Razbijamo prehranske mite - kokosovo olje ne izboljšuje zdravja

Nedavni sistematična recenzija in meta-analiza sugestirata, da klinični poskusi ne podpirajo javnega pozitivnega dojemanja kokosovega olja. Študija, ki je bila objavljena v Circulation, je odkrila, da v primerjavi z ostalimi rastlinskimi olji kokosovo olje zvišuje raven holesterola LDL-C (lipoproteini z nizko gostoto) - ‘slaba’ vrsta holesterola, ki zvišuje tveganje za pojav kardiovaskularnih bolezni- medtem ko ne nudi nobenih izboljšav glede telesne teže, krvnega sladkorja ali vnetnih markerjev.

Zakaj je to pomembno Nasičene maščobe zvišujejo raven LDL-C. Kljub svoji visoki vsebnosti nasičenih maščob je kokosovo olje v preteklem desetletju pridobilo neke vrste kultni status med domačimi kuharji. V anketi iz leta 2016, ki jo je izvedel New York Times, je 72% sodelujočih trdilo, da je kokosovo olje zdravo živilo. Pomenljivo se je s tem v izvedeni anketi strinjalo le 37% nutricionistov. ‘To predstavlja izreden uspeh oglaševanja kokosovega olja in sorodnih industrij, ki kokosovo olje imenujejo za naraven, zdrav proizvod, kljub poznanemu učinku zvišanja ravni LDL holesterola, uveljavljenega vzroka za aterosklerozo in kardiovaskulare dogodke,’ je v uvodniku o novi analizi zapisal Frank M. Sacks, MD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Če raba kokosovega olja namesto ostalih rastlinskih olj zvišuje raven ‘slabega’ holesterola, bi lahko pogosta zamenjava slednjih olj za kokosovo lahko postavila javno kardiovaskularno zdravje pred tveganje.

Kaj smo že vedeli Glede na avtorje recenzije so klinični poskusi, ki so primerjali učinke kokosovega olja in netropskih rastlinskih olj na raven krvnega holesterola, dali mešane rezultate. Za kokosovo olje se je izkazalo, da je v nekaterih študijah znižal raven LDL-C holesterola, medtem ko so ostali poskusi pokazali ravno nasprotno. Nekatere raziskave prav tako predlagajo, da bi lahko rastlinska maščoba ublažila vnetja, nadzirala raven krvnega sladkorja in celo pomagala ljudem pri izgubi telesne teže. Pred dvema letoma so evropski raziskovalci objavili recenzijo 54 poskusov, kjer so primerjali različne prehrambene učinke na krvne lipide. Povzeli so, da kokosovo olje ni zvišalo ravni LDL-C za nič več kot ostala rastlinska olja. Sicer je analiza vsebovala samo 6 poskusov s kokosovim oljem in ni bila oblikovana z namenom vrednotenja ostalih prikritih koristi.

Tropske diete so drugačne Avtorji prav tako razpravljajo o ostalih pogostih argumentih: določeno domorodno prebivalstvo ima nizko stopnjo obolelosti za srčnimi boleznimi ne glede na obilno uživanje kokosa. Raziskovalci so izpostavili, da imajo te skupine drugačne prehrambene vzorce glede na povprečno zahodno prehrano, saj vsebuje več rib, ki pozitivno vplivajo na zdravje srca, in manj predelane hrane. Poleg tega je za tradicionalne diete značilno surovo kokosovo meso ali kokosova smetana, kar vsebuje manj nasičenih maščob kot kokosovo olje.

Bistvo Glede na avtorje: ‘Kljub temu, da je priljubljenost kokosovega olja zaradi njegovih skritih koristi za zdravje v porastu, naši rezultati vzbujajo skrb glede obilnega uživanja kokosovega olja. Na kokosovo olje ne bi smeli gledati kot zdravo olje za zmanjšanje tveganja kardiovaskularnih bolezni in upravičeno je omejevati uživanje kokosovega olja zaradi visoke vsebnosti nasičenih maščob.’ Iz Grenlandije: ‘Za svet lipidov je mišljeno, da je bila ta težava urejena že nekaj časa nazaj. Pomirjujoče je videti, da je s celo kopičenjem še večih podatkov splošno sporočilo ostalo nespremenjeno. Kokosovo olje v primerjavi z ostalimi olji za kuhanje ne nudi koristi za zdravje, ki bi bile dokazane, in zdi se, da je škodljivo za pomembne krvne lipide. Kot takšen bi bil premišljen pristop tak, da bi se ga izogibali v primerjavi z ostalimi olji za kuhanje, ki nimajo takšnih učinkov.’ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764429

JAMA. Objavljeno na spletu (8. april 2020) doi:10.1001/jama.2020.5186

prevod: Tanja Topić

vir fotografij: internet

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Diet myth busted- Coconut Oil does not improve health

Clinical trials don’t support the public’s positive perception of coconut oil, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis suggests. The study, published in Circulation, found that compared with other vegetable oils, coconut oil increases low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)—the “bad” kind that ups cardiovascular disease risk—while offering no improvements to weight, blood glucose, or inflammation markers.

Why This Matters Saturated fat raises LDL-C levels. Despite its high saturated fat content, coconut oil has attained a sort of cult status among home chefs over the past decade. In a 2016 New York Times–commissioned survey, 72% of the public said coconut oil is a healthful food. Tellingly, only 37% of nutritionists in the survey agreed. “This represents a remarkable success in marketing by the coconut oil and related industries calling coconut oil a natural, healthful product, despite its known action to increase LDL cholesterol, an established cause of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events,” Frank M. Sacks, MD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, wrote in an editorial on the new analysis. If using coconut oil instead of other vegetable oils increases “bad” cholesterol, frequently swapping it in for them could put the public’s heart health at risk.

What We Already Knew According to the review’s authors, clinical trials comparing the blood cholesterol effects of coconut oil and nontropical vegetable oils have had mixed results. Coconut oil appeared to lower LDL-C levels in some of the studies, while other trials showed the opposite. Some research also suggests that the plant fat might quell inflammation, control blood glucose, and even help people to lose weight. Two years ago, European researchers published a review of 54 trials comparing different dietary fats’ effects on blood lipids. They concluded that coconut oil did not raise LDL-C more than other vegetable oils. The analysis included only 6 coconut oil trials, though, and wasn’t designed to assess its other purported benefits.

Tropical Diets Are Different The authors also discussed another common argument: certain indigenous populations have low heart disease rates despite plentiful coconut consumption. Researchers have pointed out that these groups have different eating patterns than the average Western diet, with more heart-healthy fish and less processed food. Plus, these traditional diets feature raw coconut flesh or pressed coconut cream, which are lower in saturated fat than coconut oil.

The Bottom Line From the authors: “Despite the rising popularity of coconut oil because of its purported health benefits, our results raise concerns about high coconut oil consumption. Coconut oil should not be viewed as healthy oil for cardiovascular disease risk reduction and limiting coconut oil consumption because of its high saturated fat content is warranted.” From Greenland: “In the lipid world, this issue has been thought to be settled a long time ago. It is reassuring to see that even as more data accumulated, the overall message really remains unchanged. Coconut oil offers no proven health benefits compared to other cooking oils and seems detrimental on important blood lipids. As such, the prudent approach would be to avoid it in comparison to other cooking oils that do not have these effects.” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764429 JAMA. Published online April 8, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.5186