Image via Youtube (Jamie Oliver Food Tube).
It’s touted as the healthy wonder ingredient that will not only revolutionise your cooking but your beauty routine too, but celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is having none of it.
Yes, we’re talking about the wellness industries obsession with coconut oil as a “healthier” option.
“A lot of people say coconut oil is the best thing on the planet but it’s also one of the most saturated fats, so let’s get our facts right,” he told Body + Soul magazine.
“There’s a lot of factually incorrect stuff, a lot of bollocks out there and some dangerous stuff as well. I’m conscious of trendy radical people endorsing things that you shouldn’t have,” he said.
While it’s frequently praised and used by health and wellness bloggers in their recipes, Oliver is not alone in having concerns about coconut oil. Dietician and nutritionist Melanie McGrice says that there’s been a lot of confusion about coconut oil over the past few years.
“Coconut oil is high in saturated fats – in fact it’s 93 per cent saturated (bad) fats, One teaspoon of coconut oil contains almost four grams of saturated fat,” she explains.
While benefits of coconut oil include its stability at high temperatures and ability to help to increase good cholesterol, it’s so high in saturated fat that it will also increase bad cholesterol.
McGrice recommends keeping your intake of coconut oil to a minimum (the old ‘everything in moderation’ trick) and choosing olive oil as your primary oil.
“Instead of coconut oil, people are better off including a little bit of fresh coconut in their diet,” she says. (Post continues after gallery.)
Jamie Oliver on Instagram
And after spending the past two years researching nutrition and health for his new book Everyday Super Food, that’s not the only issue Oliver has with the current healthy food movement.
The 40-year-old chef was outspoken about his dislike of the many diet and health fads currently circulating – and suggests the rise of ‘health bloggers’ without the proper qualifications or expertise may be partly to blame.
It’s not just new facts about nutrition Oliver has come away with, but also some important lessons to apply to his own life.
“Probably the biggest and toughest thing I learnt was about sleep. Not getting to sleep but going to bed… turn the lights off, get the room cold, keep your phone away and get six hours not three and a half,” he told Body + Soul.
“When you talk to the best sleep expert in the country and start seeing the cascade of sh*t that happens when you don’t sleep right, you go ‘oh, I get it’. Sleep is the best gym in the world, the best intelligence [builder] in the world.”
Oliver’s comments are a timely reminder that a daily green smoothie and thousands of Instagram likes don’t necessarily qualify a person to give out health and wellness advice.
If you’re ever in doubt, consult an expert. And maybe consider moving your coconut oil from your kitchen to bathroom cupboard permanently.
Do you use coconut oil in cooking? Does this make you change your mind?