That's Fit

Healthy or not healthy? It's a pretty easy question to answer when you're comparing apples to, say, a candy bar. But when you take a look at coconuts, the answer just isn't so clear. Several years ago I worked with a Registered Dietitian who wrote a piece about the benefits of coconut oil. I ended up 86ing the article because I just wasn't convinced that her conclusions were sound nutritional advice. Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid which is said to benefit your immune system. But coconut oil is also crazy high in saturated fat. The RD swore by her stance, but I wasn't convinced. I'm still not. Do the benefits of coconut oil outweigh the negatives?

Fitsugar just ran an article with some further explanation about coconut oil. It has a long shelf life and high smoke point which makes it a good choice for many restaurants and bakeries (particularly those that have had to switch from trans fats). But coconut oil is 90% saturated fat; 60% of which is a form of lauric acid and is metabolized quicker than most saturated fats.

So, the debate continues. As for me, I'd prefer to boost my immunity through fruits and veggies and avoid the unnecessary saturated fat.

We all know that deep-fried foods are bad for us, but there are always those moments when you just can't help yourself. So Japanese scientists have been working on a way to make fried fish lower in fat but still crispy, and the trick they came up with is to make the pores in the fried batter bigger. Bigger pores trap less oil.

Makes perfect sense! But I can't help but wonder how long it took them to figure that out, and how much money was spent on the research? Priorities people, priorities!

Reader Fash sent us a question asking to know more about something she's heard a lot of lately: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. I'll admit I haven't heard anything on this particular product before, beyond having heard that regular coconut oil was bad news because it was often hydrogenated, which means it's a source of trans fats. But looking into it, I found the EVCO is different from refined coconut oils, and actually retains a bit of the coconut essence to it. Some believe it to be the healthiest fat out there, promoting weight loss and thyroid function, but here's another point of view:

Virgin Coconut oil contains saturated fat. The saturated fat in coconut oil is no less harmful for your cardiovascular health than other saturated fats -- a fact that has been re-enforced by the American Heart Association, FDA and WHO numerous times. That's not to say that virgin coconut oil is bad for you -- the message here is that like other healthy fats, you need to practice moderation when it comes to coconut oil. Moreover, don't believe people who claim to be selling extra virgin coconut oil -- there's no such thing. Unrefined coconut oil is merely virgin coconut oil.

So what do you think about EVCO? Another form of snake oil or the world's miracle fat?

Trans fats, saturated fats, unsaturated fats, poly and monounsaturated fats, good fats, bad fats...not only are there a lot of different kinds of fats, there are also recommendations of how much of each kind to eat -- and to not eat -- each day. We know we should avoid some kinds of fats, but how much is too much?

The American Heart Association is here to help with their new Face the Fats campaign. Their new website offers a crash course on fats, including how to cook with them correctly at home. They've also developed My Fats Translator which will tell you the maximum amount of each fat you should eat each day and applies that information to food choices. (For instance, while a deep dish pizza may sound fun, you can cut the fat in half by ordering a thin crust.)

And for a little extra fun, check out The Bad Fats Brothers -- named "Trans" and "Sat" -- who are out to "break your heart." It's an informative, colorful, stylish campaign that will hopefully help spread the word on the danger of eating too much fat.

Although it is quite known that a large intake of saturated fat in one's diet can cause many health complications -- like heart disease -- how about the intake of cholesterol and its effect on the body as well?

Is there a relationship between saturated fat intake and cholesterol intake? There is a "desirable" level of both HDL (high density lipoproteins) and LDL (low density lipoproteins) that can be considered safe in the human body, of course.

But what about the intake of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol (from non-plant sources) and how these both work in concert to affect our internal cholesterol.

A recent study pointed out these facts as good guidelines -- and I agree with them. Do you?

• Limit foods with a high content of saturated fat and cholesterol. Substitute with grains and unsaturated fat from vegetables, fish, legumes and nuts.
• Limit cholesterol to 300 milligrams (mg) a day for the general population, and 200 mg a day for those with heart disease or its risk factors.
• Include fat-free and low-fat dairy products, fish, legumes, poultry and lean meats.

Denmark seems to be in the driver's seat of all countries in its efforts to ban trans fats from all foods -- prepared and processed. The law stipulated that all foods could no longer have more then two percent trans fats, or the offending food provider risk huge fines and even prison terms for violations.

In a result that I'm very pleased to see, today Danish residents hardly even notice the difference -- Danish french fries are still crispy and Danish pastries are still just delicious. In other words, from people that would rather eat trans fat-infested foods and risk heart disease just to have taste at all costs, Denmark's solution was a perfect one. Just get rid of trans fats altogether and replace it with something else that is not nearly as destructive.

The recent trans fat experience Denmark has witnessed easily offers a hopeful example for places like Canada and New York City -- both of which are considering setting limits on dangerous and artery-clogging trans fats.

Now this is something that should be celebrated from the rooftops of every American home -- New York City is deciding on a proposal that would block city restaurants from serving food containing artificially-made fat called Trans Fats. While Trans Fats taste swell, they are harmful to the body according to several sources.

I personally stay away from anything containing Trans Fats these days, which is not hard since many food manufacturers have switched away from using these bad fats based on the public's increasing knowledge of their dangers. In fact, just look at a food label -- if you see "partially hydrogenated" anything, stay far away if you can.

This city proposal has its detractors of course, which most likely make up companies that make and/or sell Trans Fat supplies to the larger processed food and restaurant industry. That does not diminish the fact that Trans Fats are one of the worst things you can consume in your diet in my opinion.