As south Asian cooking becomes more and more popular around the world more and more people are becoming interested in the health properties of the ingredients that make up the basis of this style of cooking. As a key ingredient in many of the regions cuisines, more and more people are asking is coconut bad for your heart? and if so is it something they should be concerned about.
For many people this would seem to be a counter-intuitive question when comparing the health of these nations it seems that diet has a positive effect since places where the fruit makes up a large proportion of their diet seem to enjoy better nutrition and health than westerners when allowing for other differences such as income and access to medical care.
Furthermore, generally in the west the current accepted thinking is that all fruit is good for health and that an increase in the amount of any fruit or vegetable into our diet can only be a good thing in the current environment with many people’s dependence on chemical based foods rendering comparisons of various natural products as something of a red herring.
Is Coconut Bad For Your Heart?
With the amount of saturated fat in coconut one would think so, but surprisingly, the answer is no! In fact, it might actually help your heart. That’s because the type of fat in coconut, lauric acid, is actually a healthy fat. It’s the same fat found in breast milk and has powerful anti bacterial and anti viral properties as well as antioxident vitamins.
Among the cultures that consume coconuts and coconut oil regularly, very little heart disease is seen. In fact, these people are some of the trimmest and most healthy people in the world!
During studies it has been found that coconut oil can improve cholesterol readings, decrease the chance of blood clots and lower body fat. And that’s just a few of the things it can do!
So to summarize, a short answer to the question is coconut bad for your heart would be no. However, as with any food, overindulging on anything can have a negative impact on the health of the human heart as well as other aspects of your body’s delicate internal chemistry. In short, eat coconuts responsibly.
