I bought both coconut oil and unrefined palm oil in an Asian shop. What's the difference (don't just say one comes from coconuts and one from palm!) and what can they be used for? I have just been using them for various fryings.

Thoughts and suggestions please.

the coconut oil is good for massage - gives good suntane. Thai use it for frying snacks and fish.

the palm oil is used in the kitchen in the south.

both are high on cholesterol (there was a thread some 3-4 weeks ago) - thai tend to use saya oil

Both are excellent precursors to cholesterol.

Actually, coconut and palm oil do not contain cholesterol at all being plant derived.

Only animal products contain cholesterol.

However, they do contain saturated fat which makes them solid at room temperature.

Actually, coconut and palm oil do not contain cholesterol at all being plant derived.

Only animal products contain cholesterol.

However, they do contain saturated fat which makes them solid at room temperature.

Well said FD. For some reason people have the wrong Idea about coconut oil. It is a natural product which is easy to digest so the calorie content is spurious. It is also very economical as very little is needed.

Anyhow, any other suggestions for use?

>Anyhow, any other suggestions for use?

Dam fine hair oil !

Although neither are good for you because they contain saturated fat, their real problems come when they are placed in processed "foods." Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated (trans fats) palm or coconut oils are bad because they raise blood lipid levels.

Actually, coconut and palm oil do not contain cholesterol at all being plant derived.

Only animal products contain cholesterol.

However, they do contain saturated fat which makes them solid at room temperature.

Well said FD. For some reason people have the wrong Idea about coconut oil. It is a natural product which is easy to digest so the calorie content is spurious. It is also very economical as very little is needed.

Anyhow, any other suggestions for use?

Well, I use it for making soap. Only thing is in my area it's very difficult to find---as in I haven't yet. I could find it easier and order it cheaper in California than I can in Thailand---the land of coconuts and Palm trees. I'm also looking for Palm Kernel oil--which does stay hard and white even in the hottest temps in Thailand which means your soaps stay harder......so if anyone knows where I can get these by the gallon around the eastern seaboard area please pm me.

thanks,

Beachbunny

SUPPOSEDLY - according to most of the health food nuts - virgin coconut oil is good for you, but I still have my doubts.

palm oil is used fer most ob de stir frys an' deep fryin' at thai food stalls...de wife can't do widdout it...I always use sunflower oil...

palm oil is used fer most ob de stir frys an' deep fryin' at thai food stalls...de wife can't do widdout it...I always use sunflower oil...

This makes sense as it spreads so much when heated. It's also very tasty!

Forget the seed-oil industry propaganda ... palm and coconut oils are saturated fats (good), highly-stable under heat and over time, and the best plant oils available. Second only to pure fish oils and krill oil, which I take in capsule form. Avocadoes also good, but expensive.

Coconut meat is around 10% fat, and should always be eaten. Young coconuts (ma-prau aawn) cost Baht 70-80 for a bag of 10 wholesale (in Bangkok); good and cheap, and the juice provides excellent electrolytes and hydrating fluid. Top tucker which has kept tropical peoples healthy for millenia!

I remember back in the day before they used high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils in commercial baked goods. They tasted better, and there was no obesity epidemic.

Coconut and palm oils are not bad for you. You need some saturated fat in your diet. You do in fact need them in your diet in moderation. Hydrogenated palm and coconut oils are transfats and are terrible for you. You need to eliminate them from your diet.

Well, where I live no one has coconut in moderation. Most eat coconut curries nearly every day and coconut based snacks. They cooked in (homemade) coconut oil for years and every local I know over the age of 45 has high blood pressure. Some (like my brother-in-law) were much younger. And don't tell me its from junk food. The older crowd doesn't eat processed foods.

Perhaps moderation doesn't include daily consumption then?

Well, where I live no one has coconut in moderation. Most eat coconut curries nearly every day and coconut based snacks. They cooked in (homemade) coconut oil for years and every local I know over the age of 45 has high blood pressure. Some (like my brother-in-law) were much younger. And don't tell me its from junk food. The older crowd doesn't eat processed foods.

Perhaps moderation doesn't include daily consumption then?

Anything in excess is going to be problematic. If you are talking about an oil that has a high amount of saturated fat, in which you are consuming it on a daily basis, it is going to cause health problems.

Perhaps moderation doesn't include daily consumption then?

Um, no, it doesn't. I believe that calories from saturated fats are supposed to be no more than 10% of total calories. Coconut curries every day will exceed that. I recall being told by a nice lady that the monks recommend eating eggplant with curries, as it helps to balance the diet. The monks are right.

High blood pressure is more likely to be related to too much fish sauce than coconut oil. It's more a sodium thing than a cholesterol thing, although all these things do tend to cluster.

Well, where I live no one has coconut in moderation. Most eat coconut curries nearly every day and coconut based snacks. They cooked in (homemade) coconut oil for years and every local I know over the age of 45 has high blood pressure. Some (like my brother-in-law) were much younger. And don't tell me its from junk food. The older crowd doesn't eat processed foods.

Perhaps moderation doesn't include daily consumption then?

There must be dozens of other daily lifetyle habits among those over the age of 45 with high blood pressure; without controlling for each factor you can't predictively conclude which one (and it could be more than one) factor is most responsible for their high blood pressure. Simple correlation doesn't mean causality

When diet-related, HBP is more commonly linked to high salt/sodium intakes and low potassium intakes (due to not eating enough fruits and vegetables). From what I've seen of Thai island diets, there is a relative lack of variety of fruits and vegetables compared to what you find in Thai mainland diets.

Causal factors in HBP that rate higher than saturated fat intake include obesity, genetics, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking.

Most significantly, according to the CDC, 'In most cases, high blood pressure does not have a specific treatable cause.'

Then again, according to a recent (April 2007) UK study, '... vascular disease of the brain is the cause of high blood pressure, rather than vascular disease of the heart as was previously thought. A protein located in the brain called JAM-1 was found to be responsible for trapping white blood cells which then cause inflammation and obstruct blood flow, leading to poor oxygen supply to the brain which in turn regulates blood pressure in the body.'