Based on a review for the Heart Foundation and to point out the erroneous classfication of coconut oil as containing medium chain triglycerides

1. COCONUT OIL – ARE ITS HEALTH CLAIMS JUSTIFIED?
Dr.Laurence Eyres ECG Ltd
Chairman NZIC Oils and Fats Group
November 2014

2. Is coconut oil healthy?

3. WHAT IS COCONUT OIL?
Edible oil industry production of commodity crude to RBD- Own experience in 1974 Newmarket
Niche production of Extra virgin oil-definition
What’s all the fuss about? Market rapid growth
Confusion with MCT oil (Medium chain triglycerides)
Conclusion as to the claimed health benefits

4. COCONUTS
Tropical fruit grown year round
Oil within the meat of the coconut
Contained within cells
Composition
Percentage of Fresh Coconut Meat by Weight
Moisture
50
Oil
34
Ash
2.2
Fibre
3
Protein
3.5
Carbohydrates
7.3

5. COPRA EXPELLING TO FORM OIL
Typical screw presses for oil from copra

7. VANUATU 2014

8. BATCH REFINERY IN VANUATU

9. TRADITIONAL USES OF CNO AND HCNO
Most of the oil has been used as HCNO( the fully hydrogenated oil -no trans!) termed a confectionery fat. (same use as fully hardened palm kernel oil).Increase in melt point from 26 to 35 degrees C
CF 92-kremelta-home made chocolate rice krispies, biscuit fillings, caramels etc.
Unhydrogenated oil resurrected by marketers as the answer to all human ills!

10. WEBSITE AND CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT OF CNO
No evidence to back claims by celebrities for exaggeratde health claims for coconut oil.
These are statements-only anecdotal hype
Erroneous classification of coconut oil triglyceride structure-claims based on the sound work done on genuine MCT oil

11. EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL
Colourless when liquid
Characteristic mild aroma of coconut
Oil quality
Acid Value-low
<4mg KOH/g oil
Measures hydrolysis of oil
Peroxide Value-low
<10 meq peroxide/g oil
Measures oxidation of oil
WONG, M., EYRES, L., RAVETTI, L. 2012. Modern aqueous oil extraction: Centrifugation systems for olive and avocado oils. In: Green Vegetable Oil Processing. Editors: Proctor, A. & Farr, W. The American Oil Chemists Society, AOCS

12. COMPOSITION OF COCONUT OIL
Predominantly triacylglycerols
Made up of the following fatty acids
C6, 8 and 10 saturated fatty acids 17%
C12 saturated fatty acid (lauric) 47-48%
Myristic and palmitic saturated fatty acids 24%
Unsaturates 7-8%
Healthy?

13. IS COCONUT OIL COMPOSED OF MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES?
NO

14. MEDIUM CHAIN FATTY ACIDS AND TRIGLYCERIDES
Explanation of terms
Medium chain fatty acids 8, 10 and 12 carbon fatty acids
MCT’s are comprised C8 and C10 only not C12
Coconut oil is 47-48% C12 contains virtually no MCT’s
MCT studied for their carbohydrate-like dietary mechanism( They contain about 70% C8 and 30%C10)
Coconut oil and MCT’s are miles apart
Bach, A. C., & Babayan, V. K. (1982). Medium-chain triglycerides: an update. Am J Clin Nutr, 36(5), 950-962.

15. MANUFACTURE OF MCT OIL-FROM THE 60’S
CNO or palm kernel oil are hydrolysed to their fatty acids
These are distilled the prize is C12 fatty acid (48%)used to make surfactants and other chemicals-such as sodium lauryl sulphate
The residual C6,8 and 10 fatty acids are separated (lower boiling)
They are then re-esterified back into triglycerides
Bleached and deodorised
Product is fully saturated, bland,colourless,stable and has unique properties in nutrition

16. CONDENSATION – GLYCEROL AND FATTY ACIDS-SYNTHESIS MCT OIL-USING C8 AND C10 FA

17. COMPARING COCONUT OIL WITH MCT OIL
Fatty acids
Coconut
Medium chain triglycerides
Butyric 4:00
0
0
Caproic 6:0
1
<2
Caprylic 8:00
9
50-80
Capric 10:00
7
20-50
Lauric 12:00
47
<3
Myristic14:00
16.5
<1
Palmitic16:00
7.5
0
Stearic18:00
3
0
Oleic18:1 cis
6.4
0

18. Triglyceride carbon number analysis of CNO vs. MCT oil
MCT oil (Croda)
Coconut oil
Mol Weight
Tricaproin C24
24
zero
471
TricaprylinC26
25
zero
499
Tricaprin C28
28
0.5
527
Tricaprin C30 10-10-10
10
3
555
C32
<3
14
583
C34
<1
17.5
611
C36 Trilaurin LaLaLa plus others
0
20
639
C38
0
16
667
C40
0
10
695
C42
0
7
723

19. OLD CHROMATOGRAM SHOWING TRIGLYCERIDE ANALYSIS BY CARBON NUMBER(MOLECULAR WEIGHT)-1985 VINTAGE LE

20. PHYSICAL DIFFERENCE MCT AND CNO AT AMBIENT

21. LAURIC ACID TWELVE CARBON SATURATED FATTY ACID
Whilst chemically Lauric acid (C 12:0) could possibly be described as a medium chain fatty acid-biologically it behaves as a typical saturated fatty acid like myristic and palmitic.

