If the story of virgin coconut oil and trans-fatty acids were the subject of a movie, the storyboard would depict the virgin coconut oil as the hero while trans-fatty acids would be the villain. And the consuming public? They are either the victims or the beneficiaries – depending on the ending of a movie called the War on Tropical Oils.

Somebody asked me why I am devoting so much space to promote virgin coconut oil. Basically, as a public service to create greater awareness about the awesome health and nutritional benefits of a product still unknown to many of us. To convince more Filipinos to patronize virgin coconut oil which has unlimited benefits. To neutralize whatever undeserved and unjustified negative publicity there is – a spillover of the public relations campaign against tropical oils spearheaded by the soya bean industry group abroad. To explain in layman’s terms the truth about coconut oil that has remained hidden and unread in medical journals.

Let’s admit it. Many of us are greatly influenced by US pronouncements on food, nutrition and health. The case of coconut oil is an example of this. The only problem here is that coconut oil is getting conflicting signals. One group says that coconut oil is harmful. Another group advocates the use of coconut oil. But while there are negative publicity on coconut oil, it is being used in medical communities like hospitals. Here’s what Dr. Bruce Fife, my friend and favorite authority on the health benefits of coconut oil says: “Coconut oil, in one form or another, was and still is used in feeding tubes and IV solutions to treat critically ill patients. Coconut oil is a major ingredient in hospital and commercial baby formulas. It is used in over-the-counter medications and added to foods to protect them from spoilage. Nutritional products such as powdered sports drinks and energy bars use it. Few people, however, are aware of this. Often, the term MCT (i.e. medium-chain tri-glyceride, also known as fractionated coconut oil) or caprylic or lauric acids (the so-called artery-clogging saturated fats in coconut oil) were used to hide the fact that some form of coconut oil was in the product.”

Without going through all the favorable reports on coconut oil in medical journals, one just has to take a look at the health conditions of the peoples of Asia, Pacific and other coconut-growing places of the world who have continued taking coconut oil, meat, milk and other products of coconut as staples in their diets. Compare them with those eating the so-called modern processed foods like the Western foods. Guess who are more healthy and youthful looking? Studies and researches show that those who have been exposed to the traditional uses of coconut are less obese, more younger looking, and do not have problems of heart disease and other diseases. Actually, we Filipinos do not even have to look at other Asian and Polynesian communities around the Pacific to attest to the health benefits of coconut oil. Let us just take a look at Bicolanos who love to eat foods with coconut milk and oil. Being a Bicolana (my mother is from Masbate) myself and being married to a Bicolano – food with coconut oil and milk is a regular part of my diet. In a report (complete with statistical figures) read by Dr. Conrado Dayrit, a foremost advocate of the use of coconut oil, in one of the seminars in virgin coconut oil said that Bicolanos of Region V are the least prone to heart attack. Need I say more?

Have a joyful day!