"Does Coconut Oil Clog Arteries?"

Even if the science isn't there,

why at least not try treating Alzheimer's
with coconut oil?

Well, unlike other natural remedies 
like the spice saffron

which was able to beat out placebo
and seemed to work

as well as the leading drug 
without the side effects,

coconut oil is one of the rare
plant sources of saturated fat,

normally only found in animals,

which tends to increase LDL 
or bad cholesterol,

the number one risk factor 
for our number one killer:

heart disease.

You want to try coconut oil on someone
with Alzheimer's for a few days

to see if it makes a difference? 
Fine!

I'd try almost anything,

but if as expected 
you don't see any improvement,

I'd be hesitant to keep anyone
on it long term.

Now, those selling coconut oil say 
one needn't worry because coconut oil

contains a saturated fat
that doesn't raise cholesterol.

You hear the same thing 
from the beef people.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association

is always going on about 
how beef contains a saturated fat

called stearic acid, 
unlike those evil saturated fats:

palmitic, myristic and lauric acids
which do increase blood cholesterol levels

stearic acid has been shown to have 
a neutral effect on blood cholesterol.

Now, see that's true, 
and beef does contain stearic acid,

but guess what?

It has twice as much 
of the palmitic and myristic,

which they just admitted 
does raise cholesterol.

It's like Coca Cola saying 
they know for a fact

that soda doesn't make you gain weight
because Coke contains water,

and water has a neutral effect
on weight gain.

Yeah, but that's not the only thing in it.

And the same thing with beef, 
and the same thing with coconut oil.

Years ago I profiled this study 
that found that cholesterol levels

were significantly lowered 
during a coconut oil diet,

but only when compared
to a butter diet.

You know you've got a problem

when the only way you can make 
your product look good

is to compare it to diets rich in butter.

Yes, it made bad cholesterol go up, 
but not as bad as butter,

but how much is that really saying?

Now that was all the science 
we had for ten years,

but four new studies
have recently come out:

a population study 
and three clinical studies.

The population was of Filipino women,

and although those that ate 
the most coconut oil

had the worst levels of bad cholesterol,

those that ate the most coconut oil 
were also more overweight

which alone can raise your cholesterol.

When the fact that the coconut oil eaters

were eating more calories, 
were more overweight

when that was kind of factored out,

the rise in cholesterol 
lost statistical significance.

To really control for factors, though, 
you've gotta put it to the test.

The first clinical trial involved

giving people two tablespoons 
of coconut oil a day for three months,

and their bad cholesterol went up a bit, 
but not significantly.

During this time, though, 
they were all forced to lose weight

by being placed 
on a calorie-restricted diet.

When you lose weight, 
your LDL should drop naturally.

The fact that it didn't on the coconut oil, 
suggests an adverse effect.

The most encouraging study was this one:

An open-label, meaning not blinded, 
no control group, pilot study

in which two tablespoons 
of coconut oil a day for a month

added to their regular diet
did not worsen their cholesterol;

though when tested
in a better designed study

randomized, cross-over trial,

coconut oil did significantly worsen 
bad cholesterol.

Hence the recommendation from Harvard:

"If you're going to use it, 
use it sparingly".

Now look, if you're eating so healthy

that your LDL cholesterol 
is under 60 or 70

then it may not be a problem.

Unlike saturated animal fats,

coconut oil doesn't cause that spike
in inflammation

immediately after consumption
of animal foods

which makes sense because, 
as you'll remember,

it may be the dead bacterial endotoxins
in animal products

ferried into the body by saturated fat 
that are to blame.

In this study, for example,

they compared the effects 
of chocolate cake made out of coconut oil,

flax seed oil or cod liver oil 
on the effects on inflammatory markers

not much change
in the inflammatory gene expression

for the coconut or flax cakes, 
but cod liver oil cake may indeed be worse.