22. CONCLUSION 1
Coconut oil is NOT composed of medium chain triglycerides
Any referring to CNO and its similarity in the metabolism of MCT oil is erroneous and misleading
Coconut oil does not behave the same as MCT’s and it is totally erroneous and scientifically wrong to call coconut oil an MCT and thus any analogies comparing coconut oil with clinical work on MCT’s are void.

23. PEER REVIEWED CLINICAL EVIDENCE ON CNO ROLE IN CVD
We found no evidence to suggest that CNO is beneficial other than as a source of energy
Replacement of some CNO with PUFA resulted in more favourable lipid profiles
Coconut flesh, cream and milk when consumed with fish, vegetables and fruit can be considered a healthy diet

24. NORDIC REVIEW
There was convincing evidence that partial replacement of SFA with PUFA decreases the risk of CVD, especially in men. This finding was supported by an association with biomarkers of PUFA intake; the evidence of a beneficial effect of dietary total PUFA, n-6 PUFA, and linoleic acid (LA) on CVD mortality was limited suggestive. Evidence for a direct association between total fat intake and risk of T2DM was inconclusive, whereas there was limited-suggestive evidence from biomarker studies that LA is inversely associated with the risk of T2DM.

25. LITERATURE SEARCH
Searches were conducted in the Scopus and Medline databases and bibliographies in published literature and on websites promoting coconut oil were examined. The few papers and studies (n=23) identified for inclusion in this review demonstrates the paucity of quality studies, reviews or meta-analyses that examine the effects of coconut in its own right. Even fewer have studied the effects of consumption of coconut or coconut products on cardiovascular disease outcomes.

26. CONCLUSION 2
No evidence from human clinical trials to suggest that CNO can be classified as a healthy oil

27. SUMMARY CLINICAL PAPERS REVIEW
In summary, while the level of evidence on coconut itself and risk factors for heart disease is mostly poor quality, the evidence suggests that consumption of coconut oil raises total cholesterol, HDL and LDL, although in clinical trials this did not raise them as much as butter.
In the clinical trials included in this review, the effects of coconut oil on triglyceride levels versus unsaturated oils were generally not significant.
Cox, C., Sutherland, W., Mann, J., de Jong, S., Chisholm, A., & Skeaff, M. (1998). Effects of dietary coconut oil, butter and safflower oil on plasma lipids, lipoproteins and lanosterol levels. Eur J Clin Nutr, 52(9), 650-654.

28. CONCLUSION 3
For consumers living in New Zealand who are on a Western style diet, based on current evidence it would be inadvisable to switch from unsaturated oils to coconut oil. It is likely that this would lead to less favourable lipid profiles and so a potential increased risk from CHD.

29. RECOMMENDATION
Consumers who are using a lot of coconut oil due to the current fad would be well advised to either limit its use, or to blend in some unsaturated cold pressed monounsaturated oils such as olive, avocado or canola oil. Although it may be a better choice than butter, coconut oil cannot be recommended as a suitable alternative to non- hydrogenated vegetable oils.
http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/uploads/Evidence_paper_coconut_August_2014.pdf

30. POPULATION STUDIES
Indigenous populations who consume traditional diets with coconut products along with fish and vegetables (unsaturated fats and fibre) combined with a physically active lifestyle are unlikely to be at risk of cardiovascular disease from the consumption of coconut products. The situation for indigenous populations who eat a traditional diet is vastly different to that of people consuming a typical “Western” diet.
For other populations, coconut oil is 92% saturated and nothing in the literature disputes the fact that it acts as a saturated fat and raises total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol.

31. CONCLUSION 4
Pacific island populations have not normally consumed coconut oil per.se., instead coconut oil is consumed as a component of coconut flesh or coconut milk.
The Pacific Island communities have had their traditional diets modified enormously and high fat and high sugar processed foods have been incorporated into their local culinary culture with adverse effects on obesity and health. Making changes in the food supply to improve access and availability of locally produced traditional foods may allow taste preferences to be met and may be a better option than encouraging behaviour change alone.

32. HOW TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK

33. WRITTEN REVIEWS
NZ Heart Foundation website
Food New Zealand-October and December issues
Oils and fats website
http://www.oilsfats.org.nz/ For Oils and Fats Group