1. Coconut Oil’s Comeback: A
Detailed Timeline
Dr. Alexander Rinehart, DC, MS, CNS
http://www.DrAlexRinehart.com

3. 1929-1939: Great Depression
 An excise tax was levied on imports of coconut oil
 Coconut oil became expensive compared to subsidized
products such as soybean, corn and cottonseed

4. 1940’s-1960’s: Post-World War II and
Baby-Boomer Generation
 Wide American cultural shift
 More food eaten outside of the home
 Consumption of TV dinners, canned food, and processed foods
grow rapidly
 Easy to stock and store following Great Depression
 Cheap thanks to newly subsidized ingredients like corn and soy.

5. 1940’s-1970’s: Scientific Bias grows
against Saturated Fats and Coconut Oil
 Studies begin reporting a correlation of saturated fat consumption
with high cholesterol and increased risk of heart disease
 Focus is on Total Cholesterol and Total LDL…beneficial effect of
saturated fats on HDL’s largely ignored
 Correlation is not causation!

6. 1960’s-2000’s: Heavy Lobbying
Begins
 Vegetable Oil Industry (Soybean, Corn, Cottonseed)
 Flush with cash from subsidies and high consumption of
processed foods
 Pharmaceutical Industry (Statin Drugs – 1982)
 Lobby against “Tropical Grease” from coconut and
palm oils
 Saturated Fats and Cholesterol conveniently seen as
enemy #1

7. 2000’s-Present: Coconut Oil
Reemerges
 High-Fat, high-protein diets increase in popularity
 First Patents on Statin Drugs Expire in 2012
 2015 Dietary Guidelines call for increase in dietary fat
and remove concerns about dietary cholesterol,
warnings remain to limit saturated fats.

8. Conclusion
 The war against coconut oil was rooted in the
politico-economic climate of the 20th century.
 It started with the tax of imports & domestic
agricultural subsidies (especially soybean) during
the Great Depression.
 It “ended” with the expiration of the patents on
statin drugs and the new 2015 US Dietary
Guidelines that re-welcomed dietary fat and
cholesterol

9.  To read the full discussion please visit:
http://dralexrinehart.com/nutrition-
benefits/why-coconut-oil-made-its-
remarkable-comeback/ (please share )