The Coconut Diet: The Secret Ingredient for Effortless Weight Loss

Marie

Traditional Tropical Diets

A number of studies on the effects of diets heavy in saturated fat offer evidence that coconut oil helps maintain optimal health and weight levels. For example, Dr. Weston Price, a dentist who conducted a number of studies in the 1930s among Pacific Islanders, spent significant time examining their traditional diets. He looked at their general health, and specifically their dental health, as compared to those eating more modern diets consisting of refined foods.

Price found that those eating a traditional diet consisting of high concentrations of coconut were in very good health and were not obese, even though they had a very high-fat diet. Those who traded commercially with Western countries and ate more refined foods high in carbohydrates, suffered from common Western diseases, including dental decay.

A study conducted in India by the Department of Medicine, at Safdarjang Hospital in New Delhi compared traditional cooking oils and fats, like coconut oil and ghee (clarified butter), which are rich in saturated fats, with modern oils like sunflower or safflower, which are mostly polyunsaturated, in relation to the prevalence of heart disease and Type-II diabetes. They found that heart disease and diabetes had actually increased after a decrease in the consumption of the traditional oils like coconut oil and ghee. It is generally accepted that weight gain is typically associated with heart disease and diabetes. They concluded that these newer “heart-friendly” oils like sunflower and safflower possess an undesirable ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids. Other similar studies in the region indicate the sole use or excessive intake of these modern vegetable oils can be detrimental.

P.K. Thampan, the former Chief Coconut Development Officer of Coconut Development Board in India, made similar discoveries in his study of traditional cultures consuming large amounts of coconut. In his book Facts and Fallacies About Coconut Oil, Thampan shows that coconut oil consumption is unrelated to coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity, which is contrary to what is taught in many countries. Observations recorded in countries where coconut kernel and coconut oil form major dietary components, have shown a longer life expectancy at birth than in countries with negligible intake of coconut products. There are also instances of longer life expectancy in predominantly coconut-consuming areas than in other places within the same country that eat less coconut.

Rethinam and Muhartoyo wrote in the Jakarta Post (2003) that before 1950, heart attacks were not common in Sri Lanka. However, hospital admission rates for heart attacks grew dramatically from 1970 to 1992, which might be explained in part by the fact that coconut consumption has gone down from 132 nuts per person per year in 1952 to 90 per person per year in 1991.

I read the coconut oil article in Women’s World magazine [May, 2003] and decided to give [coconut oil] a try. I have suffered horrible pain and fatigue from fibromyalgia for about ten years. Pain pills weren’t much help and they added to the fogged-brain feeling. Within five days of starting the coconut oil—four tablespoons per day, sometimes more—I was almost completely pain free. [Prior to that] I could not drive more than an hour without being in tears. We just got back from a nine-state, nine-day driving vacation and I drove pain free the entire way. I was never diagnosed with thyroid problems, but had many of the symptoms, and that is much better, too. I have lost 17 pounds within the first ten days on the oil. I cannot say enough about it. I am 60 years old and certainly never expected to get the super results I have received. I truly believe God gave that article in the magazine to me for my health.

Joyce

How did Coconut Oil Get Such a Bad Reputation?

So if coconut oil doesn’t cause heart problems, but, in fact, promotes wellness, where did the notion come from that this ingredient is so very detrimental to our health? The answer involves a brief history lesson.

During World War II, when the Japanese occupied most of the Philippines and the South Pacific, supplies of coconut oil were cut off for several years. Many people were forced to turn to alternative sources of cooking oils, and this is when many of the polyunsaturated oils began to make their way into the marketplace.

Beginning in the 1950s, public opinion towards saturated fats in general, and then later towards coconut oil in particular, began to turn negative. The anti-saturated fat theory began in the 1950s, with the steep rise in heart disease. While heart disease probably caused no more than 10 percent of all deaths in the U.S. prior to the 1920s, by the 1950s it had risen to more than 30 percent. Researchers were looking for the cause of this new threat to health.

Some researchers suggested that cholesterol levels were the problem, and that saturated fats raised cholesterol levels. One study was based on examining the artery plaques found in American soldiers who had died in Korea. With high levels of cholesterol found in artery plaques, some researchers started looking at cholesterol levels found in various foods as a possible cause. Cholesterol is found only in animal foods such as meat, shellfish, cheese, eggs, and butter. Soon a “lipid hypothesis” was formed stating “saturated fat and cholesterol from animal sources raise cholesterol levels in the blood, leading to deposition of cholesterol and fatty material as pathogenic plaques in the arteries.” The traditional foods such as butter, eggs, and fat from meats were “out,” and the new vegetable oils were seen as heart-healthy replacements.

