Why was coconut oil rejected for most of the 20th century? Coconut benefits are being rediscovered and new coconut products are finding their way on shelves (and doctor's offices). Find out why coconut oil made its comeback through a timeline of events.

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 )