Coconut oil for dogs?

[vjw]

I had a little time this evening to look up links to some of the studies where they use coconut oil as an atherogenic substance.

Maybe they'll come out with a study that proves the virgin coconut oil is safer than the regular coconut oil, but right now I'm too scared to give it to my pets as a supplement.

One of the major reasons I'm so concerned about coconut oil is that whenever there's a study done on the efficacy of drugs/supplements for hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) or atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), many times they will feed their research subjects (like mice, rats, rabbits, hamsters, monkeys) high cholesterol diets to induce hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. Usually the animals are given coconut oil and cholesterol and it's amazing how fast they get the hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.

Here's just a few links to abstracts of the older studies.:



In this study, note in the third line down what the rabbits were given:

Link



Here's a fish oil study:

Link




I noted in my earlier post that I hadn't seen a recent study where the research was done on dogs, but here's a link to a really old study where the dogs were given hydrogenated coconut oil:

Link







Joy

[lovesophie]

QUOTE (vjw @ Apr 29 2009, 05:05 PM)

I noted in my earlier post that I hadn't seen a recent study where the research was done on dogs, but here's a link to a really old study where the dogs were given hydrogenated coconut oil:

Link[/B]

I'm pretty certain the atherosclerosis was due to the oil being hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils have high levels of trans fats, which are like poisons to our bodies. Trans fatty acids also block essential fatty acids, which impedes cell function. Here is an excellent article that covers an experiment done on animals that were fed hydrogenated coconut oil, which led to atherosclerosis. The author explains the animals had an abundance of trans fatty acids and became deficient in essential fatty acids, thus leading to atherosclerosis.

http://www.getleanstaylean.com/LEANU...onut%20Oil.pdf

This article is really good, as the author explains the health and nutritional benefits of coconut oil, as well as the misconception that saturated fats cause heart disease.

Extra virgin coconut oil is my absolute favorite oil (EVOO is a close second). EVCO is wonderful to cook with, as it's highly heat resistant and doesn't easily oxidize. Coconut oil is not only delicious, but it has a plethora of health benefits, too. You can learn more about its benefits here: http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

I just don't buy into this whole cholesterol theory that high blood cholesterol causes atherosclerosis, which leads to cardiovascular disease. I really think cholesterol and saturated fats have been given bad reputations for nothing. Studies show that they both play an important role in our health.

Here are some great articles that claim the whole lipid hypothesis as being bogus (I had them saved on my computer):

http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases...ts_cholest.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...ats_phony.html

http://westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/hd.html

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/index.html

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ae7yFEFhV6...result#PPA96,M1

I have some more articles, if anyone's interested.

[vjw]

Here's a "saturated fats" paragraph of an article from the American Heart Association:


Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. Foods from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2 percent milk. All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol. Foods from plants that contain saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter.



The entire article is really a good one for persons who are wanting to lower their cholesterol or lower their risk of heart disease:


Know Your Fats



Joy

[vjw]

There's a whole bunch of articles from reputable sources here:


MedlinePlus Link to Cholesterol Articles





I just read Harvard's Fats and Cholesterol article under the nutrition section and it's really good.





Joy

[Nikki's Mom]

QUOTE (LoveSophie @ May 12 2009, 10:45 PM)

QUOTE (vjw @ Apr 29 2009, 05:05 PM)

I noted in my earlier post that I hadn't seen a recent study where the research was done on dogs, but here's a link to a really old study where the dogs were given hydrogenated coconut oil:

Link[/B]

I'm pretty certain the atherosclerosis was due to the oil being hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils have high levels of trans fats, which are like poisons to our bodies. Trans fatty acids also block essential fatty acids, which impedes cell function. Here is an excellent article that covers an experiment done on animals that were fed hydrogenated coconut oil, which led to atherosclerosis. The author explains the animals had an abundance of trans fatty acids and became deficient in essential fatty acids, thus leading to atherosclerosis.

http://www.getleanstaylean.com/LEANU...onut%20Oil.pdf

This article is really good, as the author explains the health and nutritional benefits of coconut oil, as well as the misconception that saturated fats cause heart disease.

Extra virgin coconut oil is my absolute favorite oil (EVOO is a close second). EVCO is wonderful to cook with, as it's highly heat resistant and doesn't easily oxidize. Coconut oil is not only delicious, but it has a plethora of health benefits, too. You can learn more about its benefits here: http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

I just don't buy into this whole cholesterol theory that high blood cholesterol causes atherosclerosis, which leads to cardiovascular disease. I really think cholesterol and saturated fats have been given bad reputations for nothing. Studies show that they both play an important role in our health.

Here are some great articles that claim the whole lipid hypothesis as being bogus (I had them saved on my computer):

http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases...ts_cholest.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...ats_phony.html

http://westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/hd.html

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/index.html

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ae7yFEFhV6...result#PPA96,M1

I have some more articles, if anyone's interested.


[/B][/QUOTE]

I am in total agreement. I'm a big fan of Weston Price Org.
We have been using organic EV olive oil, organic EV coconut oil, local, raw, unpasteurized milk and grass fed beef for a couple of years now and the benefits are great.

I have trouble trusting some "big" nutritional studies because they are often funded by Big Pharma, or The Processed Food Industry.

[lovesophie]

QUOTE (Nikki's Mom @ May 13 2009, 09:16 AM)

I have trouble trusting some "big" nutritional studies because they are often funded by Big Pharma, or The Processed Food Industry.[/B]

I'm reluctant to trust them, as well. It's pretty hard to defy the medical community. Many physicians and lecturers advocate what these

pharmaceutical companies tell them, which is biased research they use to make profit. There is so much corruption that goes on behind

these closed doors.

Here are a few articles exposing what goes on at Harvard Medical School, one of the nation's most respected medical schools:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/business.../Wilson,%20Duff

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22237

http://www.naturalnews.com/026223.html

If anyone's interested in this whole debate about cholesterol contributing to heart disease, I suggest reading The Cholesterol Myths

by Uffe Ravnskov. I think it's definitely a good read.

Mr. Ravnskov also formed The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS). http://www.thincs.org/index.htm

You can also learn more about him here: http://www.ravnskov.nu/uffe.htm

ETA: Here are a few informative videos from YouTube, if anyone's interested, LOL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8WA5wcaHp4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SSCNaaDcE...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPPYaVcXo1I...feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xrr8MjDJ78...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE_RIQY53ys...feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHIA8usGxEM...feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na_Ear8OdJM...feature=channel

[vjw]

Guess this'll be a topic we disagree on.




Joy

[lovesophie]

QUOTE (vjw @ May 13 2009, 01:45 PM)

Guess this'll be a topic we disagree on.




Joy[/B]

Agreed.