NZ expert labels 'pure poison' take on coconut oil 'extremism'

A Kiwi expert on oils and fats is calling a Harvard professor's view that coconut oil is "pure poison", extremist.

Dr Karin Michels told a lecture, which has since being posted online last month had more than 400,000 hits, that "coconut oil is pure poison", is "one of the worst foods you can eat" and is more dangerous than lard.

Her remarks have added fuel to the fiery debate over the oil's nutritional properties - an oil which has surged in popularity in New Zealand over the past five years.

Dr Laurence Eyres, who has more than 35 years experience in the food industry, told the Herald Dr Michels might've been trying to make a point when calling coconut oil "pure poison" but "it [wasn't] the sort of thing we here would say by that".

Dr Eyres says it's extremism to call it toxic, when no food is toxic in the right amount.

"Salt is toxic, sugar is toxic if you overdose on them," he says.

He says it all boils down to moderation.

"If you like a bit of coconut oil, then fine. There's no problem with having it as part of a balanced diet."

Dr Eyres was the lead author of a study specifically on coconut oil published in Nutrition Reviews in 2016. The study found that coconut oil, which is 92 per cent saturated fat, raises LDL (bad) cholesterol less than butter does, but significantly more than unsaturated plant oils do.

He says they couldn't find "any evidence of magical properties like the hype claimed for it".

The Herald spoke to a number of shoppers in Grey Lynn on Thursday morning, many of whom had heard about Dr Michels' remarks.

Faith said she assumes Michels has done her research and "kind of" agrees with the doctor.

"I think we are overusing coconut oil and coconut products. Definitely."

She says it comes down to balance and listening to your body.

"Everything in moderation and everything in balance."

Nina said it was a bit of a shock to hear coconut oil is considered worse than lard by an expert.

"It's a darn shame because it's very beneficial. My son has just turned vegan, he's going to be 17 tomorrow. It's a big deal in our house."

She said she doesn't plan to stop using coconut oil anytime soon.

"We use it for cooking and we use it on ourselves."

Gareth Leaf is on a Keto diet, which is mostly coconut and fat based.

He was quick to say he didn't agree with Dr Michels.

"A lot of coconut-based products are quite healthy in my opinion," he said.

"I think further studies will be needed for me to even consider that a fact."

Jared Cannons said if it really is poison then "we wouldn't be able to buy it".

"I'm pretty sure there are many other bad oils out there that are doing the same damage," he said.

The ascent of coconut oil sales began in the early 2000s, on the heels of two studies by Columbia University which looked at medium-chain fatty acids, a type of fat present in coconuts.

The study participants who ate the medium-chain fatty acid diet burned fat quicker than the controls.

Once the findings emerged, it was gobbled up: Could this product, which is so easy to incorporate into daily life, be the Holy Grail of fat burning?

Consumers decided it could. Sales of coconut oil rocketed.

The medical industry, however, was not convinced - not even the author of the study, nutrition professor Marie-Pierre St-Onge, who explained in her study that, coconuts are only 14 per cent medium-chain fatty acids. The study participants were fed 100 per cent.