- Coconut oil promotes the assimilation and storage of essential fatty acids, so basically there is a synergistic effect with fish oil. Fish oil is brain food, in addition to its ability to lower inflammation in your body. Anything that amplifies such effects is likely to be very good for you.
- Coconut oil is perhaps the safest fat for folks with gallbladder disease or that have lost their gallbladder, as most of the fats in coconut oil do not require bile for digestion.
- Renowned cardiologist Dudley White is noted as commenting that he became a cardiologist in 1921, but did not see his first case of myocardial infarction until 1928. He attributed the increased incidence of MI since that time to increasing use of new polyunstaturated fats corn oil, which were replacing saturated fats like lard and butter.
- The phospholipids in your brain cells are made up of one saturated fat and one unsaturated fat. Avoiding all saturated fats per the current dietary mantra can lead to compromising your brain's chemistry.
- Saturated fats protect your liver from toxins like alcohol. Liver problems have become more common place - thanks to increasing consumption of alcohol and high fructose corn syrup - at a time when the public has been advised to avoid saturated fats.
- Saturated fats lower levels of C Reactive Protein, a marker for inflammation, which recent research implicates as a common factor in all degenerative diseases.
- The fatty acids in lung surfactant are normally 100% saturated. An adequate amount of saturated fat in critical to optimal lung function, and therefore is crucial to achieving peak performance on a bicycle!
- Coconut oil contains a medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) called lauric acid. Your body converts it to monolaurin, which helps protect you from a wide range of diseases. Being sick less means being able to train more, and decreased susceptibility to disease probably also translates into being able to train harder before pushing your body into a disease state.
- The MCFAs in coconut oil use up more energy when they are metabolized than they provide, and lauric acid is the most rapidly oxidized fatty acid (coconut oil is roughly 50% lauric acid). So coconut oil can actually help you lose weight, another critical issue for serious cyclists!
- Coconut oil has a thermogenic effect, meaning that it raises body temperature, resulting in a boost of energy and metabolic rate.
I suspect that most folks reading Eat Fat Lose Fat would have a difficult time in fully following any of the three dietary protocols suggested in the book, especially if they rely on food manufacturer's advice on healthy foods. But don't let that stop you from incorporating coconut oil and coconut products into your diet. I add one to two tablespoons of coconut oil to my steel cut oatmeal every morning and substitute coconut oil for butter or vegetable oils in cooking, and have started using more coconut milk as I've discovered new ways of using it in cooking.
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