Research now shows that cholesterol levels in food have little or no effect on blood cholesterol levels. Many researchers have rejected the lipid theory as a cause of heart disease. The cause of the rapid rise of heart disease in the U.S. is now attributed to many factors.

We know that after World War II there were significant changes to conventional diets, including the kinds of fats people began eating. Mary Enig, Ph.D. offers insight to the American diet:

Butter consumption was declining while the use of vegetable oils, especially oils that had been hardened to resemble butter by a process called hydrogenation, was increasing—dramatically increasing. By 1950 butter consumption had dropped from eighteen pounds per person per year to just over ten. Margarine filled in the gap, rising from about two pounds per person at the turn of the century to about eight. Consumption of vegetable shortening—used in crackers and baked goods—remained relatively steady at about twelve pounds per person per year but vegetable oil consumption had more than tripled—from just under three pounds per person per year to more than ten.

Coconut Oil Becomes the Center of Attack

The saturated fats and cholesterol scare soon began to influence mainstream thinking, and before long certain groups started taking aim at the saturated fats found in coconut oil. At one time coconut oil was a significant part of the American diet. Suddenly, Americans were told to avoid anything with tropical oils—from theater popcorn to packaged snack foods.

In 1986, the American Soybean Association (ASA) sent out a “Fat Fighter Kit” to soybean farmers encouraging them to write to government officials and food companies protesting the importing of the highly saturated tropical fats of palm and coconut oil.

And in 1988, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) published a booklet called the “Saturated Fat Attack.” Section III, “Those Troublesome Tropical Oils,” encouraged manufacturers to put warnings against saturated fats on food labels. “There were lots of substantive mistakes in the booklet, including errors in the description of the biochemistry of fats and oils and completely erroneous statements about the fat and oil composition of many of the products,” writes Enig.

In 1988, Nebraska millionaire Phil Sokolof joined in the attack by taking out a full-page newspaper ad warning against coconut oil. Sokolof was a recovered heart attack patient and the founder of the National Heart Savers Association. His newspaper advertising accused food companies of “poisoning America” by using tropical oils high in saturated fats. He ran a national ad campaign attacking tropical oils as a health danger by showing a picture of a coconut “bomb” with a lighted wick, and cautioned consumers that their health was threatened by coconut oil.

The tropical oil industry, centered in countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, did not have the financial resources to counter such negative media campaigns. However, many researchers who knew the truth about coconut oil tried to set the record straight, but public opinion was already very high against saturated fats and tropical oils.

Researchers familiar with tropical oils were called upon to testify before a Congressional hearing on tropical oils in June of 1988. “Coconut oil has a neutral effect on blood cholesterol, even in situations where coconut oil is the sole source of fat,” reported Dr. George Blackburn, a Harvard Medical School researcher at this congressional hearing.

Dr. Mary Enig stated: “These [tropical] oils have been consumed as a substantial part of the diet of many groups for thousands of years with absolutely no evidence of any harmful effects to the populations consuming them.”

Dr. C. Everett Koop, the former Surgeon General, even called the tropical oil scare “Foolishness!” and added “but to get the word to commercial interests terrorizing the public about nothing is another matter.”

But despite their efforts, the voices of coconut oil defenders were drowned out by mainstream media sources informed by members of the edible oil industry and members of the scientific and medical community, thus, virtually banishing coconut oil to the margins of the American diet. But this is all about to change with the Coconut Diet.

I have lost 56 pounds so far and have another 20-50 pounds to go. I know I’ll get there. I have added coconut oil to a low-carb diet that I’ve been on for eleven months. I am now off all prescription medications for high blood pressure, asthma, and allergies. My cholesterol levels have improved greatly—triglycerides were 940, and in three months have gone down to 247. I have energy again and can exercise. A year ago I could not walk around the mall without stopping to rest. Now I go day hiking with my hubby. The coconut oil fits perfectly with this way of eating. I have my life back!

Dabs

The Truth Can Make You Trim

What we know today, but was not understood in the 1950s, is that hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils create trans fatty acids that have been linked to heart disease as well as other health problems. And vegetable oils, which are made up predominantly of LCTs can cause us to gain weight.

Amidst all the hype and hoopla about coconut oil—you now know the full story. Coconut oil is one of the reasons Asians and people of the tropics eating a traditional diet that includes coconut are typically not overweight and don’t usually suffer from diseases that plague Westerners. The secret of the tropics—the key to weight loss and vibrant health—is in eating the right kinds of fats, avoiding refined carbohydrates, and consuming a diet of whole foods.

