COCONUT OIL – ARE ITS HEALTH

CLAIMS JUSTIFIED?Dr.Laurence Eyres ECG Ltd

Chairman NZIC Oils and Fats Group

November 2014

Is coconut oil healthy?

WHAT IS COCONUT OIL?

Edible oil industry production of commodity crude to

RBD- Own experience in 1974 Newmarket

Niche production of Extra virgin oil-definition

What’s all the fuss about? Market rapid growth

Confusion with MCT oil (Medium chain

triglycerides)

Conclusion as to the claimed health benefits

COCONUTS

Tropical fruit grown year round

Oil within the meat of the coconut

Contained within cells

CompositionPercentage of Fresh Coconut Meat by Weight

Moisture 50

Oil 34

Ash 2.2

Fibre 3

Protein 3.5

Carbohydrates 7.3

COPRA EXPELLING TO FORM OIL

Typical screw presses for oil from copra

VANUATU 2014

BATCH REFINERY IN VANUATU

TRADITIONAL USES OF CNO AND HCNO

Most of the oil has been used as HCNO( the fully

hydrogenated oil -no trans!) termed a confectionery

fat. (same use as fully hardened palm kernel

oil).Increase in melt point from 26 to 35 degrees C

CF 92-kremelta-home made chocolate rice krispies,

biscuit fillings, caramels etc.

Unhydrogenated oil resurrected by marketers as

the answer to all human ills!

WEBSITE AND CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT OF

CNO

Mercola and Oz-dubious credentials-apart from their

media training

Both investigated by FDA for false claims

No evidence to back up their statements-only

anecdotal hype

Erroneous classification of coconut oil triglyceride

structure-claims based on the sound work done on

genuine MCT oil

EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

Colourless when liquid

Characteristic mild aroma of coconut

Oil quality

Acid Value-low <4mg KOH/g oil

Measures hydrolysis of oil

Peroxide Value-low <10 meq peroxide/g oil

Measures oxidation of oil

WONG, M., EYRES, L., RAVETTI, L. 2012. Modern aqueous oil extraction: Centrifugation systems for olive and avocado oils. In: Green Vegetable Oil Processing. Editors: Proctor, A. & Farr, W. The American Oil Chemists Society, AOCS

COMPOSITION OF COCONUT OIL

Predominantly triacylglycerols

Made up of the following fatty acids

C6, 8 and 10 saturated fatty acids 17%

C12 saturated fatty acid (lauric) 47-48%

Myristic and palmitic saturated fatty acids 24%

Unsaturates 7-8%

Healthy?

IS COCONUT OIL COMPOSED OF

MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES?

NO

MEDIUM CHAIN FATTY ACIDS AND

TRIGLYCERIDES

Explanation of terms

Medium chain fatty acids 8, 10 and 12 carbon fatty acids

MCT’s are comprised C8 and C10 only not C12

Coconut oil is 47-48% C12 contains virtually no MCT’s

MCT studied for their carbohydrate-like dietary

mechanism( They contain about 70% C8 and 30%C10)

Coconut oil and MCT’s are miles apart

Bach, A. C., & Babayan, V. K. (1982). Medium-chain triglycerides: an update. Am J Clin

Nutr, 36(5), 950-962.

MANUFACTURE OF MCT OIL-FROM THE 60’S

CNO or palm kernel oil are hydrolysed to their fatty

acids

These are distilled the prize is C12 fatty acid

(48%)used to make surfactants and other

chemicals-such as sodium lauryl sulphate

The residual C6,8 and 10 fatty acids are separated

(lower boiling)

They are then re-esterified back into triglycerides

Bleached and deodorised

Product is fully saturated, bland,colourless,stable

and has unique properties in nutrition

CONDENSATION – GLYCEROL

AND FATTY ACIDS-SYNTHESIS MCT

OIL-USING C8 AND C10 FA

COMPARING COCONUT OIL WITH MCT OIL

Fatty acids Coconut Medium chain triglycerides

Butyric 4:00 0 0

Caproic 6:0 1 <2

Caprylic 8:00 9 50-80

Capric 10:00 7 20-50

Lauric 12:00 47 <3

Myristic14:00 16.5 <1

Palmitic16:00 7.5 0

Stearic18:00 3 0

Oleic18:1 cis 6.4 0

Triglyceride carbon number analysis of CNO vs. MCT oil MCT oil (Croda) Coconut oil Mol Weight

Tricaproin C24 24 zero 471

TricaprylinC26 25 zero 499

Tricaprin C28 28 0.5 527

Tricaprin C30 10-10-10 10 3 555

C32 <3 14 583

C34 <1 17.5 611

C36 Trilaurin LaLaLa plus others 0 20 639

C38 0 16 667

C40 0 10 695

C42 0 7 723

OLD CHROMATOGRAM SHOWING TRIGLYCERIDE

ANALYSIS BY CARBON NUMBER(MOLECULAR

WEIGHT)-1985 VINTAGE LE

PHYSICAL DIFFERENCE MCT AND CNO AT

AMBIENT

LAURIC ACID TWELVE CARBON SATURATED

FATTY ACID

Whilst chemically Lauric acid (C 12:0) could

possibly be described as a medium chain fatty acid-

biologically it behaves as a typical saturated fatty

acid like myristic and palmitic.

