The heart of the matter – coconut oil

By June Shannon Nutrition News   |   12th Apr 2018

I have heard that coconut oil is good for your heart, is this true?

Thursday April 12, 2018

At the Irish Heart Foundation, we aim to provide accurate and evidence-based information on heart health to help you make informed decisions about your health. One of the questions we get asked a lot is whether coconut oil is good for your heart?

 

Did you know that coconut oil is actually 86 per cent saturated fat – that’s more than butter

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According to our resident expert dietitian here at the Irish Heart Foundation, Sarah Noone, diets high in saturated fat are associated with increased bad (LDL) cholesterol in the blood and high LDL cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Although there have been some studies looking at the effect of coconut oil on cholesterol, these are not good quality and there is not sufficient evidence to recommend it for heart health.

Therefore, Sarah recommends that If you like the taste of coconut oil then it’s fine to use a little now and then. This advice also applies to other saturated fats like butter. However, for heart health it is best to choose small amounts of oils that are high in good fats (which are supported by evidence)such as olive or rapeseed/canola oil.

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