safe coconut oil?

[svrn]

I just got some cold pressed virgin coconut and I went to the website to try and find out the temperatures it was pressed at and came up with this.

"What heat level is your organic coconut oil exposed to during the extraction process?
 
In humid countries, the sun-drying of oilseeds with a high moisture content, such as mature coconut, is slow and inefficient (e.g., copra). Such conditions promote mold growth, which could result in high free fatty acid levels and poor quality oils. To prevent this, the coconut "meat" is quickly hot air dried (70-80 degrees C), then mechanically crushed and pressed without the use of excessive heat, solvents, or chemical refining. This natural process retains the fresh aroma, taste and qualities of real coconut. "

What I want to know is if the hot air being 70-80 degrees Celsius means that the product itself reached such temperatures or that simply the air around it was that temperature. (for example if you set your oven to 400 degrees whatever you put in there won't actually reach that high of a temperature.) Do you think this coconut oil is safe to eat until I can get my hands on some animal fats?

[svrn]

http://nowfoods.com/Foods/real-food/Products/M012700.htm

theres the actual product if anyone wants to reference it.

[CitrusHigh]

Safe is a relative term. You won't get sick from it immediately. It may have some benefits, but it is not an ideal substance. Whether it's a net benefit or detriment is up for debate. That is essentially pasteurization. Which means it's going to oxidize some of the compounds and there will be enzyme loss. There will be nothing living in the coconut meat when that is done with.

It is though, inarguably a waste of money since truly raw oils can be had out there. You just have to take the time to study the producers.

Also it might be worth the sacrifice in the mean time to save money you would spend on coconut oil and invest in a juicer that will cold press coconut meat. I know a nearby co-op sells coconut meat hulled, or you can buy mature coconuts and extract it yourself.

It's truly tragic all the lifegiving coconut that is squandered through heavy industrial processing!

[TylerDurden]

It's a waste of time to buy this product. Any processing is bad, but heat(above 40 degrees Celsius/104 degrees Fahrenheit) is the worst.

Personally, I don't see the value of plant oils like coconut oil. Now, if you want raw plant fats, why not buy whole avocadoes?

Also, I once bought the rawest, healthiest coconut oil I could find, and it turned out I was severely allergic to the stuff, getting appalling stomach-aches afterwards. Some other members here have reported similiar problems with it.

[Inger]

I do eat raw virgin coconutoil every day. About 1 tablespoon of it. I like it so much.
I wonder if it does me any harm. I feel very well, though. Hmm.
Maybe I should try to be without it for a while, and check if I feel different? Somehow I just feel that it is great for me.
I also have some troubles to get good fat here. My elkmeat is very lean. Fatty fish I can not get that often. The avocados here are not great. I do not want to eat much avocados eather.
I will soon order some grassfed fat from Germany, as it get colder. Then I will try without coconut oil and see if I feel some difference.

Inger

[balancing-act]

What about using coconut milk, if fresh coconuts aren't available? Anything canned certainly isn't ideal, but I'd think it would be better than extracted oil, which isn't a whole food.

I'm sick of avocadoes, too, but I'm trying to find the best fat to go with my meat. Maybe some back fat or lard, if I can get my hands on some?

[Löwenherz]

I just got some cold pressed virgin coconut and I went to the website to try and find out the temperatures it was pressed at and came up with this.

Try to get fresh mature coconuts.

Whole raw coconut cream or fresh raw coconut milk are much better than any oil.

Löwenherz

[balancing-act]

Oil is never really good. My problem with mature coconuts is opening the damn things.

[Inger]

Easy.
First get the juice out (stick something in the soft whole of the 3 at the end of the coconut).
Then put the coconut in a plasticbag. Take a hammer and beat the coconut around the equator, until it cracks.
Ready!
 

[eveheart]

After you get the coconut shell open, you can use a coconut demeating tool to get the meat out of the shell. The tool looks like a thin curved knife. You slide it between the shell and the meat to loosen the meat and get it out in a big chunk. They sell them in ethnic markets such as Thai, Philippine, or Mexican, but you have to search a little or buy online.

[svrn]

Does the meat have a lot of fat in it? Whenever I eat raw young coconut the meat seems somewhat sugary and crispy rather than fatty. Also they are 5 bucks a pop here and i cant see myself getting enough fat from one or two but maybe i am wrong.

[eveheart]

The fat develops as the coconut matures. The coconuts called "young" or "green" are completely full of water so you don't hear the water slosh around when you shake them, and their meat goes from a thin layer of jelly (very young) to more solid and rubbery (adolescent?). When you buy them, they have their outer husk or inner husk on.

The hard brown coconuts are the ones that have a good amount of fat. They are sold in the hard shell, ranging from ivory-white outside with still-rubbery but thick-ish meat, to darker brown with hard meat, the kind you can get the most milk and oil from.

But, hey! you have a computer! - there are good resources with pictures and even video if you google young coconut and coconut. Just remember, if you google something and they're talking about heating or cooking the coconut, it ain't raw paleo.

[CitrusHigh]

troll you have to go to the asian markets. The co-ops mark them up like 400% or so. It's embarrassing!

[svrn]

I would go to the asian markets except theres no way of knowing how things were grown there.

[CitrusHigh]

But you know how they produce them at the co-ops?

[svrn]

I know if I'm buying certified organic that it wasn't sprayed with pesticides or irradiated.