PEERtrainer

Can Coconut Help You Burn Fat and Increase Your Energy?

Last week we published "How To Make Spicy Thai Curry" which featured coconut milk as an ingredient. Since the saturated fat of coconut milk is high, we linked to a piece we wrote a few months ago called "Is Coconut Bad For You Because It Contains Saturated Fat."

We had written this piece in response to someone saying they had removed coconut milk from our PEERtrainer Energy Soup recipe at the suggestion of a cardiologist friend who had said that "the saturated fat in coconut is bad for you."

In this piece we had presented the views of Dr. Jonny Bowden, a well known author and nutritionist. Bowden has argued strongly that this view of coconut was incorrect. A long time PEERtrainer member left a comment last week challenging his view on this subject:

"Unfortunately, if Dr Bowden is asserting that Pacific Islanders have low rates of obesity related disease, the evidence does not back this up. Studies among Hawaiian and Samoan Pacific Islanders indicate that they have among the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the world. There is also published research that coconut oil can cause an immediate increase in LDL, (bad), cholesterol after ingestion. I have not read Dr Bowden's book so can't comment further without knowing what research he relies on but until more solid research is available, I would proceed with caution with this saturated fat. For now, the evidence in support of olive oil as part of a mediterranean type diet is much more compelling."

We reached out to Dr. Bowden and asked if he would like to respond. Here is his response:

"The studies you are talking about are more recent, and were done since the introduction of western fast food restaurants and the adoption of more Westernized diets.

Studies going back to the early 80's on the Trobriand Islanders when they ate their native diet show quite the opposite result. In these studies, virtually 80% of calories in the native diet came from coconut and coconut products and the rate of heart disease was almost unmeasurably low. (ref: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7270479).

As far as saturated fat' (from coconut oil or any other source) raising LDL, you have to realize that saturated fat also raises HDL, usually more than it does LDL, resulting in a somewhat improved lipid profile. Much more important is the fact that we now know that LDL is not a single, homogenous molecule. There are at least 6 different subtypes of LDL, and not all of them are "bad".

Saturated fat will raise LDL, but it often raises the more harmless type of LDL particles (called pattern A) and lowers the more athrogenic particles (pattern B).

Your LDL may be higher, but your lipid profile is improved. (This often happens with low-carb diets, but that's a different subject.) Moreover, recent research on coconut oil and obesity showed that coconut oil actually raised HDL and lowered LDL as well as reduced abdominal obesity.

(Ref: http://www.springerlink.com/content/02ngg2413wm2w630/?p=b15b9325833647369012d5e19a06ac9dπ=1).

Coconut oil contains lauric acid and capryllc acid, both, known to be anti-microbal. Most of the saturated fat in it is actually MCT (medium chain triglycerides) which the body tends to use as energy rather than to store as fat.

While the reader is correct that there's a lot of support for olive oil as a healthy oil (which it is), that doesn't mean that coconut oil isn't an excellent addition to your kitchen (along with almond oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, macademia nut oil, and other healthy unrefined oils).

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS

Board Certified Nutrition Specialist

Nutrition Editor, Pilates Style

Editorial Advisory Board: Men's Health Magazine

Columnist Clean Eating, Better Nutrition, AOL

Author: "150 Healthiest Foods on Earth", "The Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy", "Living Low Carb: Controlled Carbohydrate Eating for Long Term Weight Loss","The Most Effective Ways to Live Longer"

www.jonnybowden.com

Follow me on twitter.com/jonnybowden Become a fan on Facebook: Dr. Jonny Bowden

What Successful Weight Loss REALLY Looks Like

Hint: It's not the weekly 7 - 20 pound loss you see on reality television!

We tend to see the same thing over and over at PEERtrainer: people can actually be on a successful weight loss track, but because they don't KNOW what a successful track looks like, they think they are failing.

Once they believe they have screwed up, then they say "screw it" and really screw up. If only they knew how well they were doing! While success does depend on your specific goals, starting point, body type and regimen, there are a few things that are consistent across the board. Once you measure your weekly weigh in against this checklist, you'll know if you're on the right track.

1. Weight loss does NOT come in the form of losing 2 pounds every week until you reach your goal, no matter how well you've stuck to your food and exercise plan.

When you were gaining, you didn't gain 2 pounds every single week in a measured fashion. You're not going to lose it in a measured fashion no matter how well you stick to your plan.  You might lose 2 pounds one week.  You might even lose three pounds in a week.  Then, you might lose 1 pound the next week.

Some weeks you might lose zero and there are weeks you even gain.  These weeks are the most frustrating and we all have these kinds of weeks where we feel like we're doing everything right and the scale doesn't give us what we want.

Keep track of the weekly weigh-ins but take a look at the month and see the overall trend. You might have gained a 1/2 pound one of the weeks but take note if you lost 4 pounds overall for the month. If the month is trending downwards, you are in the right place.  

2. Nobody is perfect 100% of the time.

Sure, there are a few people that are perfect.  I haven't seen them but I'm sure they're out there.  There are also a few people who can eat 3000 calories a day and have a perfect figure and that's just the way it goes. Just because you went out drinking and ate all the bread, stuffed your face with pasta, and had 2 desserts, and then woke up and had a cheese omelet the next day does not mean you have failed.

Everyone does this.

We all make a committment and we all slip up.  Just like Vince Lombardi says, it's not if you fall, it's if you get back up. You fell. So what? Learn what will work for you to get back on track. You can fall and still be on a successful weight loss track by simply making the decision to get back there.

3. You've been doing everything right and you're not losing anything. (aka The Dreaded Plateau)

We rarely see members who don't hit a plateau in the weight loss process. Some can last for a few weeks. I was on one for an entire year!

It's so easy to say to yourself, "I'm doing everything right so this is where my weight should be."  That might be true, but it might not be true. It wasn't for me. Once I changed my approach and made the decision to be thinner, no matter how long that would take, I dropped the weight. I increased the nutrients. I changed my exercise approach. I kept the principles of optimism by Martin Seligman in mind. Plateaus do not mean you are done. They are usually a sign that you need to make a change. Do you have the courage to figure it out and keep on going?

Keep in mind that a real weight loss track of ordinary fluctuations are boring to watch. The double digit weekly losses you see have to be created somehow, which is why it's television. Sometimes the loss is real and lasting. Many times, the weight loss results are usually over once the 6 week "sprint" has come to an end.

Real life is more like a marathon, some miles are effortless, some are excruciating and the only way you really fail is if you quit.

Jackie