From wikipedia:

"MCFA do not circulate in the bloodstream to the degree that other fats do. As a result, they are much less likely to be incorporated into fat cells and do not collect in artery walls or contribute to hardening of the arteries.[10] MCFA are utilized primarily by the body to produce energy rather than body fat or arterial plaque."

I like to know your opinion on this.
I’m referring to NON-hydrogenated coconut oil.

MCFA are converted in the liver to energy in basically the same way as carbohydrates. I believe plaque build up in the arteries are more attributable to carb consumption but definitely not from coconut oil. Carb consumption raises triglycerides. Your triglyceride to LDL ratio is indicator of plaque, glycation – the precursors to a heart attack and heart disease.

I eat and advocate a high fat diet (more commonly called a low carb diet). My dietary fat levels run 70-80% of my calories and mostly from saturated fats (coconut oil, butter, fats in meats). I use a large amount of mayonnaise but am dismayed of the oils used in it (but I am disabled and use it for convenience anyway)

There seems to be confusion about saturated fats (and naturally occurring trans fats) falling into the same realm as man made chemically altered fats (trans fats from hydrogenated fats) which they usually alter saturated fats because they are stable and don’t become rancid the way unsaturated (vegetable oils) oils can.

There is a need to balance your Omega 6 oils equally with Omega 3 and with a diet that is so high in fat. I feel more comfortable with saturated fats. They are stable and don’t go rancid, they aren’t oxidized outside my body, I feel more comfortable with them not oxidizing inside my body.

Saturated fats may not be considered as yet an essential fat required for life but natural breast milk is 50% of it’s calories from fat & half of it is saturated fat (half saturated & half oleic acid) for infants (the fats in coconut oil & olive oil – surely nature can’t be too wrong). Coconut oil (the only oil close to duplicating breast milk and added to baby formula) has an extremely unique make up with it’s medium chained fatty acids and can be processed directly as energy in the liver in much the same manner as a carbohydrate.

We all feel comfortable recommending olive oil (with it’s unusual oleic omega 9 makeup – the same as in breast milk) but canola oil has the same monounsaturated type oil and there are serious concerns about using this genetically modified oil as a food source. (cattle won’t eat it and I trust their instincts better than marketers) We all feel comfortable recommending fish oil but there is dispute with the same omega 3 make up in flax seed oils.

The link between saturated fats and heart health is based on faulty science but very few are willing to contradict the long standing edict. Both cholesterol and saturated fat are essential for growth in babies and children, especially the development of the brain. Still, the American Heart Association recommends a low-cholesterol, lowfat diet for children & adults.

50% of dietary fats need to be from saturated fats for calcium to be effective in the bone structure. Saturated fats enhance the immune system & are important for good health.

When someone puts harmful substances into their body, they are harming their OWN (and possibly an unborn child’s) body. Secondhand smoke, which is well-known to be more harmful than smoking, harms other people’s bodies.

BTW, my dad smoked for 50 years and died of brain cancer that started as lung cancer. His choices harmed his family in more than just physical ways. I miss him terribly, and he should not have died prematurely like he did.

The real problem is that fried food is dripping with oil and that oil is very fattening. If you are still eating fried you will still not be eating healthy.

As I see it, talk with your mom, try to educate her boyfriend and your aunt. If no luck, you may have to do all of your own cooking or move out. Good luck on a satisfactory resolution of a thorny problem.

Oil is not the "blood" of the Earth. It takes up a very small percentage of a very small percentage of the upper crust. It has nothing to do with the Earth’s rotation, ozone, water, etc.

Reuters
Wednesday 23 May 2007

Nine U.S. warships carrying 17,000 personnel entered the Gulf on Wednesday in a show of force off Iran’s coast that navy officials said was the largest daytime assembly of ships since the 2003 Iraq war.

U.S. Navy officials said Iran had not been notified of plans to sail the ships, which include two aircraft carriers, through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow channel in international waters off Iran’s coast and a major artery for global oil shipments.
To briang73,
Typical O’Reilly reactionary. Repeat LIES and then resort to name calling. Pathetic.
The results of an attack on Iran could be horrendous. After all, according to a recent study of "the Iraq effect" by terrorism specialists Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, using government and Rand Corporation data, the Iraq invasion has already led to a seven-fold increase in terror. The "Iran effect" would probably be far more severe and long-lasting. British military historian Corelli Barnett speaks for many when he warns that "an attack on Iran would effectively launch World War III."

Yes, America, under Israel’s instruction has gone from the good guy, to the most hated bully on the planet. Some day someone is going to knock our block off, and I have to admit, I think we deserve it.