The 21-day program in the Coconut Diet will help you to make dietary changes for the better and reap the benefits of improved health and weight management. You will lose weight on the Coconut Diet and the program, meal plans, and recipes will help you put this diet into action.

chapter 2

the carbohydrate conundrum (#ulink_7256b83a-4f54-513b-9f91-251d53052d2b)

When I mention the word carbohydrate, what comes to your mind? If you’re like most people, probably sugar and starch. The topic of carbohydrates is certainly confusing for most people. Do we need these sugars and starches or don’t we? For decades we’ve been told to eat lots of carbs, making them the highest percentage of our diet, and to limit protein and fat as much as possible. Now, we’re being told the opposite.

Because of all the encouragement over the years to eat carbs, Americans have become the main refined carbohydrate consumers of the world, closely followed by the UK and Australia. From bagels, muffins, boxed sugary cereals and orange juice for breakfast, sweet rolls and doughnuts for coffee break, sandwiches and French fries for lunch, and pasta and bread for dinner, many people have centered their entire day around carbs.

Unfortunately, most of the carbs we eat are not the healthy, fiber-rich carbohydrates eaten in many other parts of the world; they’re simple, refined carbs that have had the fiber and nutrients stripped away. Once ingested, these foods rapidly turn to sugar in the body. And all this sugar, scientists are telling us, is making us fat and unhealthy.

What are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are macronutrients known as sugars, starches, and fiber. A carbohydrate is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and they come arranged in three sizes—monosaccharides, disaccharides, or polysaccharides. Sugars such as glucose with a single sugar ring are known as monosaccharides, sugars made from pairs of single rings such as sucrose are known as disaccharides, and large molecules like starches, which are long chains of single-ring sugars linked together, are known as polysaccharides. The monosaccharides and disaccharides are simple carbohydrates such as white sugar. The polysaccharides are complex carbohydrates that include starches, glycogen, (a polysaccharide, stored in the liver; easily converted to glucose) and most fiber.

To help you succeed on the Coconut Diet, you’ll need an understanding of the difference between the good carbs and the bad.

Simple Carbohydrates: The Bad Ones

When it comes to our blood sugar and weight management, simple carbs such as sugar, starch, and refined flour products are the biggest obstacles. These foods have little or no fiber and plenty of readily available sugar. French fries, sweet rolls, pretzels, potato chips, soda pop, milk shakes, ice cream, doughnuts, bagels, alcohol, and most packaged breakfast cereals are all examples of foods that provide high amounts of simple carbs, very few, if any, nutrients, and little to no fiber. They convert to sugar quickly in our bloodstream, which often goes straight to the fat cells.

Some of the simple-carbohydrate foods can catch us off guard—they don’t taste sweet, and we may think we’re actually eating something healthful. Take a savory-flavored rice cake, for example. It has no fat and not a lot of calories, but look out when it comes to carbs—about 12 carbs in each rice cake; plain has about 8 grams of carbs. Many people have felt good about eating three or four of these snack crackers in place of something that has fat in it. But they are not a good-carb choice. They are made of puffed rice, which is high on the Glycemic Index. (An index that shows the rate at which carbohydrates break down to glucose in the bloodstream and turn to sugar). White bread is another example; it doesn’t taste sweet either. We may think it’s okay when it’s French or sourdough bread or a sesame bread stick—at least these forms of white flour have a more sophisticated image than a slice of plain white bread. There’s not much difference, however, between eating these breads and a sweet in terms of how quickly they turn to sugar when they are digested.

Your body’s primary way of getting rid of sugar is to burn it. What your body can’t burn, it will store as glycogen. When glycogen stores are filled up, then it will get stored as fat.

“Sugar is a turbo charger—a very hot burning fuel,” says Dr. Ron Rosedale. When you eat a lot of carbohydrates, and particularly simple carbs, your body will convert it quickly to sugar and burn it, and it will stop burning fat.

(This is the reason low carb diets are so effective—they promote fat burning.)

With an emphasis on lots of carb servings every day, our bodies may not get around to fat burning at all. For instance, start the morning with a bowl of cornflakes, one-half cup skim milk, a small banana, and a glass of orange juice. How about a bran muffin for coffee break—that’s healthy right? Maybe you choose a sandwich with no mayo for lunch. How about pasta primavera and garlic bread for dinner? And you could end the day with a bowl of plain popcorn for an evening snack.

This looks like a healthy-choice, low fat kind-of-day to many people across the U.S., but when we add up the carbs, it comes to over 200 grams. Guidelines for carbs on many low-carb weight-loss programs are usually around 30 grams per day. A bran muffin alone has about 28 carb grams.

Is it any wonder that many people can’t lose weight, have blood sugar problems, and experience insulin resistance? Their entire day is filled with one high-carb meal after another, and blood sugar that is bouncing around like a yo-yo.