The truth is, in the late 1950’s some preliminary research was done that concluded that heart disease was caused by hydrogenated vegetable fats.  The edible oil industry’s response at the time was to claim that it was only the saturated fat in the hydrogenated oils that was causing the problem.  The industry then announced that in order to solve this problem they would start manufacturing partially hydrogenated fats (trans fats). 

Around this time, there was another movement started by a researcher in Philadelphia who reported that consuming polyunsaturated fats lowered serum cholesterol.  The research however neglected to mention that the lowering of the cholesterol in the blood was because it was primarily going into the tissues, such as the liver and the arteries.  As a result of this research and the acceptance of this new agenda by the edible oil industry, we have become oriented to the idea that saturated fats should be replaced with polyunsaturated fats.  Keep in mind that the edible oil industry, represented in large part by the American Soybean Association (ASA) and companies such as Corn Products Company (CPC), have huge dollar amounts to gain when consumers eat these polyunsaturated oils and significant losses when tropical oils, like coconut, are being consumed.   

The tables began to turn in the 1980’s when studies about coconut consuming Polynesian populations were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  The results showed that with coconut as their main caloric staple, these populations exhibited positive cardiovascular heath and that there was no evidence that high saturated fat intake had harmful health effects. 

Additionally, the US Department of Health and the FDA have recently estimated that artificially processed fats, or trans fats, are responsible for a large number of the heart attacks associated with cardiovascular disease.   This is why the FDA now requires companies to label the trans fat content of foods because the of the deleterious health effects of these fats.

To learn more about the studies that have been conducted on the health benefits of coconut oil, check out the following website:

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/skinny.html