Does Eating Thai Food Make You Worry About Coconut And Cholesterol

Thai food is delicious and very tempting but there is also a concern among those who love this kind of food that there is much to worry about on account of the connection between Thai food and coconut and cholesterol. A widely held view is that coconut milk contains excess of cholesterol. However, it has yet to be scientifically established whether this is true or not.
Those who study and know nutrition caution us against the misinformation that is being spread about coconut and cholesterol. In this regard, ordinary persons as well as medical fraternities and also the media are all clueless about the truth of the matter. A lot of the disinformation being spread can be ascribed to the motives of the American oil industry that frowns on the consumption of tropical oils such as coconut oil.

Thais tend to consume plenty of coconut oil in large amounts but when these people underwent tests to find out the effect of coconut oil on their cholesterol levels, no alarming facts came to light. The reason why nothing was found was because almost fifty percent of fatty acids contained in coconut fat are nothing but lauric acid which is something that is also present in the milk from mothers.
This lauric acid has beneficial properties most notably that of transforming itself into monolaurin which is an antiviral and antibacterial as well as antiprotozoal monoglyceride that help in destroying viruses such as herpes, HIV and influenza.
Many studies are being conducted to establish the effects of coconut consumption on cholesterol levels. Not even one study has been able to find anything seriously wrong with those who consume coconut oil in significant amounts. On the contrary, studies have shown that nothing goes wrong with the serum cholesterol levels even after consuming a lot of coconut oil.
Many wrongly believe that coconut oil is nothing but saturated fat which is extremely dangerous as far as cholesterol levels go. However, not all saturated fats are bad and in the case of coconut oil, its saturated fat is actually loaded with good cholesterol and so is beneficial to a persons health.
It is heartening to note that almost two thirds of fats in coconut oil are considered to be quite safe and are nothing worse than medium chain fatty acids. These are fatty acids that the body readily assimilates and so will not prove to be detrimental to a persons health.
On the contrary, there are many benefits that people that consume coconut oil will get to enjoy. Coconut oil that contains plenty of lauric acid and capric acid will provide a number of benefits including not causing heart problems. According to studies on coconut and cholesterol, it was found that coconut was in fact beneficial as it did not give rise to heart diseases and this is because it is a functional food that provides benefits that are greater than simply being nutritious.