(NEWS 8) — Over the past few years, using coconut oil in cooking and baking has become a popular food trend. And while many experts consider it good, one Harvard professor says it comes with huge health risks.
So, what's the truth? News 8’s Abbie Alford takes a look in this Verify report.
The trendy super food coconut oil is being called "pure poison."
Harvard adjunct nutrition professor Karin Michels gave a lecture at University of Germany called "Coconut Oil and Other Nutritional Errors," which has received millions of views on YouTube.
But Dr. Oz, who stopped into the News 8 studio on Thursday, debunks the controversial thinking.
"Coconut oil was the best thing possible and now it's the worse thing feasible? It's actually neither,” he said.
The American Heart Association says coconut oil is a saturated fat - just like butter lard, beef, and palm oil.
Some have claimed the health benefits of coconut oil as curing Alzheimer’s, helping with weight loss, cancer and that it is healthier than butter.
The AHA says those are false: it's not been proven, and coconut oil is worse with 82 percent saturated fat than butter at 63 percent.
And coconut oil raises the risk for heart disease. Just like butter it has high LDL, which is bad cholesterol.
So, is coconut oil pure poison?
That would be false.
"It's a saturated fat just like animal fats but it's a smaller size we know we can cook it without getting rancid or oxidized,” said Dr. Oz.
He says you don't want to layer coconut oil with other saturated fats.
"I like to use coconut oil in place of butter not with butter, in place of butter,” said Dr. Oz.
So instead of saturated fats doctors recommend healthier oils such as canola, corn, soybean and olive oils, but Dr. Oz add that a small amount of coconut oil won't kill you, but it won't make you healthier either.
"It tastes good and I don't mind foods that taste good but I wouldn't purposely use coconut oil because it's a good for me,” he said.
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