To understand why certain oils and fats are better than others for our health, it's necessary to understand the importance of cholesterol to all living creatures.
Cholesterol is a waxy type of fat that's manufactured within the biological systems of all animals. It's essential for life. The human body uses large quantities of cholesterol every day and the substance is so important that, with the exception of the brain, all cells have the ability to make it from simpler substances within the body. It plays a role in communication between the body cells, intra-cellular transport and brain to nerve conduction. As body-cells die, cholesterol is a major building block from which the new cell walls are made. It's also used to make hormones (including the sex hormones), bile acids and, in conjunction with sunlight on the skin, vitamin D 3.
So, cholesterol is not bad! For every 150 pounds (68 kg) of body-weight, there naturally exists within the human system 3,500 mg of cholesterol. Each day, approximately 1,000 mg is synthesized to replace whatever had been used in normal arterial and cellular repair-activities. However, cholesterol is also found in food and if we ingest more than the necessary 1,000 mg, the body simply produces less so as to maintain its normal chemical balance. If our daily diet provides 250 mg of cholesterol, the system will only synthesize 750 mg. If less is eaten, the system compensates by making more, especially when the demand for arterial repair is excessive due to a faulty diet deficient in a usable form of Vitamin C.
Of all the animals on Earth, Man is the only one that does not synthesize its own Vitamin C and it's the vitamin that's essential to keep the arterial walls flexible. When a weakness in a wall is detected, cholesterol within a Low Density Lipoprotein transporter (LDL) is sent directly from the liver and used to patch over the weak spot. After the repair is effected and Vitamin C levels are restored, High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL) transport the used cholesterol back to the liver for recycling. Over time, if Vitamin C levels are not normalized, excessive cholesterol patches can result in atherosclerosis - arterial blockages that can lead to heart attack or stroke. (See "The Cholesterol Myth Simplified" )
Although the media and food companies still warn against cholesterol in the diet, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the level of cholesterol in our blood is affected very little by the amount of cholesterol in the foods we eat. The claim that a reduction in dietary fat and cholesterol can lower blood cholesterol levels, so reducing the likelihood of coronary or arterial disease has never been substantiated. Any reduction in dietary cholesterol intake is counteracted by the liver, which increases or decreases production to keep blood cholesterol levels constant and will produce more as necessary to compensate for cellular damage caused by vitamin deficiencies. The most likely scenario is that due to deficiencies in nutrition and the inability to perform permanent repairs, the system keeps on making excess cholesterol in its effort to keep up with the patching process.
There are three major forms of dietary fat:
Saturated fat
Unsaturated (including mono-unsaturated, poly-unsaturated fat)
Trans-isomer fat (trans-fat)
All fats and oils contain both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids but are classified according to the most dominant form. Butter is classified as a saturated fat because of the preponderance of saturated fat in its composition, even though it does contain lesser amounts of unsaturated fats.
Saturated fats have a high melting temperature because of their chemical structure and are solid or hard at room temperature. They're found mainly in animal fats such as butter, whole-milk, lard, and certain plant fats (coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter). The human sysyem needs about 30 grams of saturated fat in the daily diet to maintain health and to trigger the burning of excess body-fat for fuel.
Most vegetable oils are classified as unsaturated and the more "unsaturated" they are (mono, poly) the more likely they are to become rancid and the less energy they provide. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature.
Poly-unsaturated fats from most vegetable sources are more unstable, become rancid with heat and have high levels of Omega-6, too much of which is harmful, while those "polys" from fish such as salmon, contain Omega-3 which is highly desirable in the diet.
Trans-fats are made by artificially hydrogenating unsaturated vegetable oils so as to create more stability and a longer shelf-life. They're commonly used in deep-frying and the baking of commercially-processed foods. They do not normally occur in nature in significant quantities and are dangerous to the human system.
For dietary and cooking purposes, olive oil and coconut oil are the healthiest for human consumption, both being free of cholesterol. Coconut oil though, is the only one the digestive system recognizes as an "energy-food" and it's not stored in the body as fat.
Coconut oil always had a health-promoting reputation until half-way through the 20th Century when, after the Korean War, it was falsely reported that saturated fat caused heart disease. At the same time (co-incidentally), the cheap production of unsaturated, rape-seed oil (canola) from stock fodder presented a lucrative opportunity for the commercial food-producing corporations. A government-backed, negative, smear-and-fear campaign, based on the fact that coconut oil was indeed predominantly a saturated fat forced it off the shelves to be replaced by unsaturated vegetable oils. In time it was realized that the vegetable oils became rancid quickly so the commercial interests "hydrogenated" them to achieve longer shelf-life and in doing so, gave us the "trans" fats. Those poly-unsaturated, hydrogenated oils were not a part of the diet of previous generations, however hydrogenation increases corporate profits and the World's waistlines, and is now linked with the "modern" diseases.
And heart disease continues to increase exponentially!
For human brain-development, mother's milk contains a specific, long-chain fatty acid that does not appear in cows milk, soy milk or vegetable oils. However, red meat, olive oil and coconut oil contain a medium-chain fatty-acid which the human system can convert into the essential long-chain form, easily. Coconut oil is used in most infant formulas for that very reason.
Un-hydrogenated coconut oil helps improve the ratio of "good" HDL to "bad" LDL in our bloodstream. It's an anti-oxidant and the high quotient of lauric acid which prevents cholesterol build-up and heart disease, converts into monolaurin which helps in dealing with viruses and bacteria-causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, and possibly even HIV. Because it's rich in capric acid and caprylic acid it's beneficial to the skin, prevents premature aging and keeps candida albicans, urinary tract infections and other fungi at bay. It relieves digestive disorders, helps in weight-loss and protects the intestines from parasites and the stomach from the ulcer-causing heliobacter pylori.
However, even though olive oil and coconut oil are lower in calories than other oils they do still supply calories. So, going to extremes may only cause problems in other areas.
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