Myths and facts of coconut oil and palm oil
Palm oil fruit
In the recent past a number of articles were published relating to the pros and cons of coconut oil and palm oil. I think it is prudent to enlighten the populace of our nation about the biochemical analysis and the metabolism of the duo in the human body for them to make a reasonable decision on the two.
Oils and fats constitute a significant portion of our daily diet in addition to proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. As coconut oil and palm oil are most commonly used oils in our daily diet let’s concentrate on these two items.
Fatty oils are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms arranged on carbon chains. Depending on the number of carbon atoms on the chains they are categorised into short chain, medium chain and long chain fatty acids.
Coconut oil basically has saturated, medium chain fatty acids (Caprylic acid- C8; capric acid-C10; and lauric acid-C12- C denotes the number of carbon atoms on the chain) of which Lauric acid shares about 45 per cent.
Palm oil has predominantly unsaturated, long chain fatty acids (palmitic acid-C16, Oleic acid-C18; stearic acids-C18 and linoleic acid-C18)
Cold method
Coconut oil is made from the kernel of the coconut by two methods. One is a cold compression method where you get virgin coconut oil and the other by a heat application method where you get the normal coconut oil.
Coming to palm oil, the oil is extracted by two ways. In one method the kernel is taken out of the palm fruit and the oil is extracted and it is called palm kernel oil. The other method is by crushing the entire palm fruit bunch with the husks and the oil is called crude palm oil. This crude palm oil is subject to fractional crystallization and the liquid part is called palm olein and the solid part is called palm stearic acid.
As extracting palm kernel oil is a very tedious process due to the small size of the palm fruit the common practice is to extract the crude palm oil by crushing the entire bunch.
Coming to the metabolism of coconut oil, once we take the oil into the mouth the medium chain fatty acids in the coconut oil are acted upon by a fat digesting enzyme in the saliva called salivary lipase and the medium chain fatty acids are broken down into smaller, water-soluble particles. Once they are in the stomach due to their small size and solubility, they are absorbed into a system of veins called portal venous system and taken to the liver directly where they are metabolized into ketone bodies. These are taken into the heart and distributed around the body via the circulatory system to the vital organs like brain, eyes, lungs, liver, kidneys, muscles and the skin where they are oxidized into energy. As the ketone bodies are not fatty material, they do not get deposited on the inner walls or the blood vessels causing obstruction to the blood supply to the vital organs causing strokes, blindness, heart attacks, kidney failure, gangrenes etc.
Coming to palm oil, as it predominantly contains long chain fatty acids, they cannot be digested in the mouth by salivary lipase, therefore they pass down to the stomach and from there to the small intestine where they are acted upon by powerful fat digesting enzyme produced by pancreas called pancreatic lipase. The broken parts are absorbed into the intestinal wall and coagulated with protein to form substances called chylo microns. As these are larger molecules, they cannot be taken up by blood vessels and they are taken up by the lymphatic system and taken to the heart. During their journey in the circulatory system because the chylomicrons are fatty materials they get deposited within the blood vessels causing obstruction of the blood flow to the vital organs leading to strokes, blindness, heart attacks, kidney failure, un-healing ulcers, gangrene etc.
Lauric acid
The most important component in coconut oil is lauric acid (45 per cent V/V) which is converted into mono laurin which has anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-protozoal properties. The other main source of lauric acid is mother’s milk where the child gets all the benefits.
Coconut oil, especially virgin coconut oil, is good for Alzheimer’s disease. It is common knowledge that the westerners who openly criticised coconut oil as a non-healthy food item a few decades ago, presently start the day by consuming a few milliliters of virgin coconut oil.
Coconut oil could be reused in frying as it is a nondrying oil whereas when palm oil is reheated it gets converted into glycidol esters which are cancer causing carcinogens.
Some claim supremacy of palm oil over coconut oil as the former has poly unsaturated fatty acids; but the mere fact that the coconut oil is metabolized into ketone bodies in the liver (not fatty material) before being circulated around the body negates that claim.
Therefore, by considering all the benefits of coconut oil it has become a much-favoured delicacy and an internationally accepted Neutraceutical, Pharmaceutical and a Cosmeceutical.
In the article which appeared on the Sunday Times newspaper dated 20/10/2020 it stated that Sri Lankans consume mostly coconut oil and that contributes to the increase in the rise of non-communicable diseases. The latest statistics show the consumption ratio of coconut oil to palm oil is 12 per cent: 88 per cent. Doesn’t this give an indication that gradual rise of non-communicable diseases from the pre palm oil era to the present attributes to this shift of rise of non-communicable diseases is due to consumption of palm oil and coconut oil is no longer the evil villain as portrayed by some; for what purpose I wander!!!
My attention was also drawn with favour to the article published by Prof. Saman Gunethilaka on the inadequacy of the meta-analysis of coconut oil which was published in the Sunday Times newspaper on 1/11/2020. If anybody wants to get to know the authentic results of mega studies involving thousands of human beings you can view “medical research” in the website titled www.coconutresearchcenter.org authored by Dr. Bruce Fife.
COP
There was another article in another newspaper where it was mentioned that the cost of production of a coconut is Rs. 15 and coconut oil has 70 per cent Palmatic acid which is a long chain fatty acid. Both these statements are incorrect and the correct cost of production of a coconut is around Rs.30 and the concentration of Palmatic acid in coconut oil is about 9 per cent and that in Palm oil it is about 45 per cent. While the cost of production is subject to factors like type of the soil, the locality, water availability, cost of labour etc I humbly request the people with an air of authority to divulge the correct, authenticated facts and figures without misleading the society to suit the palates of a few, may be for petty gains as it cannot be attributed to ignorance.
I personally feel that it is a sin and a crime to pour scorn on the coconut tree and its oil which has nurtured the nation for the past centuries and gained the much deserved name “KAPRUKA” meaning the tree of life.
(The writer is a qualified and highly experienced medical practitioner and Past President of the Coconut Growers Association of Sri Lanka).