Coconut oil has gotten a bad rap. Yes, I've read the negative publicity but the truth is that it can help you lose weight and is perfect for heart health. It should be your oil of choice for baking and frying.

I can imagine what you are thinking. "Isn't that a saturated fat?" As my 3 year old grand daughter would say, "Yep." But did you know that saturated fat may keep you from having a heart attack or stroke?

This probably sounds like heresy to most of my readers but your body needs saturated fat for heart health and to nourish your brain, nerves and hormones. Every cell membrane is ideally made up of 50% saturated fat including your brain.

If you are deficient in saturated fat your energy drops and your hormones and metabolism head south. Saturated fat lowers two important heart attack risks, Lp(a) cholesterol and C Reactive Protein (CRP), a measure of inflammation.

The campaign against coconut oil started four decades ago when researchers fed animals coconut oil that was altered to remove the essential fatty acids. For reasons that are unclear, the researchers destroyed the excellent coconut oil by heating it to a high temperature and pumping hydrogen into it thus changing it to a highly toxic trans fat.

In summary they ruined the coconut oil and then blamed the oil for the resulting negative health results. Go figure.

According to Jane Heimlich, author of