There’s a good chance you have a jar of it in your house — and you’ve probably used it for everything from cooking to skin care. But one Harvard professor warns that coconut oil might not be the miracle ingredient you’ve been told it was. In fact, she actually thinks it’s poisonous.
Dr. Karin Michels, an adjunct professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, did a talk about coconut oil called “Coconut Oil and Other Nutritional Errors.” According to USA Today, she referred to the popular oil as poison three times during the speech, which was in German. She also stated that coconut oil may very well be “one of the worst foods you can eat,” which raised a few eyebrows.
But, she might be onto something. The American Heart Association doesn’t necessarily praise coconut oil, and stated — per USA Today — that using it in cooking has “no known offsetting favorable effects.”
One of the reasons why it’s coming under fire is because it contains artery-clogging saturated fatty acids. If people assume it’s healthy, they might not realize how much of it they’re using.
That paves the way towards future health problems that may have been avoidable otherwise. There’s no doubt about the fact that it’s been advertised as a healthy alternative. According to a poll that The New York Times conducted in 2016, a whopping 72% of average people assumed it was healthy.
This doesn’t mean you should necessarily toss your supply — especially if you only use it for skin or hair care. It may be comparable to “poison,” (more like, fast food) but it isn’t straight poison. Instead, you might just want to lessen how often you use it, especially in cooking. As with everything that’s not necessarily on the healthy side, it’s likely fine if used sparingly.
Like we said, coconut oil and coconut cream are okay if used in moderation. If you’re feeling like making a quick, sweet treat that involves your fave (but maybe not-as-great-for-us-as-we-thought) ingredient, check out our So Yummy video!
Those coconut milk soft serves look like the perfect antidote to a hot day!
