Coconut Oil: The New No-No?

Guest: Vasanti Malik, Research Scientist, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard  Americans have been coo-coo for coconut oil lately: cooking with it, slathering it on their bodies and hair. Some healthy nuts swear that eating a spoonful a day helps them lose weight and ward off disease. No wonder people got pretty fired up when the American Heart Association came out recently and said coconut oil’s health-food status is bogus. The AHA report analyzed years of data on the link between saturated fat and heart disease and concluded that yes, saturated fat increases your risk of heart attack. But then they came straight for coconut oil, noting it’s higher in saturated fat that even butter or lard. “We advise against the use of coconut oil,” says the AHA.