There are many claims being made about coconut oil, and it has recently been widely marketed as an extremely healthy oil. This is in contrast to the usual dietary advice which recommends limiting the intake of coconut oil due to its high saturated fat content ( 92% saturated fat). Let’s have a look at how the evidence stacks up:
Composition of Coconut products per 100g of product
| Water (g) |
Energy (kJ) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
Sat Fat (g) |
Carb (g) |
Fibre (g) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw coconut flesh | 45 | 1470 | 3.2 | 36 | 33 | 3.6 | 7.7 |
| Coconut dessicated | 2 | 2530 | 5.6 | 62 | 58 | 6.1 | 19.2 |
| Coconut cream (canned) |
71 | 858 | 1 | 20 | 19 | 3.7 | 0.6 |
| Coconut Oil | 0 | 3700 | 0 | 100 | 92 | 0 | 0 |
| Hydrogenated Coconut Oil |
0 | 3700 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Coconut Water | 92 | 89 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Coconut Flour | 2 | 1854 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 21 | 38 |
And compared to other fats and oils per 100g of product
| Water (g) |
Energy (kJ) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
Sat Fat (g) |
Carb (g) |
Fibre (g) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butter | 16 | 3100 | 0.6 | 81.6 | 54.9 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Olive Oil | 0 | 3760 | 0 | 99.6 | 16.6 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Canola Oil | 0 | 3730 | 0 | 99 | 7.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Lard | 1 | 3730 | 0.1 | 99 | 41.8 | 0 | 0 |
Careful with those trendy cereals
The range of cereals on the market is increasing by the week and as more of the popular ingredients are included such as nuts, seeds and coconut many of them are seriously loaded in kilojoules. Here’s a quick comparison with some of the old timers!
| Water (g) |
Energy (kJ) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
Sat Fat (g) |
Carb (g) |
Fibre (g) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Cereal (mainly nuts, seeds, fruit & coconut) |
2260 | 13.9 | 37.4 | 8.5 | 31.7 | 6.8 | 124 |
| Weetbix | 1480 | 12 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 67 | 10.1 | 270 |
| Cornflakes | 1550 | 7.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 82.1 | 2.4 | 550 |
