As we strive to follow the exhortations to eat a healthy diet, a lot of the uncertainty and anxiety about how to do that centers on the amount and type of fat we consume. It is easy to imagine that olive oil is the best choice for salad dressing, given the evidence supporting a Mediterranean-style diet rich in olive oil. (Read more about that here.) But what about cooking?
Is It Risky to Cook with Coconut Oil?
Q. Is it all right to cook with coconut oil? I understand that it is full of saturated fat but I have been reading that coconut oil could be a healthful choice for cooking.
The Dogma on Saturated Fat Is Shifting:
A. Researchers have begun to question the role of saturated fat in heart disease. An interventional cardiologist wrote in the BMJ (online, October 22, 2013) that “Saturated fat is not the major issue…Let’s bust the myth of its role in heart disease.” A review of randomized controlled trials in the journal Open Heart (online, Feb. 9, 2015) also found a lack of evidence that eating saturated fat causes heart disease.
Coconut Oil Is OK:
Where does that leave us with coconut oil? Nutrition experts we have consulted, including Christopher Gardner, PhD, of Stanford and Mark Hyman, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, assure us that coconut oil is a reasonable choice for cooking. Dr. Gardner pointed out that cooking vegetable curry with coconut oil (which makes it more delicious) can encourage people to eat more vegetables. Dr. Hyman recommends coconut oil in the frying pan because of its relatively high smoke point.
