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[Asha] We're setting up shop to talk to shoppers about a big
health trend, coconut oil.
What kind of cooking oil do you use?
I do often shop for olive oil and coconut oil.
At home, I use a lot of coconut oil.
As a matter of fact, I'm from the Caribbean so we use a lot of
the coconut oil.
[Asha] Oh yeah.
So, this would look familiar to you?
Very much so.
[Asha] The coconut oil industry has exploded.
Raking in over 650 million dollars last year alone.
With big brands making healthy claims.
Healthy fat.
No cholesterol or trans-fat.
Everywhere says that coconut oil's the best option.
[Asha] Sure sounds like it's good for you.
It's good for your hair, it's good for you skin,
it's good for cooking, it's good for everything.
I put a tablespoon of butter and two teaspoons of coconut oil in
my coffee every morning and they think that I'm nuts.
[Asha] So how quickly do you go through a jar of this?
It's more a jar of this.
[Asha] Wow.
I would say every couple of months,
I usually go through a container like this or this.
[Asha] From Dr Oz.
The first of the health benefits of coconuts is weight loss.
It helps you lose weight.
[Asha] To vloggers.
Use coconut oil instead of olive oil.
[Asha] To celebrity chefs.
And I pour it over fruits, I put it in dressings,
from time to time I've been known to put it over pasta for
my daughter.
[Asha] Seems like a lot of people are buying in.
Would you consider it a healthier option than some of
the other oils out there?
I mean it says organic, so it has to be.
Right?
It's not processed.
It's like, from, the coconut.
It's screaming green and healthy.
I know that it is high in good fats I've heard.
Along with what's called MCT.
[Asha] MCT oil.
That's medium-chain triglycerides.
They're in coconut oil.
Make sure you're using MCT oil if you want to get these
different benefits.
MCTs create energies faster.
You could use MCT oils on a salad.
I could take it right off a spoon.
[Asha] The wonders of MCT oil and the coconut oil craze are
linked and it all goes back to this 2003 study.
Makes you wonder.
Is there anything to all these health claims?
To find out, we track down the author of the study that set off
the craze.
Hi Marie Pierre.
Hi
-[Asha] Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.
[Asha] This is the shop.
-Would you like a coffee? -Sure.
[Asha] Marie-Pierre St-Onge.
A doctor of human nutrition from Columbia University.
[Asha] Two black coffees with coconut oil please.
Lots of people put coconut oil in their coffee,
but this is a first for her.
We did a research to look at the influence of MCT oil on energy
expenditure and body composition.
[Asha] Wait what?
You weren't testing coconut oil?
Not at all, we were testing MCT oil.
It's a very purified form.
MCT is a subcomponent of coconut oil and only 15% of coconut oil
is MCT.
[Asha] What her research did find was a small improvement in
weight loss for overweight people who consumed MCT oil,
but zippo on coconut oil.
It's often picked up as being a study that promotes coconut oil,
but in fact they're completely different.
[Asha] There are brands that are promoting coconut oil as being
healthy and something you can eat and cook with all the time.
Yes, it's unfortunate that coconut oil has been given this
health halo
[Asha] So it's not healthy?
I would not consume it on a regular basis.
[Asha] Marie-Pierre is not alone.
Many experts are concerned that coconut oil is high in
saturated fat.
What if I told you though, that one tablespoon of coconut oil,
has 13 grams of saturated fat?
Yuck.
[Asha] That's more than two-thirds of your daily
saturated fat limit.
That's the opposite of healthy.
Really?
Oh.
I didn't know that.
How does that compare with butter or olive oil?
[Asha] Good question.
It's the same as almost two tablespoons of butter.
Alright.
Wow.
[Asha] Six and a half tablespoons of olive oil.
Okay.
Really?
That's crazy.
[Asha] And wait for it, two and a half tablespoons of lard.
Lard.
Wow.
[Asha] That stuff right here.
Damn, that's crazy, actually.
I didn't, I didn't realize that, yeah.
Ooooh.
Errrggg.
Okay, here, you can have this back.
[♪♪]
[Asha] We reach out to the coconut oil companies in our
story, and the ones that got back to us say new science shows
the saturated fat in coconut oil doesn't have the same negative
health effects as the kind in animal fats like lard and
butter.
They say it has health benefits.
But experts we talk to say there is not enough evidence to
support that.
Canada's food guide recommends limiting intake of all saturated
fat, including coconut oil.
Is the way you've been using coconut oil,
secretly making you fat?
[Asha] Now Dr Oz is even questioning the benefits.
Just last year the American Heart Association came out
against it.
[Asha] Their conclusion, coconut oil raises bad cholesterol and
has no offsetting favourable effects.
What responsibility do you think brands and food companies have
to understanding scientific studies properly?
I think it's very important for food companies to be able to
translate the science that's been done in a way
that's accurate
and that represents what the research is actually showing.
[Asha] Dietitian Andrea Miller says Canadians have jumped onto
this trend without having all the information.
Some people are disappointed and frustrated,
because they think well, you know,
I thought I was really doing something good for my health,
and now I'm not.
So, I am concerned, because I don't think people have an
understanding of the implications of a diet that's
really high in saturated fat and our heart health guidelines are,
that we should be keeping the total saturated fat content of
our diet, down around 10%.
So, if we're putting coconut oil in our coffee,
or spreading it on our toast, chances are,
we are way over stretching that saturated fat recommendation.
[Asha] She says a lot of people are caught up with the fancy
claims.
It says no cholesterol or trans fats.
Coconut oil never had cholesterol and never will.
Cholesterol is found in animal products.
It's like saying well a banana doesn't have cholesterol.
Well a banana never had cholesterol and never will.
Use coconut oil for flavour, not as your primary source of fat.
[Asha] We tell Health Canada about the industry's claims and
we learn our government is planning to put warnings on
foods high in saturated fat someday.
If the proposal gets passed.
In the meantime, these shoppers have a message.
Do you think there should be a warning to consumers about how
much saturated fat is in something like this?
100%. 100%.
[Asha] Why?
Because I didn't, I had no clue.
[Asha] So the saturated fat is on the label but should there be
a warning?
Yeah, 'cause I guess it feels like,
they're not putting it explicitly on the label.
[Asha] Until that happens...
Are you going to keep on using coconut oil?
Ah, for certain things, yes, for other things,
probably take a step back, and look at either canola or even
lard in this case, I guess.
No, not, not today, not tomorrow,
not ever.
[♪♪]