Page 48 - Winter2008

Know Your Fats

IN THE LAND OF OZ: THE LATEST ATTACK ON COCONUT OIL
By Mary G. Enig, PhD

As health-seekers in the know are increas- WAPF members know that saturated fats do
ingly consuming butter, lard, tallow and co- not clog arteries, whether they are the short- and
conut oil, they should expect to see attacks on medium-chain type in coconut oil or the longer-
traditional fats in the media and in the scientific chain fatty acids in beef, cream and cheese. In
journals—both of which receive substantial fi- these pages we have supplied numerous refer-
nancial support from the vegetable oil and fast ences to support this statement. One in particular
food industries. is the 1968 International Atherosclerosis Project,
The most recent attack comes from Dr. in which over 22,000 corpses in fourteen na-
Mehmet Oz and his co-author Dr. Mike Roizen in tions were cut open and examined for plaques
a blistering article entitled “Don’t Monkey with in the arteries. Investigators found the same
Coconut Oil,” widely published in the newspa- degree of atheroma (artery clogs) in all parts of
pers in mid November. Dr. Oz is an American the world—in populations that consumed large
cardiothoracic surgeon and prolific author of amounts of animal products rich in saturated fats
popular books on diet and health. He became and in those that were largely vegetarian. 2
famous for his frequent appearances on the Oprah The “buzz on the street” about coconut oil’s
Winfrey Show and will be launching a daily talk benefits is firmly grounded in science. Saturated
show called Dr. Oz in the fall of 2009. While his fats in general enhance the immune system,
3
views have been described as “alternative” or and coconut oil in particular increases body
“holistic,” his recent article on coconut oil places temperature and is preferentially used by the
him squarely in the camp of the diet dictocrats. body for energy rather than storage. The claim
4
Roizen, his co-author, seems to have made a about benefits to blood pressure is not one that I
career out of attacking saturated fats. In a recent have ever made, and as far as I know, there are
interview, for example, he blames foods full of no human studies that have looked at the effect
saturated fats, “like croutons,” for everything of coconut oil on blood pressure.
from obesity to aging. The only problem is that
1
commerical croutons are made with vegetable COCONUT OIL AND AGING
shortenings, full of trans fats, not saturated fats. Dr. Oz also claims that all saturated fats
While the writings of Roizen and Oz mention cause aging “by turning on a potentially harmful
trans fats in passing, their gunsights are focused family of genes that we docs call RAS genes.
on the innocent bystander, saturated fats. They tell your body to churn out inflammatory
The “buzz on DEMONIZING SATURATED FATS proteins that cause heart disease, stroke, wrinkles,
impotence and immune system slip-ups.” Actu-
the street” Coconut oil, says Dr. Oz, “is loaded with ar- ally, what these studies really showed was that
about tery-clogging saturated fat and oozing with calories fish oil and corn oil activated RAS genes to
coconut oil’s . . . But the buzz on the street is that it’s a their carcinogenic form, not saturated fat. (See
sidebar, page 51.) In fact, these studies confirm
natural miracle food that can melt off unwanted
benefits is weight, lower your blood pressure, boost your earlier research showing that what causes aging
firmly immune system, fight heart disease and fend off are toxic, rancid modern vegetable oils, full of
grounded in cancer—without the artery-clogging effects of free radicals, which are known to contribute to
heart disease and cancer. A study by a plastic
other high-sat-fat foods such as beef, cream and
5
science. cheese.” surgeon found that women who consumed mostly
48 Wise Traditions WINTER 2008