A little coconut won’t hurt, but don’t be fooled by diet books that tout coconut oil as the secret ingredient for weight loss and health. Unlike most nuts that contain heart-healthy fats, the main fat in coconut is saturated fat (at  ~ 92% saturated fat, coconut oil makes butter and lard look like health food!).  However, the main saturated fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, which is a “medium-chain triglyceride” or MCT. Unlike the longer saturated fats in dairy products and meat, MCTs are shorter, more quickly absorbed, and likely to be burned for energy, rather than stored as fat.  Numerous studies show that MCTs  increase metabolism, aid in weight loss, and lower body fat.   Lauric acid also is mildly effective in protecting against liver damage, possibly aiding thyroid function, and providing some anti-inflammatory benefits. That’s the argument to justify drinking coconut-laden smoothies with 93% fat calories – hey, it’s mostly MCTs, so you’ll drop pounds just downing the shake!
Like the old adage says, “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.” There is no body of research on coconut and weight loss, only mixed evidence using purified MCTs. Even then, these fats appear useful mainly for hospitalized patients requiring tube feedings. For the healthy person who wants to drop a few pounds or even avoid weight gain, the research is scanty at best.  And, get this – you must consume half your calories as MCTs to see results, which is a lot more than you could realistically get from coconuts and also could cause side effects, including nerve damage and intestinal cramping.  In short, if people lose weight with coconut, it’s because they cut calories, not because they sprinkled coconut on their chicken.
OK, so coconut oil isn’t the Promised Land for weight loss, but is it good for your health? The proponents of coconut say we’ve been duped into thinking that the saturated fats in tropical oils are bad for us, pointing out that we’ve “…drastically reduced saturated fats…[which] has not solved the nation’s health problems.”  They say lauric acid in coconut oil lowers, not raises, heart-disease risk, as proven by the low rates of heart disease in coconut-eating cultures such as India.
First, saturated fats, along with trans fats, are major contributors to heart disease, it’s just that few people follow the dietary advice to cut back. Second, while cultures where people eat coconut-rich diets sometimes do have a lower incidence of disease, there is no proof it is because of coconut. It could be that these people are at low risk because they are lean, physically active, and eat traditional diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and other real foods. In contrast, adding coconut oil to the fat- and sugar-laden Western diet is like pouring kerosine on a blazing fire of obesity.
The evidence linking coconut oil to heart disease is contradictory, but points sharply in the direction of caution. Some studies show lauric acid might improve the ratio of bad cholesterol (LDL) to good cholesterol (HDL), thus lowering heart-disease risk. Even then, coconut oil is no where near as beneficial as switching from butter to olive oil.  Coconut oil also should be judged on it’s entire fat content, not just it’s lauric acid, since coconut oil also contains myristic acid, a fat that dramatically raises blood cholesterol levels. Keep in mind, decades of studies show that tropical oils, including coconut oil, actually raise, not lower, heart disease risk, which is why they were removed from processed foods in the first place. Even researchers from countries, such as India,  recommend a decrease in coconut oil consumption to reduce their rising heart-disease rates In short, if coconut has any effect on metabolism it is modest compared to its potential to raise your risk for heart disease.

First, make it easy on yourself. You don’t have to spend hours preparing a brown bag lunch for your child, yet can provide meals that are far superior to anything most children get at a school lunch program. The basic rule is to provide a quality grain, a protein, a fruit or vegetable, and a calcium-rich food. For example, fill a Mission Life Balance tortilla with tuna salad and chopped tomatoes (wrap tightly in plastic wrap), add a carton of chocolate or low-fat milk, a bag full of orange sections, and a cookie. Or, fill the bag with a tub of hummus, some whole wheat pita wedges, apple slices, and a 6-ounce yogurt. Peanut butter can be combined with sliced bananas, sliced apples, dried tart cherries, or even grated carrot on whole wheat bread. Add a carton of calcium-fortified OJ and a tub of pudding to round out the meal. A thermos of vegetable-beef soup with a cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread and a bag full of fresh strawberries is another idea.

