Could Coconut Oil Be Poisoning Us?

A video has been circulating recently across the social media sphere, sparking a huge debate about whether coconut oil is not actually the super food that bloggers and Instagram nutritionists have been making it out to be.

Dr Karin Michels, professor of the department of epidemiology at Harvard T.H and head of the research centre at the University of Freiberg, stated that ‘Coconut oil is Poison’, and is ‘one of the worst foods you can eat’ during a 50-minute talk in Germany last month.

Since being published it has garnered more than 400,000 hits and adds to the debate that coconut oil may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

What do people use coconut oil for?

As well as being touted as a healthier alternative to most cooking oils, not only do we use it in our pans, but people have been putting it on their skin and platting it into their hair, some have even been putting it into their morning coffee. And all for good reason. According to previous research, coconut oil was said to balance hormones, improve digestion, kill candida (a cause for fungal infections), reduce cellulite and balance blood sugar.

And it seems that the nation was buying into the coconut oil revolution: a 2016 report shows that the UK was spending £16m on coconut related products compared to just £1m the previous year.

Yet Professor Karin Michels states that we have all bought into a lie, and hers hasn’t been the only voice to counter coconut oil as a super food. The American Heart Association has urged consumers to restrict their use and the British Heart Foundation says there is not yet enough quality research into coconut oil to provide a definitive answer.

According to the presentation, the fats in coconut oil are 80% saturated, which is much more than vegetable, olive oil, even lard and pork shortening in terms of the amount of saturated fat.

Do you use coconut oil regularly, or have made the switch to coconut oil in an attempt to be healthier when training for running events? Let us know what you think.