[Lotus]

If I may add a note of caution about coconut oil for people who are watching their cholesterol. About a year ago, my cholesterol (LDL - the bad stuff) was 75, which is quite good. Then I started taking coconut oil and evening primrose oil. Six months later, my cholesterol (again, LDL) had jumped to 112. So I stopped taking both coconut oil and evening primrose oil, had my blood tested, and my LDL was down again to 77.5. (Interestingly, my HDL (the good stuff) was also elevated when I was taking CO and EPO.)

Although I would dearly love to have more breast growth, I am reluctant to risk the cardiac problems that likely follow with elevated LDL.

I wish there were some research results about absorption through the skin, and whether one could obtain NBE benefits of coconut oil through dermal application without elevating LDL.

Spanky, sorry to hear that. My total cholesterol lowered to 154 (150 to 180 mg/dl is ideal) when I added coconut oil and eliminated most omega 6's, last check was over 200. (My physician was quite happy). My LDL was lowered to 88 (100-129 near/above optimal), my triglycerides were 143 (150 normal) HDH and VDL....spot on.

Omega 6 can be an issue (causes inflammation, migraines), we get too much omega 6 in our diets without us knowing. Have you read Ray Peat PhD. on coconut oil?, here's a couple paragraphs:


The cholesterol-lowering fiasco for a long time centered on the ability of unsaturated oils to slightly lower serum cholesterol. For years, the mechanism of that action wasn't known, which should have suggested caution. Now, it seems that the effect is just one more toxic action, in which the liver defensively retains its cholesterol, rather than releasing it into the blood. Large scale human studies have provided overwhelming evidence that whenever drugs, including the unsaturated oils, were used to lower serum cholesterol, mortality increased, from a variety of causes including accidents, but mainly from cancer.

As far as the evidence goes, it suggests that coconut oil, added regularly to a balanced diet, lowers cholesterol to normal by promoting its conversion into pregnenolone. (The coconut family contains steroids that resemble pregnenolone, but these are probably mostly removed when the fresh oil is washed with water to remove the enzymes which would digest the oil.) Coconut-eating cultures in the tropics have consistently lower cholesterol than people in the U.S. Everyone that I know who uses coconut oil regularly happens to have cholesterol levels of about 160, while eating mainly cholesterol rich foods (eggs, milk, cheese, meat, shellfish). I encourage people to eat sweet fruits, rather than starches, if they want to increase their production of cholesterol, since fructose has that effect.

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/coconut-oil.shtml
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Dr. Mercola has some great info on coconut oil.


Coconut Oil is Superior in Enhancing Nutrient Absorption
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...-fats.aspx

You’re probably aware that in order to absorb all of the extremely healthy fat-soluble nutrients in your food, compounds like lutein, beta-carotene and vitamin E, for instance, you’ve got to eat them with some fat.So perhaps you always add olive oil to your salads or eat your veggies with butter to absorb all of those valuable nutrients.

This is a smart health move, but did you know that not all oils are created equal when it comes to nutrient absorption? Some work better than others and can actually enhance the amount of nutrients your body receives from the food you eat.


Coconut Oil is Superior in Enhancing Nutrient Absorption
A new animal study compared the effects of feeding coconut oil (a saturated fat) versus safflower oil (a polyunsaturated fat) on the absorption of carotenoids from tomatoes. Coconut oil enhanced tissue uptake of tomato carotenoids to a greater degree than safflower oil, a benefit the researchers suggested may be due to coconut oil’s medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs):1

“These results may have been due to the large proportion of medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil, which might have caused a shift in cholesterol flux to favor extrahepatic carotenoid tissue deposition.”

Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of healthy MCFAs. By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs). There are several reasons why these long-chain fatty acids are not as healthy for you as the MCFAs in coconut oil.

Why Choose an Oil Like Coconut Oil?
In addition to its ability to potentially allow you to absorb more antioxidants and other nutrients from your food, MCFAs are smaller than LCFAs, which means they permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require lipoproteins or special enzymes to be utilized effectively by your body. Further:

* MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system. This is especially important for those of you with digestive or metabolic concerns.
* MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.
* MCFAs in coconut oil can actually help stimulate your body’s metabolism, leading to weight loss.

There are numerous studies showing that MCFAs promote weight loss, including one study that showed rats fed LCFAs stored body fat, while rats fed MCFAs reduced body fat and improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.2 Yet another study found that overweight men who ate a diet rich in MCFAs lost more fat tissue compared to those eating a high-LCFA diet, presumably due to increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation from the MCFA intake. Researchers concluded:3

“Thus, MCTs may be considered as agents that aid in the prevention of obesity or potentially stimulate weight loss.”

Coconut oil earns even more “points” because it’s rich in lauric acid, which converts in your body to monolaurin – a compound also found in breast milk that strengthens immunity. Caprylic acid, another coconut fatty acid present in smaller amounts, is another antimicrobial component. Plus, using coconut oil as your primary cooking oil is important because it is the only one that is stable enough to resist heat-induced damage. When choosing a coconut oil, make sure you choose an organic coconut oil that is unrefined, unbleached, made without heat processing or chemicals, and does not contain GM ingredients. On the other hand, in the case of LCFA-rich vegetable oils:

* LCFAs are difficult for your body to break down — they must be packaged with lipoproteins or carrier proteins and require special enzymes for digestion.
* LCFAs put more strain on your pancreas, your liver and your entire digestive system.
* LCFAs are predominantly stored in your body as fat.
* LCFAs, when oxidized, can both injure and deposit within arteries, contributing to both blood vessel inflammation and plaque build-up.

Polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to use in cooking. These omega-6 oils are highly susceptible to heat damage because of their multiple double carbon bonds. If you’ve been shunning coconut oil because it’s a saturated fat, you needn’t worry. Saturated fats are actually essential and quite good for you.

- See more at: http://coconutoil.com/coconut-oil-is-sup...8us9F.dpuf