Cooking Oils

[Gloria]

I need to know the forum's thoughts on the use of organic virgin coconut oil as the primary cooking oil. I know that sesame and macadamia oils are OK, but if we chose to use coconut oil, how should we balance everything macrobiotically?

I do not llive in the tropics, and coconuts are not local produce in Texas. I want to use it for its healing properties.

Thanks,
Gloria

[garymill]

Hi Gloria,

Yes, high quality Coconut oil seems to be getting much attention for its health properties, but as you stated, it is tropical, just as macadamia nuts / oil is, which is something that macrobiotics would not generally encourage eating daily.


According to what Dr Weil has to say, it seems that he is not endorsing the consumption of coconut oil.

[Nancy]

Hi Gloria,

Coconut Oil is not for cooking oil consumption. I would be interested in seeing any web information that says it is. It is extremely saturated fat, that would clog your arteries today, and kill you tomorrow. At room temperature it looks like Crisco. It has the consistency of Shortening.

I have several bottles of it with shampoos and skin cream as I was using it formerly as a topical skin beauty treatment. It is a very pure product made by Spectrum Naturals.

The best oils to use for cooking are those that wash very easily off your fingers and hands. Sesame Oil is the best. I also like Virgin Olive Oil that is actually good for you.
I use natural Sesame Oil (it never turns rancid), Toasted Sesame Oil (delicious flavor),
and 100% Pure Extra Virgin Olive Oil regularly. I also have Corn Oil on hand, but it is thicker and sticks to the fingers more.

An oil that doesn't cling or build up is best outside and inside.

Don't go along with any fads, but think independently.

Hope this helps,
Nancy

[Gloria]

I appreciate your replies and hope to keep this discussion going, because I really want to analyze what it would take to incorporate coconut oil into my macrobiotic diet. I prefer the taste of sesame oil, but it does not have the beneficial properties of coconut oil. Here is a reference to the importance of medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil.

"One of the reasons the long chain fatty acids in vegetable oils are so damaging to the thyroid is that they oxidize quickly and become rancid. Food manufacturers know about this propensity towards rancidity and, therefore, highly refine their vegetable oils. Considerable research has shown that trans fatty acids, present when vegetable oils are highly refined (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated), are especially damaging to cell tissue and can have a negative affect on the thyroid as well as health in general. Because the longer chain fatty acids are deposited in cells more often as rancid and oxidizing fat, impairment of the conversion of thyroid hormone T4 to T3 occurs, which is symptomatic of hypothyroidism. To create the enzymes needed to convert fats to energy, T4 must be converted to T3.

Dr. Ray Peat says:

When the oils are stored in our tissues, they are much warmer, and more directly exposed to oxygen than they would be in the seeds, and so their tendency to oxidize is very great. These oxidative processes can damage enzymes and other parts of cells, and especially their ability to produce energy. The enzymes which break down proteins are inhibited by unsaturated fats; these enzymes are needed not only for digestion, but also for production of thyroid hormones, clot removal, immunity, and the general adaptability of cells. The risks of abnormal blood clotting, inflammation, immune deficiency, shock, aging, obesity, and cancer are increased. Thyroid [hormones] and progesterone are decreased.

Since the unsaturated oils block protein digestion in the stomach, we can be malnourished even while "eating well." There are many changes in hormones caused by unsaturated fats. Their best understood effect is their interference with the function of the thyroid gland. Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the circulatory system, and the response of tissues to the hormone. Coconut oil is unique in its ability to prevent weight-gain or cure obesity, by stimulating metabolism. It is quickly metabolized, and functions in some ways as an antioxidant.

Because coconut oil is saturated and very stable (unrefined coconut oil has a shelf life of about three to five years at room temperature), the body is not burdened with oxidative stress as it is with the vegetable oils. Coconut oil does not require the enzyme stress that vegetable oils do, preventing T4 to T3 hormone conversion, not only because it is a stable oil, but also because it is processed differently in the body and does not need to be broken down by enzyme dependent processes as do long chain fatty acids. Also, since the liver is the main place where damage occurs from oxidized and rancid oils that cause cell membrane damage, and since the liver is where much of the conversion of T4 to T3 takes place, eliminating long chain fatty acids from the diet and replacing them with medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil can, in time, help in rebuilding cell membranes and increasing enzyme production that will assist in promoting the conversion of T4 to T3 hormones."

[Bruce Paine]

Gloria,

Do you want to use tropical food products?

Go live in a tropical paradise where it is hot all the time.

Otherwise, use food products that are more in balance with the climate you are living in.

Do you eat bananas, pineapple, mango, papaya, or honey?

If so, what is the yang that attracts one to that?

Meat, excess salt, excess heat (in climate and diet) and/or dairy foods!

What's in your diet that is attracting you to coconut oil?

What's your diet consist of, anyway?

While it is not necessary for everyone to be the exactly the same like robots, it is useful for members of the same community to have similar diets and ways of thinking.

Though sesame oil and toasted sesame oil are perhaps the best oils for most macrobiotic cooking, sometimes we use other oils such as extra virgin olive oil for sauiteeing, corn oil for baking, or safflower oil for deep frying, but we avoid coconut oil for the reasons that Nancy wrote (like saturated fat!).

Read her reasons again.

For a balanced (temperate climate) macrobiotic diet, they make sense.

Do you understand?

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine