Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: floyd on 03/02/2009 20:30:02

Title: Is coconut oil high in saturated fats?
Post by: floyd on 03/02/2009 20:30:02

floyd  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hi Chris,
 
I'm Floyd from the Philippines . I live in a tropical country and there is an obvious abundance in coconut trees. Majority of the household in this country use coconut oil in cooking and in preparing food.  I have read in a lot of articles that these oil do not contain saturated fats or the so-called bad cholesterol (even our health department encourages us to use coconut oil). Contrary to what I have thought, I was able to research in one article that coconut oil is an example of saturated fat. I'm a bit confused regarding this matter. I also heard regarding virgin coconut oil, is it really that healthy? Please enlighten me with this one.
 
Many thanks
 
Floyd Ocampo Pogoy

What do you think?

Title: Is coconut oil high in saturated fats?
Post by: lancenti on 04/02/2009 02:47:28

Hey Floyd!

I'm from the Philippines too, but I have no idea whether coconut oil is indeed made of saturated fats. What you COULD do, if you have access to a school lab, is to take some liquid Bromine with you and pour it into a dark container with the coconut oil. If the bromine decolourizes, ie becomes clear, then you'll know that it was actually unsaturated. If it stays coloured, then it's probably a saturated molecule.

Title: Is coconut oil high in saturated fats?
Post by: Bored chemist on 04/02/2009 20:10:29

Much as I love coconut I have to say it's not high in unsaturated fat, in fact it's about as saturated a fat as you can find (particularly among fats derived from plants).
It's a bit of an oversimplification to say that saturated fats are bad for you, but they are certainly associated with health problems.

Title: Is coconut oil high in saturated fats?
Post by: Asyncritus on 07/02/2009 00:08:22

It's a most remarkable oil.

Here's an article about its amazingly long list of health-giving properties.http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

The government of the Philippines is right to promulgate the use of coconut oil.

Title: Is coconut oil high in saturated fats?
Post by: Bored chemist on 07/02/2009 02:19:34

Asyncritus isn't known here as a person who holds views that are backed up by sound science.