CONCLUSION 1

Coconut oil is NOT composed of medium chain

triglycerides

Any referring to CNO and its similarity in the

metabolism of MCT oil is erroneous and misleading

Coconut oil does not behave the same as MCT’s

and it is totally erroneous and scientifically wrong to

call coconut oil an MCT and thus any analogies

comparing coconut oil with clinical work on MCT’s

are void.

PEER REVIEWED CLINICAL EVIDENCE

ON CNO ROLE IN CVD

We found no evidence to suggest that CNO is

beneficial other than as a source of energy

Replacement of some CNO with PUFA resulted in

more favourable lipid profiles

Coconut flesh, cream and milk when consumed

with fish, vegetables and fruit can be considered a

healthy diet

NORDIC REVIEW

There was convincing evidence that partial

replacement of SFA with PUFA decreases the risk

of CVD, especially in men. This finding was

supported by an association with biomarkers of

PUFA intake; the evidence of a beneficial effect of

dietary total PUFA, n-6 PUFA, and linoleic acid (LA)

on CVD mortality was limited suggestive. Evidence

for a direct association between total fat intake and

risk of T2DM was inconclusive, whereas there was

limited-suggestive evidence from biomarker studies

that LA is inversely associated with the risk of

T2DM.

LITERATURE SEARCH

Searches were conducted in the Scopus and

Medline databases and bibliographies in published

literature and on websites promoting coconut oil

were examined. The few papers and studies (n=23)

identified for inclusion in this review demonstrates

the paucity of quality studies, reviews or meta-

analyses that examine the effects of coconut in its

own right. Even fewer have studied the effects of

consumption of coconut or coconut products on

cardiovascular disease outcomes.

CONCLUSION 2

No evidence from human clinical trials to suggest

that CNO can be classified as a healthy oil

SUMMARY CLINICAL PAPERS REVIEW

In summary, while the level of evidence on coconut itself and risk factors for heart disease is mostly poor quality, the evidence suggests that consumption of coconut oil raises total cholesterol, HDL and LDL, although in clinical trials this did not raise them as much as butter.

In the clinical trials included in this review, the effects of coconut oil on triglyceride levels versus unsaturated oils were generally not significant.

Cox, C., Sutherland, W., Mann, J., de Jong, S., Chisholm, A., & Skeaff, M. (1998). Effects of dietary coconut oil, butter and safflower oil on plasma lipids, lipoproteins and lanosterol levels. Eur J Clin Nutr, 52(9), 650-654.

CONCLUSION 3

For consumers living in New Zealand who are on a

Western style diet, based on current evidence it

would be inadvisable to switch from unsaturated

oils to coconut oil. It is likely that this would lead to

less favourable lipid profiles and so a potential

increased risk from CHD.

RECOMMENDATION

Consumers who are using a lot of coconut oil due

to the current fad would be well advised to either

limit its use, or to blend in some unsaturated cold

pressed monounsaturated oils such as olive,

avocado or canola oil. Although it may be a better

choice than butter, coconut oil cannot be

recommended as a suitable alternative to non-

hydrogenated vegetable oils.

http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/uploads/Evidenc

e_paper_coconut_August_2014.pdf

POPULATION STUDIES

Indigenous populations who consume traditional diets with coconut products along with fish and vegetables (unsaturated fats and fibre) combined with a physically active lifestyle are unlikely to be at risk of cardiovascular disease from the consumption of coconut products. The situation for indigenous populations who eat a traditional diet is vastly different to that of people consuming a typical “Western” diet.

For other populations, coconut oil is 92% saturated and nothing in the literature disputes the fact that it acts as a saturated fat and raises total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol.

CONCLUSION 4

Pacific island populations have not normally consumed coconut oil per.se., instead coconut oil is consumed as a component of coconut flesh or coconut milk.

The Pacific Island communities have had their traditional diets modified enormously and high fat and high sugar processed foods have been incorporated into their local culinary culture with adverse effects on obesity and health. Making changes in the food supply to improve access and availability of locally produced traditional foods may allow taste preferences to be met and may be a better option than encouraging behaviour change alone.

HOW TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK

WRITTEN REVIEWS

NZ Heart Foundation website

Food New Zealand-October and December issues

Oils and fats website

http://www.oilsfats.org.nz/ For Oils and Fats Group