Everyday we are constantly being told about food that is bad or good for us only to have the next day come and find out the standards have been changed.....again. It can be so frustrating. When it comes to cooking there are 3 main products we use: butter, olive oil, and a new one, coconut oil. The other day I thought "which one should I really be cooking with?" I decided to do some research to find out. While I am no expert on the issue, I will simply be stating the facts that I have found in my research.
Coconut oil
I tried this for the first time the other day. I put some in my Shakeology shake yesterday morning and it was quite delicious! A lot of my health friends have been trying it, so I decided to try it to...I mean I want to be healthy too..right? However, I realized that I don't know that much about it. All I know it that it is becoming more popular these days. So here is what I found:
Coconut oil has a very high saturated fat content, in fact it is made up of 100% fat. Now I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound very good to me. However, its fat content differs from the traditional definition of fat. When I think of 'fat' I think about the bad kind of fat, the saturated fat which is more commonly found in animal products. Coconut oil has a high content of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). The way MCFAs are composed make it harder for our body to convert it into stored fat and make it easier to burn off, compared to long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). LCFAs are found more in animal products and are more likely to be stored as fat, this excess storage of fat is what can lead to health problems.
However, the type of coconut oil is important to pay attention to. There are three types of coconut oil: hydrogenated coconut oil, refined coconut oil, and virgin coconut oil. Hydrogenated oil is processed oil that contains trans fats and can be just as bad as other processed oils and have terrible effects on the body. Refined coconut oil is extracted from chemically bleached and deodorized coconut meat...now I don't know exactly what that means, but it doesn't paint a pretty picture. The last type, and the best, is virgin coconut oil...go figure. This type is extracted from the fruit of fresh mature coconuts without the high temperatures or chemicals as the other two are. It is as close to the real stuff as you can get.
The benefits of virgin coconut oil are that it has been shown to have antioxidant properties, more likely to increase a person's HDL (the good cholesterol) compared to other oils, and help you lose weight and decrease waist size. The negative effects of coconut oil is that, while is may contain fewer calories than other fats,it is a high-fat oil that is very dense with calories and adding it to an already poor diet won't help you lose weight.
Butter
I remember when I was little a friend of mine would eat sticks of butter because they thought it tasted good. All I remember thinking, even at a young age, is that that can't be good for you. Butter always gets a bad rap..."its too fatty," "it's not good for you," "you will clog your arteries," ....blah blah blah. In some part it is true though. Butter contains more long-chain fatty acids than medium-chain fatty acids, which as we know are harder for the body to break down and easier to be store as fat.
There has been a myth going around since before I was born, even before my parents were born, that butter can put you at an increase risk of cardiovascular disease. But only when it is consumed in excessive amounts can this occur. Butter does have positive effects for the body;it is a great source of vitamins and minerals, contains healthy fatty acids (MCFAs), it contains omega-3 & 6 fats, which helps with brain function and skin health.
The next question when it comes to butter is: unsalted or salted. When you go to the grocery store the butter is clearly labeled as either or. Personally, if you want butter I would go for the unsalted that way you can manage your amount of salt intake.
Olive Oil
This was and continues to be the main oil that I cook with. My mom used it growing up so naturally when I moved out on my own I used it too. Everyone says that olive oil is better for you than butter and that it is more natural. However, the interesting thing is that olive oil is mainly fat as well. It contains monounsaturated fatty acids (meaning a single chain of fatty acids), which is better for your health than saturated and is easier for the body to break down. The benefits of olive oil have shown to help reduce inflammation, decrease risk for cardiovascular disease, as well as prevent other diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc. Currently, there are no known negative effects of consuming olive oil.
After reading all of this information we are brought back to our original question, which one is healthier for us??
And the answer is... there is no clear winner here.
All of them have can be good for us, but if you consume too much of one of them it can be bad for your body. Just like consuming too much protein, carbohydrates, or dare I say peanut butter, can be bad for you.
So where do we go from here? The decision is really up to you which product you like and want to use. If you keep variation in your diet, pay attention to serving sizes, and don't consume too much of any of these oils you should be fine.
If you came here looking for a specific answer, much like I was, I am sorry to let you down. But hopefully you leave feeling more educated and empowered in your choices. Comment below and let me know your thoughts.
XOXO Ashley
(P.S. It is important to note that the research reported here is in its beginning stages. Keep yourself educated on what you are putting in your body and always consult your physician if you have questions).
References:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266258.php
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282857.php
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=newtip&dbid=9
http://draxe.com/top-8-health-benefits-of-butter/
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