Hello and

welcome I'm Monica Reinagel and you're listening to the nutrition diva's quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling

fabulous.

A while back, I dedicated an episode to the benefits of coconut oil.

Now despite breathless reports of miraculous powers, I found scant evidence that coconut oil will melt off the pounds, balance your

hormones, boost your immune system or raise your IQ. On the other hand, coconut oil

is a very stable oil.

It doesn't easily oxidize, spoil, or go rancid.

It has a high smoke point, and it doesn't produce harmful chemicals

when it's heated.

And that's because coconut oil is a highly saturated fat,

which in some circles is considered a bad thing.

Saturated fat after all is said to raise cholesterol levels

and boost heart disease risk.

Proponents of coconut oil argue that the saturated fats in coconut oil are not harmful to your

heart.

And at the time of my original article article there wasn't much research one way or the other.

Lately several of you have asked whether any newer research has come along to settle the question.

So this week's show takes a closer look at what we've learned about the fats in

coconut oil. And now back to today's topic, how do the saturated fats in coconut oil affect cholesterol?

Saturated fat is not a single nutrient,

it's an entire family of fatty acids,

...