The health benefits of coconut oil is among the key issues that the Cocotech meet is highlighting.
The meet organisers, Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), an intergovernmental organisation set up under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), has set up a website describing various arguments in support of the issue.
Says one of the postings, attributed to Conrado Dayrit, former president, National Academy of Science & Technology, Metro Manila, Philippines, “No evidence has ever been presented to prove that coconut oil causes coronary heart disease in humans. The human epidemiologic evidence proves that coconut oil is safe. Coconut eating people like the Polynesians and Filipinos have low cholesterol, on an average, and very low incidence of heart disease. The chemical properties of coconut oil (CNO) and its biologic actions as a medium chain fatty acid make CNO superior to other oils for cooking and health use.”
Another posting, credited to Jon J. Kabara, Emeritus Professor, Michigan State University, and Technology Exchange Inc., Illinois, USA, says, “Never before in the history of man it is so important to emphasize the value of lauric oils. The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are similar to fats in mother’s milk and have similar nutraceutical effects. In the past four decades, misinformation and disinformation provided by certain politically biased agricultural groups and repeated in professional and lay press have led people to believe that all saturated fats are unhealthy. Little attention is focused on the fact that saturated fatty acids are not single family of fats but comprise three subgroups: short (C2-C6), medium (C8-C12) and long (C14-C24) chain fatty acids. The medium chain fats are found exclusively in lauric oils”.
In another extract, Marry G. Enig, Director, Nutritional Sciences Division, Enig Associates, Inc., USA, says, “the lauric acid in coconut oil is used by the body to make the same disease-fighting fatty acid derivative monolaurin that babies make from the lauric acid they get from their mothers’ milk. The monoglyceride monolaurin is the substance that keeps infants from getting viral or bacterial or protozoal infections.
Until just recently, this important benefit has been largely overlooked by the medical and nutritional community”.
The Coconut Development Board too has given links to news and testimonials on the health benefits of coconut and its derivatives.
