I am from Karnataka a coastal state in India. All along the South West coast of India,cocunut trees abound. Cuisines of these states use virgin, unrefined coconut oil as the cooking medium. (They also use it to make soap, on the hair and as a pre-bath body moisturizer.) Coconut milk, ground coconut paste or fresh coconut scraping finds its way into every meal in the traditional cooking of my state. People lived long and healthy lives and heart disease, high cholestrol or hypertension were quite unknown in the days of my grandparents, for people with such a diet. Of course people led active lives - they walked a lot even if they werent involved in physical labor and even the women worked quite hard in the home.
I have seen research for and against, but I am a firm believer that coconut oil is one of the good fats like olive oil, depending on how it is processed. All refining or hydrogenated processing or extraction at high heat makes natural oils less healthy. Coconut itself when consumed in moderation has been shown by reasearch to be not harmful (on cholestrol levels or risk factors for heart disease) because of the high fibre content. With moderation in consumption of fats and an active lifestyle, coconut oil is good for you.
Great stuff!! deb
