It screened last night on Nine’s repeat channel Extra. I think they got it…Didn’t catch it? Well, I thought I’d do a little catch-up post on the stuff. Coconut oil, that is.

Raspberry Ripple, recipe in my I Quit Sugar book

Here’s a rundown of why coconut oil is so good for you.

Here’s a rundown of 19 clever things to do with coconut oil once you’ve bought a jar of the stuff.

Want to know how coconut oil makes you lose weight?

And some extra info on which fats are the best for cooking and eating cold….

If you’re wondering which brands to buy…I use a few different ones, based on price and also the taste (some are too bitter)…always buy organic and always buy “virgin” “cold-pressed” and unrefined.

* Melrose (a good, cheap one that can be found in some supermarkets and most health food stores)

* Oil4Life (extracted without heat and possbily the best flavour of the lot)

* Nuigini (lowest carbon miles – comes from Papua New Guinea – and comes in a great sealable jar, perfect for re-using for storing pickles etc)

Hope that helps… and feel free to post questions below.

Someone has asked me how coconut oil helps you lose weight. Good question. I had to think about it for a bit. In the meantime, I ate some more of the stuff in dishes like my raspberry ripple recipe.

My raspberry ripple, which Veronika M has turned into raspberry ripe crackles! Instructions below…

Anecdotally, according to a survey of one, I know it works. I eat about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil – straight from the jar, or in a sugar-free chocolaty dish like the one above – most days after lunch. And I’ve lost weight from doing so.

If you want to read more anecdotes about weight loss from eating coconut check out these forums.

How does it work? Again, anecdotally, I believe it’s because coconut oil:

a) kills sugar cravings, immediately (I don’t go reaching for more food, especially sweet food, after lunch).

b) fills you up, immediately. After 2 tablespoons I’m not hungry for about four hours. A rare state of being for me.

c) does something else…I’m not sure what…but it certainly seems to speed up metabolism.

I wanted to learn more myself about why this is so, and, so, did some research. I like dot-points, so allow me to present my findings as a series of bulletted factoids and findings:

For more coconut oil recipes like the one above, you might like to download my I Quit Sugar Cookbook.

The saturated fat deal

* Know this: saturated fats, overall, help you lose weight. Coconut oil is a saturated fat. To fatten a pig, farmers feed them polyunsaturated fats (primarily soybean and corn oil). To produce a leaner pork? The Department of Animal Science of North Carolina State University advises you stop feeding them polyunsaturated oils and start feeding them saturated fats. Can you see the picture forming?

* Consider this: we eat less saturated fat then ever before, but we’re the fattest we’ve ever been. Perhaps there’s a connection here?

* Saturated fats are required to absorb nutrients. Four vitamins—A, D, E, and K—are soluble in fat only. We need

You may remember David Gillespie from previous discussions such as Why Sugar is Really Grim For You. He’s the author of Sweet Poison and over the past 13 months since I quit sugar we’ve been in regular dialogue.

image via Bon Appetite

Sometimes we talk about the fact that much of what we know about sugar and fat is a big fat lie. Wonderfully, David has now published a book on this very point. Today we’re chatting about his new book Big Fat Lies: How the Diet Industry is Making You Sick, Fat & Poor. If you’ve been wondering, if sugar is bad and saturated fat is actually good, then why are we not been told as such, then this is your weekend read.

But curl up now with a nice buttery piece of toast and enjoy our “fact or fiction” rundown of some common nutritional advice we all get fed…

David Gillespie Podcast [ 17:36 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The five myths we cover off are:

1. eating fat causes heart disease

(For a little more background on the bodgy science that tried to convince us of this myth, see my blog on Ancel Keys‘ fat study.)

2. cholesterol is bad

3. egg yolks are the devil!