers believe that free-radical destruction is the primary cause of
aging. The older the body gets, the more damage it sustains from a lifetime accumulation of free-radical attacks.

Today some 60 or so degenerative diseases are recognized as having free-radical involvement in their cause or manifestation. Additional diseases are regularly being added to this list. Research that linked the major killer diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, to free radicals has expanded to include atherosclerosis, stroke, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, hypertension, wrinkled skin, dermatitis, arthritis, digestive problems, reproductive problems, cataracts, energy loss, diabetes, allergies, and failing memory.

We are exposed to free radicals from the pollutants in the air we breathe and from the chemical additives and toxins in the foods we eat and drink. Some free-radical reactions occur as part of the natural process of cellular metabolism. We can’t avoid all the free radicals in our environment, but we can limit them. Cigarette smoke, for example, causes free-radical reactions in the lungs. Certain foods and food additives also promote destructive free-radical reactions that affect the entire body. Limiting your exposure to these free-radical–causing substances will reduce your risk of developing a number of degenerative conditions. In this regard, the types of oil you use have a very pronounced effect on your health, because many oils promote the formation of free radicals.

When nutritionists tell us to reduce fat intake, we automatically think only of saturated fat. But the recommendation is to reduce all fats, including polyunsaturated fats. In an attempt to reduce saturated
fat, people often substitute vegetable oils for those of animal origin. Many vegetable fats, however, are no better than the animal fats we try so hard to avoid. In some cases they can be even worse! The thing that makes vegetable oils potentially harmful is the unsaturation. The double-carbon bonds in the molecule of the polyunsaturated oil are highly vulnerable to oxidation and free-radical formation.

Polyunsaturated oils become toxic when they are oxidized as the result of exposure to oxygen, heat, or light (sunlight or artificial), causing rancidity and the formation of free radicals. Free radicals deplete our antioxidant reserves and cause chemical reactions that damage tissues and cells. When oils are extracted from seeds, they are immediately exposed to oxygen, heat, and light, so the oxidation process starts before the oil even leaves the factory. By the time we buy the oil in the store it has already become rancid to some degree. The more processing an oil undergoes, the more chance it has of oxidizing. The safest vegetable oils to use are those processed at low temperatures and packaged in dark containers. Cold-pressed oils are minimally processed, so they retain most of their natural antioxidants. These antioxidants are important because they retard spoilage by slowing down oxidation and free-radical formation.

Oils are masters of deception. You can’t tell a rogue from a saint. They all pretty much look alike. The most toxic vegetable oil can appear as sweet and pure as those that are freshly extracted under ideal conditions. Jurg Loliger, Ph.D., of the Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland, says in the authoritative book
Free Radicals and Food Additives
that primary oxidation products of vegetable oils have no objectionable flavor or taste, but the secondary degradation products are generally very potent flavor modifiers and can modify the
structure of the product. So pure vegetable oil may be very rancid but give no indication of this because it may not affect its taste or smell. You can eat rancid vegetable oil and not realize it; if mixed with other substances, the free-radical reactions may cause these other substances to produce an unpleasant smell and taste.

While vegetable oils are stored in warehouses, transported in hot trucks, and sit on store shelves, they are going rancid. They are not refrigerated. They are usually bottled in clear containers where light can penetrate and create more free radicals. These oils may sit around exposed to warm temperatures and light for months before they are sold. But because pure vegetable oil does not produce any noticeable signs of rancidity, we assume it to be safe. All conventionally processed and refined vegetable oils are rancid to some extent by the time they reach the store.

To make matters worse, the vegetable oils we buy sit in our kitchen cupboards for months. And when we use them they are almost always cooked with our food. The cooking accelerates the oxidizing process, making the oil even more rancid and unhealthy. It’s ironic that people will buy cold-pressed oil at the health food store and then turn it into a health hazard by cooking with it. Studies show that diets containing heat-treated liquid corn oil were found to produce more atherosclerosis than those containing unheated corn oil. Even a small amount of heated polyunsaturated vegetable oil, especially if eaten frequently over time, will affect your health.

All vegetable oils should be sealed in airtight, opaque containers and stored in the refrigerator. While this won’t completely stop free-radical generation, it will slow it down. If you have oils that have not
been stored this way, throw them out now. Your health is more important than the few cents they cost.

The majority of vegetable oils today, even many health food store brands, are highly processed and refined. In the refining process, the oil is separated from its source with petroleum solvents and then boiled to evaporate the solvents. The oil is refined, bleached, and deodorized, which involves heating to temperatures of about 400 degrees F. Chemical preservatives are frequently added to retard oxidation.

The less processing an oil undergoes, the less harmful it is. The most natural oils are extracted from seeds by mechanical pressure and low temperatures, and without the use of chemicals. Oils derived by this process are referred to as “expeller-pressed” or “cold-pressed.” These are the only vegetable oils you should eat. But be careful; even these oils are subject to oxidation and must be packaged, stored, and used properly.

One distinct advantage that all saturated fats have over unsaturated fats (mono- and polyunsaturated fats) is that they don’t have any missing hydrogen atoms or double-bonded carbons. This means that they are not vulnerable to oxidation and free-radical formation as unsaturated fats are. Food manufacturers have known this for decades. They’ve added saturated fats (often coconut and palm kernel oils) to foods because they help prevent spoilage caused by free radicals.

Over the years the tropical oils have been replaced in most foods by hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenation is a process where an unsaturated vegetable oil is chemically altered to form a more saturated fat. Increasing the saturation makes the oil less susceptible to spoilage and is cheaper than using animal or tropical oils. Hydrogenation involves heating oils to high temperatures while bombarding them with hydrogen atoms, thus creating toxic trans fatty acids. These artificial fats are structurally different from natural fats. Our bodies can handle natural fats, but trans fatty acids have no place in our bodies and are linked to many health problems. Shortening and margarine are two hydrogenated oils that should be completely eliminated from your diet.

In the 1950s and 1960s, when saturated fat was first being associated with elevated cholesterol, researchers began looking for other potentially adverse effects caused by saturated fat. They reasoned that if excessive consumption of saturated fat increased the risk of developing heart disease, it might be associated with other health problems as well. Researchers began studying the relationship between saturated fat and cancer. What they found surprised them. When compared with other oils, it appeared that saturated fat had a
protective
effect against cancer rather than a causative one. Processed nonhydrogenated polyunsaturated oils were identified as promoting cancer, and the higher the degree of unsaturation, the greater the risk.