Question: I was wondering why it is widely believed that saturated fats are bad for you, when logically humans have evolved to eat animal fats which provide a large number of uses in the body?

Humans evolved on diets very low in saturated fats. They didn’t eat fatty domesticated animals, like cows, lambs, and pigs. They ate wild game, which is extremely lean and the ratio of saturated fats to omega-3s is the opposite of domesticated animals. Saturated fats are not essential nutrients. In fact, if humans never ate another gram of saturated fats it wouldn’t affect health at all. However, the omega-3s, especially the omega-3s in fatty fish (an of those, DHA is by far the most important), are critical to blood vessel, nerve, and occular tissue function and structure; are not made by the body, so must be obtained from the diet; and numerous health conditions, from dementia, depression, and possibly even Alzheimers to heart disease are now being attributed to low omega-3 intake. I cover this issue in detail in my book – The Origin Diet.

First, let me congratulate you on packing a lunch. Most school lunch programs are awful, loaded with fat, salt, sugar, calories, and processed foods. You can pack a healthy, yummy lunch in no time and rest assured you are fueling your kids’ day with nutrition-packed foods. Here are a few ideas to get you through the week:

1) Peanut butter candy sandwich (a mixture of peanut butter, honey, and wheat germ) on whole wheat bread. A 6-ounce yogurt, and a carton of calcium-fortified orange juice.

2) A chicken and black bean burrito (Black beans, low-fat cheese, left-over chicken wrapped in a Mission Life Balance tortilla). A carton of milk and apple slices.

3) Chicken salad sandwich (cubed chicken breast, diced celery, and low-fat mayo) on whole wheat bread. Baby carrots dunked in low-fat Ranch dressing or peanut butter, and a carton of milk.

4) A ham n’ cheese roll up: Layer lean ham and low-fat cheese, along with a little mustard in a Mission tortilla and roll up. Orange slices, fresh strawberries, and a carton of milk or tub of yogurt.

5) Turkey Cranberry Sandwich (layer turkey slices, fat-free cream cheese, cranberry sauce, a few dried tart cherries on whole wheat bread). Watermelon cubes in a baggie. Carton of milk or calcium-fortified orange juice.

Children need the calcium equivalent of at least 3 glasses of milk a day. If they are not consuming that much, then look for ways to sneak calcium-rich foods into the daily diet. Cook hot cereal in milk instead of water, add nonfat dry milk powder to cookie or muffin batter, and make fruit and milk smoothies. Mission Life Balance tortillas have the calcium and vitamin D equivalent of a glass of milk in each tortilla, so a chicken and black bean burrito made with one of those tortillas also is a great way to increase calcium intake.

Yes, shrimp is high in cholesterol, containing more than a third of your daily quota or 130 milligrams in a 3-ounce serving. But, shrimp also is low in fat and contains a smidgeon of  heart-healthy omega-3s, which might explain why a study from the University of Southern California found that eating shellfish, like shrimp, every week reduced heart attack risk by 59%. Besides, most of the cholesterol in your blood is made in the body from saturated fats consumed in the diet, and shrimp is very low in that artery-clogging fat. The bottom line: shrimp is a healthy addition to your diet, just don’t batter or fry it!

Water does curb appetite, but only if it is incorporated into food, not drunk from a glass. Several studies from Pennsylvania State University found that only water in soups, thick beverages like V8 juice, and other liquid foods fills us up. In one study, women were given a snack of chicken rice casserole with a glass of water or a chicken rice soup that contained the same amount of water as broth. Results showed that the soup was more filling even though it contained 27% fewer calories than the casserole. The reason why water bound to food is filling, while a glass of water is not, is unclear, but it could be that the bound water slows digestion, whereas a glass of water just passes right through.