Here's a saturated fat that might actually reduce your waistline

Eat Fat…Lose Fat?

Eat fat to lose fat?

It just might be crazy enough to work.

Coconut in the mix

This is huge. And if you’ve bought into the media-manufactured fear of saturated fats, it may be hard to believe. But a new study shows that you might trim abdominal fat with daily consumption of coconut oil – a saturated fat.

In the e-Alert “Gut Feeling” (12/3/08) and other e-Alerts, I’ve told you about the dangers of excess abdominal fat. Studies have linked an expanding waistline to higher risk of several dangerous conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and dementia.

In a new study from Brazil’s Federal University of Alagoas, researchers recruited 40 women with abdominal obesity – waistlines that exceeded 34.5 inches.

STUDY PROFILE:
* For 12 weeks, half the group took a daily supplement of coconut oil (30ml), and half took a supplement of soybean oil (30 ml)
* All subjects followed a balanced, low-calorie diet that increased protein and fiber intake, and reduced carbohydrate intake
* All subjects exercised with a 50-minute walk each day
* At the end of the intervention period, women in the soy oil group had higher LDL cholesterol and lower HDL compared to levels measured before intervention
* Women in the coconut oil group, however, increased HDL and lowered LDL
* Body mass index was reduced in both groups, but only the coconut oil subjects lost circumference at the waistline

This is a remarkable result because abdominal fat is notoriously hard to get rid of.

Fear of fats

Still skeptical about saturated fat benefits?

Why wouldn’t you be? For years we’ve heard this “wisdom” offered as irrefutable: Lower your fat intake – especially saturated fats – and you’ll lose weight and be healthier. But there’s surprising evidence to the contrary.

In the e-Alert “Not in the Saying, But the Doing” (8/29/02), HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., pointed out that that in the years since the “low-fat” fad became the accepted heart-health diet, obesity has increased dramatically.

In that e-Alert, Dr. Spreen also repeated an important quote from William Castelli, M.D., who was the director of the Framingham Study – one of the longest and largest heart disease studies in history.

Here’s Dr. Castelli’s quote as it appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, July 1992: “At Framingham, we found that the people who ate the most saturated fat, the most cholesterol and the most calories weighed the least, were more physically active and had the lowest serum cholesterol levels.”

More recently, William Campbell Douglass II, M.D., had this to say in his 8/12/09 Daily Dose e-letter: “Don’t let anyone tell you that animal fats are bad for you. They boost your energy and your immunity. They help your body build stronger and more resilient cells. They contain chemicals that help your brain stay focused, and even contain concentrated levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.”

The mainstream may never come around, but that doesn’t mean WE have to follow the well-trod sheep path.

Keep in mind that each individual has unique health concerns, so it’s important to discuss major dietary changes or additions to your supplement regimen with a doctor or dietician.

Sources:
“Effects of Dietary Coconut Oil on the Biochemical and Anthropometric Profiles of Women Presenting Abdominal Obesity” Lipids, Vol. 44, No. 7, July 2009, springerlink.com