ELECTION 99
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Coconut oil not just safe, beneficial, says controversial study

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

Pouring oil over troubled waters won't help here. For the old controversy over whether coconut oil increases the level of dangerous cholesterol has been resurrected, with two researchers from the Bombay-based All India Institute of Diabetes recommending coconut as being extremely beneficial for the heart.

The findings of AIID Director Dr Bihari S Raheja and Professor Dr A S Bhoraskar after research they did recently have baffled cardiologists, who believe that coconut is harmful to the heart.

Dr Bahuleyan, head of the department of cardiology in the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, disagrees with Dr Raheja and Dr Bhoraskar. According to him, coconut oil contains saturated fat, which increases cholesterol deposits in the blood. The cholesterol content in the blood could narrow or block the coronary artery and cause heart diseases, he says.

Dr Bahuleyan said that a study conducted among families consuming less, average and high amounts of coconut oil showed cardiac problems were more common among the people who consumed more.

Eight years ago newspaper reports had encouraged heart patients to switch over to coconut oil. It had a detrimental effect on their health.

The American Heart Association has advised people to avoid coconut oil totally. Many say that people who consumed a lot of coconut oil in the past had no problems.

"This is not right. Many may have died due to heart problems. But there were no facilities available then to find out these things. Now it is available. Then why should we turn to that dark age," asks Dr Bahuleyan.

Dr Raheja and Dr Boraskar say those consuming coconut oil had higher levels of antioxidants than others. Antioxidants, which counteract the damaging effect of oxidation in tissues, reduce the risk for coronary disease. They also found coconut oil has several other benefits for the heart and digestion.

The duo said that the cholesterol theory against coconut oil was pursued on the basis of studies made by Ancel Keys of the US. These were epidemiological studies conducted prior to 1970s when the understanding of the metabolic functions of different dietary fatty acids and pathophysiological mechanisms was limited, the study said.

The study said that the majority of health problems have been attributed to faulty fat intake associated with lipid toxicity. "Traditional fats have unique health benefits which cannot come from any other source. "Vanaspati, which is extensively used to substitute natural saturated fats, had none of the benefits of ghee or coconut oil," it stated.

According to the study, society has paid a heavy price by following the ill-conceived hypothesis about cholesterol.

"It is never too late to correct the error and return to time-tested traditional fats like coconut oil and ghee," Dr Raheja and Dr Bhoraskar said.

The controversy over the cholesterol-inducing properties of coconut oil has been a bone of contention between the coconut lobby and doctors here. The coconut growers and traders in the state feel the campaign against coconut oil was an invention of the upcountry trade barons lobbying for other edible oils like soyabean and sunflower.

But while practitioners of modern science suggest coconut oil raises cholesterol, physicians of the traditional systems say coconut does no harm.

Practitioners of ayurveda and nature cure say coconut oil is one of the safer edible oils, with several health benefits.

The Kerala government was also worried by the controversy, since coconut began steadily losing its place in kitchens after the controversy erupted.

According to a recent survey, coconut oil accounted for only 18 per cent of the total requirement of edible oil in Kerala. This, despite about 75 per cent of the gross coconut product going into oil production.

Coconut, which is cultivated on over a million hectares and supports roughly five million people, is the backbone of the state's agrarian economy.

Tell us what you think of this report