Harvard Professor: Coconut Oil Is Pure Poison

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Harvard University professor warns coconut oil is poisonous

A senior Harvard medical professor has warned that coconut oil is “pure poison” and “one of the worst foods you can possibly eat.” 

Speaking out against the popular belief that coconut oil is healthy, Dr. Karin Michels, who also leads the team at the University of Freiburg’s tumor research center, suggested that regular consumption of the oil could lead to serious heart problems.

In a 50-minute talk hosted in Germany last month, Dr. Michels’ talk has gone viral across the internet, amassing over 400,000 views since it was published on July 10.




Daily Mail reports: Coconut oil had a peculiar rise to popularity.

Cardiologists know well that it may be tasty and sumptuous, but those velvety qualities are no friend to your arteries.

Dr Michels says it is worse than lard (fat from the abdomen of a pig which was a hit in the 50s and is now only seen in our grandmothers’ pantries).

And yet, a nationwide poll in 2016 found at least 70 percent of Americans believed coconut oil to be healthy – with many seeing it as one of the healthiest oils out there.

The ascent of coconut oil sales began in the early 2000s, on the heels of two studies by Columbia University which looked at medium-chain fatty acids, a type of fat present in coconuts.

The study participants who ate the medium-chain fatty acid diet burned fat quicker than the controls.

Once the findings emerged, it was gobbled up: could this product, that is so easy to incorporate into daily life, be the Holy Grail of fat burning?

Consumers decided it could. Sales of coconut oil rocketed.

The medical industry, however, was not converted – not even the author of the study, nutrition professor Marie-Pierre St-Onge, who explained in her study that, coconuts are only 14 percent medium-chain fatty acids. The study participants were fed 100 percent.

8 Comments

  1. Tell that to the Polynesians and South Asians that use it almost exclusively. I suppose she’s ok with the fake “Canola Oil,” (derived from rapeseed, which has been used as an industrial oil for manufacturing) which IS poison to your bodies.

  2. I’ve been using coconut oil in place of smart balance for more than a few years and my total cholesterol is 188 and my triglycerides are 55 and I’m a 60 year old in shape male. It’s the sugar and excess complex carbs that will cause arterial damage and inflammation. What does she say exactly is the negative effect of coconut oil besides it being concentrated calories and lacking nutrition & roughage? Probably the same negative effect of olive oil? Many vegans will not eat oil outside of it’s natural state. For instance, they will eat olives, but not olive oil. Which is understandable from a caloric and nutrition point of view but exactly how does this cause heart disease?

  3. I’ve never found a successful use for coconut oil. But, calling it poison is subjective. Not if it is of good quality.

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