\nThe shit thing about saturated fat is that it increases LDL (\u201cbad\u201d cholesterol), and high LDL is the number one risk factor for heart disease (which is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and Australia).<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s where it gets tricky.<\/p>\n
Coconut oil has three<\/em> different types<\/em> of saturated fat, and the saturated fat that it has the most of (lauric acid) has been shown to raise overall cholesterol, both LDL (\u201cbad\u201d) and HDL (\u201cgood\u201d), giving it a neutral<\/em> effect.<\/p>\n But the important thing to remember is that lauric acid isn\u2019t the only saturated fat in coconut oil. It also contains myristic and palmitic acid and both of these saturated fats raise LDL (\u201cbad\u201d cholesterol).<\/p>\n Another reason why people get horny about coconut oil is because it has antimicrobial properties. Antimicrobial substances inhibit the growth of fungus and bacteria. But here\u2019s the thing, lover.<\/p>\n Our food doesn’t fight off infection. \u00a0Our immune system fights off infection. And when we eat the right foods<\/a>, TA-DA, we build a strong immune system and we’re able to fight off infections.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Eating coconut oil instead of hydrogenated oil<\/a> is an excellent step in the right direction, but you know what\u2019s even more awesome?<\/p>\n Not eating oil<\/a>\u00a0but instead eating the actual plant that the oil comes from (eating coconut instead of coconut oil, eating flax seeds instead of flax oil, etc.).<\/p>\n Getting our fats from eating whole plants is a no-brainer because we get lots of other good stuff along with the fat, like phytochemicals, fiber and antioxidants.<\/p>\n Thank god because AVOCADOS<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, oil is oil.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Coconut, olive, sesame, flax, canola, or palm. They’re all processed, they contain no fiber, and they all have 120 calories and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon, making them the opposite of a nutrient dense food.<\/p>\n And Whole Food Plant Based eating is all about nutrient density.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So, as long as you don\u2019t think that coconut oil will make you super human, or the flip side, you don\u2019t freak the fuck out if you eat something with a little coconut oil in it <\/a>from time to time, you\u2019ll be golden and well rounded on the coconut oil front.<\/p>\n My favorite thing to do with coconut oil is to do my morning oil pulling with it and to use it as a face wash. All those antimicrobial properties are fuckin’ brilliant when you use them topically.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s recipe is an adaptation of a friend\u2019s recipe which she learned while visiting a family in Western Samoa.<\/p>\n My friend is from Germany and she’s traveled around the globe three times by herself. She\u2019s fucking awesome<\/a> (on the left) and she\u2019s a riot to hang out with because:<\/p>\n A) She doesn\u2019t take herself too seriously, which is key if I\u2019m going to be friends with someone.<\/p>\n B) Her English is good, but it\u2019s not her first language, so some of the shit that comes out of her mouth is priceless, and cute as hell.<\/p>\n She met up with us in the Virgin Islands earlier this month, and one day we were driving to explore a new beach. As we came around a sharp bend in the road, there it was, a pristine beach and picture perfect Caribbean water<\/a>.<\/p>\n As soon as my German friend saw the beauty she yelled out, \u201cWOW WOW FUCK\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n We busted out laughing and \u201cwow wow fuck\u201d became our new saying for the rest of the trip. We eventually hash-tagged it to #WWF.<\/strong><\/p>\n My friend made us a version of this recipe during our visit together and I nearly cried it was so good. Her version was better because we used fresh coconut meat from a coconut outside of the house we were staying at<\/a>, but this version is pretty damn close.<\/p>\n It\u2019s super rich, so when you serve it, serve it as a side dish and not the main meal. If you\u2019re following a low fat diet, this is not the recipe for you.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/files.cleanfooddirtygirl.com\/20180308051117\/Coconut_Dish_Hand-e1611345520667.jpg\")
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