Skip Coconut Oil for Healthier Fats to Protect Your Heart

Is eating coconut oil good for you? Call it clever marketing or junk science. Coconut oil has made the rounds as a healthy oil alternative.

It’s also an added ingredient in bottled water, granola bars, and a long list of other food products. Marketers want you to whip out your wallet for a dose of the coconut craze to be healthier.

But the American Heart Association wants to curb your appetite for coconut. Why? It’s a saturated fat. And it’s pretty much the same kind of saturated fat found in meat, whole milk, and butter...the kind of saturated fat that raises the risk for heart disease. Unsaturated fats are better for you.

Take a look at the three main macronutrients that make up your diet (protein, carbohydrates, and fats). You need some fat in your diet. But the less saturated fat, the better, according an advisory statement published by the AHA in the journal Circulation.

Foods that contain unsaturated fats are a better option than foods high in saturated fat. In fact, in one study, researchers found that eating unsaturated fats in place of saturated fats cut the risk for heart disease by 30 percent, similar to medications. Choose healthy foods with unsaturated fats.

Skip the coconut oil and saturated fat, and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats. Some healthy options: nuts, seeds, fish, corn, soybeans, avocado, olive oil, and canola oil. Take a look at this list of foods that contain unsaturated fats, and you might wonder if you have to take up gourmet cooking to fit these foods in your diet.

Don’t worry. You don’t. We’ve made it easy to follow a healthy, low-sodium diet that contains unsaturated fats. Just check out Low-Sodium menu and you’ll see favorites like:

• BBQ Chicken Drummies, Brussels Sprouts, Black Beans & Corn
• Tilapia with Miso Ginger, Black Beans, Rice with Peas & Carrots
• Breaded Fish & Alfredo Spinach Sauce, Sweet Potatoes & Cauliflower, and many more.

Hungry for a healthy meal? Skip the fast food line and highly-processed options, and pick your favorite MagicKitchen.com meals. They’re all made from fresh ingredients by a team of professionals chefs and licensed nutritionist. A healthy meal, ready in minutes. Yumm.