Doesn’t Coconut Oil, with its high amount of saturated fat,have a negative effect on one’s cholesterol levels?

The answer is no.Dr. Beverly Teter of the University of Maryland, a lipid biochemist and researcher, said that scientists have wrongly blamed cholesterol for heart diseases (when they found high levels of cholesterol at a damaged blood vessel). “It’s the inflammation in the vessels that start the lesion,” she explained. “The body then sends the cholesterol like a scab to cover over it to protect the blood system and the vessel wall from further damage.” What she was saying is this- Inflammation is the real culprit behind heart disease, not cholesterol. Teter also points out that while for years coconut oil was criticized for raising cholesterol, scientists have now learned that pure non-hydrogenated coconut oil actually raises the HDL, or good cholesterol and lowers the LDL, or bad cholesterol, thus improving one’s cholesterol profile and reducing the risk for heart disease. Mary G. Enig, PhD, with the Weston Price Foundation has also had similar research results on the positive effect of natural non-hyrdogenated coconut oil on one’s cholesterol profile and heart. To read more, go to http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/latest-studies-on-coconut-oil We should be more concerned about avoiding or reducing foods that cause inflammation in the body, such as refined sugar, artificial food additives, trans fats in deep fried foods or fast foods, common cooking oils (with very high Omega 6 fatty acids and a super low or non-existing Omega 3 fats), etc. A highly imbalanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in our diets promotes inflammation. Unfortunately, most unaware people are consuming too much Omega 6 fats in their daily diet and relatively little Omega 3.