Comment by bokglobule | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bokglobule | Hacker News Reader

It's precisely the fact that Coconut oil is 100% plant-based, saturated fat that it IS healthy. The notion that saturated fat causes heart disease has been thoroughly debunked as sham science. It's the inflammation in the arteries stimulated by excess sugar consumption (refined carbs, table sugar, soda, etc) that causes the problem. The body sends cholesterol to the scene to patch the damage.

Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-...

Best analogy I've heard is "Gee whiz, everytime I see a fire, I see firemen. I guess firemen cause fires". Cholesterol does not cause heart disease all by itself.

You'd think scientists and the media, by this time, would have stopped relying on Dr. Ansel Keyes for their rationale for what causes heart disease. His 1950's "Seven Countries" study was an example of cherry-picked data to support a pre-determined outcome that was desired.

Reference: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-co...

Finally, I can show you cultures, such as the Inuit, who's diet is almost exclusively saturated fat and protein and which are healthy (as long as they stick to their native diet). I challenge anyone to show me a culture who's diet is primarily sugar-based which has comparable health.

Reference: http://www.theiflife.com/the-inuit-paradox-high-fat-lower-he...

So why does the AHA still say that saturated fat raises LDL, and cites multiple trials? This goes beyond the media and Ancel Keys. Are these studies not able to control for confounding factors like replacing the sat. fat with sugars and refined carbs?

For what it's worth I don't think saturated fat is necessarily bad. I don't have links but I've read a couple of good studies that showed saturated fat raised LDL in a cohort of sedentary participants, but had no impact on LDL in a cohort of regular exercisers. This suggests it may be more important to focus on exercise if you're worried about HDL/LDL.

Keep in mind there's also increasing evidence that HDL/LDL are symptoms, not causes of heart disease. Maybe the strongest is the failure of drugs that lower LDL and increase HDL - they don't make people better.

E.g. Eli Lilly's Evacetrapib: tested on 20k patients over 24 months, LDL down 30%, HDL up 125% - but zero difference in cardiovascular health outcomes. Needless to say it failed the trial and has been scrapped.

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2017/05/18/now...

>Finally, I can show you cultures, such as the Inuit, who's diet is almost exclusively saturated fat and protein and which are healthy (as long as they stick to their native diet). I challenge anyone to show me a culture who's diet is primarily sugar-based which has comparable health.

Eating fresh raw meat you actually do consume copious sugars in the form of the raw glycogen stores of the now dead animal.

>For instance, when blubber is analyzed by direct carbohydrate measurements, it has been shown to contain as much as 8—30% carbohydrates https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuit_cuisine#Nutrition

But, I bet there is a world of difference to how our bodies process dietary glycogen and plant-sourced carbohydrates.

Glycogen isn't made out of fructose. Fructose is the molecule that disregates appetite and is now considered by many to be at the root of the obesity epidemic.

We've been happily using coconut oil for centuries. Its the staple. Let those who disagree use their "refined" canola oil ;). Check out which oils are good for high heat cooking.

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