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Coconut Oil vs. Olive Oil
Interview with Dr. Bruce Fife
Interviewed by Raena Morgan
January 20, 2009
Raena Morgan: Bruce, right now MUFA’s the big word in dieting—monounsaturated fatty acid. How does coconut oil fit into that? Because olive oil is really being touted for this.
Dr. Bruce Fife: Right. Olive oil is the prime example of MUFA. Coconut oil, however, is not a MUFA. It is predominantly a saturated fat, but a medium chain fat, which has separate and superior health benefits to olive oil.
RM: Wow.
BF: Which includes the antimicrobial properties. It’s easy to digest. It stimulates metabolism. Helps with weight loss for people who are overweight. Improves digestion. Many health benefits.
RM: The MUFA diet is about including things like olive oil, but the coconut oil could really be the star of that show, couldn’t it?
BF: Definitely. In fact, I think it’s the primary star of the fat world because it has more health benefits associated with it than any other oil—or all other oils combined.
RM: And it is good for weight loss.
BF: It is excellent for weight loss. Coconut oil has actually gotten a reputation as being the world’s only good low fat. Now, that sounds kind of strange. A low calorie fat. Well, coconut oil has this reputation primarily for three reasons. The first one is it actually has fewer calories than any other fat.
RM: Good news.
BF: Yes. The second reason is that it satisfies hunger better than other foods. So, if you put it into your diet, you can feel satisfied sooner and you will feel satisfied longer between meals. So, you tend to eat less during the day. So, fewer calories means there’s fewer calories turned into body fat. Probably the most important reason for its anti-fat reputation is its ability to stimulate metabolism. It kicks your metabolism up to a higher notch. So, you burn off calories at an accelerated rate. And so, again, there are fewer calories left over at the end of the day to be converted into body fat. So, coconut oil has been recommended by researchers as a means to help with weight management and even to treat obesity.
RM: And we need that. One-third of the population is obese.
BF: Definitely.
RM: Thanks for the good news.
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