I was going to write a post on:

“Coconut oil – a superfood? – or just like butter only it doesn’t taste so nice?!”

But then I started researching it – and I just got overwhelmed with information  I didn’t feel I could digest properly (notice the gut related pun? 🙂 )

So I thought, if I am finding this exhausting and just feeling like I don’t care enough to wade through all this, how am I going to write a lively blog that people might read?

So you know how people have done a 15 minute Hamlet – well this  is my whistle stop tour of “Coconut oil v. Butter”

1.   Both are saturated fats – thus get a bad press in terms of heart disease – but are really good to cook with as they don’t turn into trans-fats when heated above 200 degrees centigrade

2.   The bad press about saturated fats and recommendations about following a low fat diet are being increasingly challenged – both in terms of looking after your heart – and whether they actually help us to be slim / lose weight.    Coconut oil and butter are equally good / bad depending on your view point

3.   There seem to be arguments for both sides about which is better for your heart / cholesterol – coconut oil boasting better medium chain fatty acids, while butter has more heart friendly vitamins

4.   There are very tedious and rather sanctimonious sounding arguments for eating grass-fed butter – but in my world life is too short,  and I don’t think Lidl’s sells it…

5.   Claims are made on the coconut side as many people don’t tolerate diary well – I think this is rubbish as it is milk sugar (lactose) and milk protein (casein) that some people struggle with – not the fat

And so, like so many things, I think it boils down to nothing is black or white – there are pros and cons on both sides – but life is for living and having fun – and the happier and more relaxed we are – the better our digestion works.

So my recommendation is to try and enjoy life and not worry. Don’t take too seriously  the overwhelming torrent of nutritional advice which deluges us from all sides – and just trust your gut 🙂 if it feels good keep doing it – if it doesn’t – don’t!!