Food Face Off Part II: Vegetable/Canola Oil VS Coconut Oil

Which Would You Choose?

Vegetable/Canola Oil -

Excess polyunsaturates from processed vegetable oils (ie. Canola oil) have been shown to contribute to heart disease, cancer, weight gain and many other health problems. Modern processing damages fragile polyunsaturated oils and they are deodorized to hide the smell of rancidity as well as being full of free radicals. Specifically, canola oil is developed through hybridization of rapeseed, which contains erucic acid that is a toxic and poisonous. Not only that, canola and other vegetable oils are used in a large portion of processed foods after being hardened through the hydrogenation process that creates toxic trans fats. Trans has been shown to produce disease over they long term as well as interfere with the body's ability to ingest and utilize essential and good fats.

"Fully processed oils are the equivalent of refined (white) sugars, and can therefore be called ‘white’ oils. Like sugar, they are nutrient-deficient sources of calories but in addition, they contain toxins that are not present in sugar.”

~Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, by Udo Erasmus

VS

Coconut Oil -

Coconut oil is an extremely beneficial fat and has been called the “healthiest dietary oil on earth.” Foods cooked in coconut oil taste better longer, where as unsaturated oils turn rancid fairly quickly. Coconut oil is very stable and can be kept at room temperature for many months without becoming rancid and it can also withstand high temperatures making it very good to cook with. Moreover, coconut oil helps protect against heart disease, cancer, other degenerative conditions and even help with losing weight!

“One food that can rev up your metabolism even more than protein is coconut oil. MCFA [medium chain fatty acids] shift the body’s metabolism into a higher gear, so to speak, so that you burn more calories. This happens every time you eat MCFA. Because MCFA increase the metabolic rate, they are dietary fats that can actually promote weight loss!”

~The Coconut Oil Miracle, by Bruce Fife, MD

Find Resources for Coconut Products and more about Coconut Oil

Comments

[Mary Ann J]

Good article! And let's not forget that the rapeseed (what canola oil is made from) is in the 90% of GMO's grown in this country! Thanks Sheryl for your informative articles, please keep them coming :)

[Sue Carducci]

Thank you for the good information, Sheryl. Now I can bake stuff I have wanted to try, but did not really want to use the vegetable oil the recipes called for. I can use coconut oil!

[Joan O.]

Does it matter if the coconut oil is refined or not? Love cooking with it!

[NinaK]

I first became aware of the "controversy" and subsequent benefits of coconut oil from Rush Limbaugh. He was using it as an example of how the government sticks its long arm into private lives and businesses only to get it wrong! He related how football stadiums used to produce the BEST popcorn using coconut oil. They would start making it days ahead to have enough supply for a game night. He said you couldn't tell the difference between popcorn that was 30 minutes or 3 days old.
I have recently started enjoying homemade stovetop popcorn using coconut oil and Real Salt. It is amazing!!!