Hi Steve,

I wonder people who promote “cold pressed” coconut oil have their special financial interest and most of them from the Philipines, like this one who owns that website: Mt. Banahaw Health Products Corporation, P.O. Box 14, Quezon Capitol Post Office, Lucena City, Philippines 4201

We used to own a coconut plantation in Medan (in the middle of the now modern Medan. When the government got an easement from my mom for a freeway and they paid her about U.S.$36,000, (around middle of 1970s). I used to deal in coconuts, coconut oil, produced coconut oil, help my friend to set up coconut oil purifying process (with caustic soda). I used to study chemical technology and have a graduate degree in that field. I think I can express my 2 cents worth.

According the World Health Organization, the natives of Southeast Asia have 3 times more heart attacks and strokes than the Chinese living there.  They think it is partly due to genetic makeup; but I think the oil they use in cooking plays a large part.

If you think of what the natives use for oil, you can see that the natives use coconut oil for cooking. The average poor villagers use home made cold pressed coconut oil because they cannot afford to buy the factory made hot press copra oil. The city dwellers buy the factory oil, and the richer ones buy the purified coconut oil. The Chinese usually do not use coconut oil but use peanut oil and some old timers use lard.

Coconut oil is a saturated fat which cannot take in more hydrogen, meaning whose fatty acid chains cannot incorporate additional hydrogen atoms. An excess of these fats in the diet is thought to raise the cholesterol level in the bloodstream. It is the cholesterol that causes the blood clots and strokes and heart attacks.

Trans fat is oil that has been partially hydrogenated and it is thought to increase cholesterol if consume too much.

The hydrogen in coconut oil is saturated. If trans fat is no good then why coconut nut oil  is good.

A student of mine who has a daughter who works for her professor doing research on palm oil. His professor research is funded by a palm oil traded association. The conclusion is that palm oil is the best oil for health.

BTW, coconut oil is mainly used in high quality soap manufacturing, cookies production and other chemical application.