# Coconut Milk And Cholesterol Content.



## execceo (Jul 17, 2007)

Hello, I was browsing through a website and found a great banana dessert recipe. However, the dish had plenty of coconut milk. The website did mention how to make the coconut milk and coconut cream, but said nothing about the nutrition value or dangers of coconut milk. More specifically, I am interested in knowing the cholestrol danger of coconut milk or coconut cream. 

Can anyone help please.



Thanks in advance.
ExecCeo.....Loves to cook.


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## Lizannd (Jul 17, 2007)

*Because it is not an animal product it doesn't have*

cholesterol, but it is high in saturated fat and saturated fat raises your blood cholesterol.  If you take off the hard, thick layer that rises to the top when you make it it should lower the saturated fat content.  I have seen "lite" coconut milk in the stores but have never tried it.  The coconut cream in the can seems to be half thick hard fat and half liquid.  I just don't eat it very often in restaurants.


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## *amy* (Jul 17, 2007)

This is what I use when a recipe calls for coconut milk:

Coconut Milk 

Note that this particular brand has zero cholesterol per 1/3 cup serving (and a readout of nutritional data). I buy the "light" version.

Coconut Cream

Coconut Cream


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## Corey123 (Jul 17, 2007)

My mom used to make a cold desert from this.

She took coconut cream, shredded or chopped Coconut, some fruit cocktail, pineapple chunks, raisins and combined it all together. 

It was delicious and luscious, but it WAS very fattening! We called it No-name desert because there really was no name for it.

But yes, coconut, coconut milk and coconut cream DO have a very high amount of cholesterol. As does anything that's made with tropical oils.

But I imagine that if you ate it in moderation, such as once in a VERY GREAT WHILE, it might not be so bad.


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## jennyema (Jul 17, 2007)

Corey123 said:
			
		

> But yes, coconut, coconut milk and coconut cream DO have a very high amount of cholesterol. As does anything that's made with tropical oils.


 

Corey, 

Sorry but that's just not true.

*Coconut products do not contain any cholesterol.* No plant product does. Only animal products contain cholesterol.

Like lizzand explained, above, coconut milk contains saturated fat, which raises LDL. But it does not itself contain any cholesterol.

But people also claim that coconut oil raises HDL, or good cholesterol.


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## Corey123 (Jul 17, 2007)

Then why are health officials badmouthing it?

Doesn't it have tropical oils which are said to be bad?


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## Andy M. (Jul 17, 2007)

Corey123 said:
			
		

> Then why are health officials badmouthing it?
> 
> Doesn't it have tropical oils which are said to be bad?


 

Jennyema explains why in her post...


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## black chef (Jul 17, 2007)

Corey123 said:
			
		

> Then why are health officials badmouthing it?
> 
> Doesn't it have tropical oils which are said to be bad?



the soybean folks had an agenda, and it has worked wonderfully.

if coconut oil, milk, and cream were that bad, malaysians, thai, and other folks would have VERY high incidences of heart disease and cholesterol, but that's NOT the case.

meanwhile, FACTORIES are blasting cheap grade oils with hydrogen to hydrogenate them... so they can live forever on your shelves.

and you're worried about a NATURAL coconut?

don't believe the hype.


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## jpmcgrew (Jul 17, 2007)

I thought I read some where that coconut oil is great and healthy for frying.Its been very confusing indeed dont know what to believe.


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## black chef (Jul 17, 2007)

jpmcgrew said:
			
		

> I thought I read some where that coconut oil is great and healthy for frying.Its been very confusing indeed dont know what to believe.



you need virgin coconut oil... not refined or hydrogenated coconut oil.

coconut oil contains medium chain triglycerides, and lauric acid, etc.

*remember, the same folks who vilified coconut oil, did the same to butter while promoting margarine.*

and now, it's the *trans fatty acids* in those same hydrogenated products that has done all the damage.


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## Caine (Jul 18, 2007)

Also remember that 99% of the people who are telling you that coconut oil is healthy, are purveyors of coconut oil!


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## black chef (Jul 19, 2007)

Caine said:
			
		

> Also remember that 99% of the people who are telling you that coconut oil is healthy, are purveyors of coconut oil!



agreed... just like those who vilified butter & coconut oil are now having to eat crow as their products are filled with trans fats which are PROVEN to be the problem.

when the lobbyists and corporate types get OUT of the FDA, things will be better for all of us (i hope).


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## foodstorm (Jul 19, 2007)

execceo, just make the dessert and enjoy it.  It's not like you are going to be eating piles of it every single day for the rest of your life.  A little sat fat never killed anyone--it's a LOT of sat fat that'll do it to ya!


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## Corey123 (Jul 20, 2007)

Yeah, as long as these things are eating in moderation, there shouldn't be a problem.


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## Caine (Jul 20, 2007)

Corey123 said:
			
		

> Yeah, as long as these things are eating in moderation, there shouldn't be a problem.


 
You're in America. There *IS* no moderation!


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## CraigC (Mar 22, 2012)

Breathing air can kill you now a days! I think I'll start having Thai currys every night! Coconut milk !


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## bakechef (Mar 22, 2012)

This is just a hunch, but there may be something to it.  Look at places in the world that survived on natural oils and look at their rates of heart disease, they are usually low.  When our margarine and hydrogenated oils that were developed here became part of their diets heart disease increased just like here.  There is lots of info online to wade through.

I use natural oils for the most part.  I don't micromanage fats but just use common sense when using them.


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## mkaylady (Mar 22, 2012)

Coconut oil and other coconut products are extremely healthy. It is not the people who are selling it who are saying this. It is the health food enthusiasts. There is a lot of information available on this.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Mar 22, 2012)

jennyema said:


> Corey,
> 
> Sorry but that's just not true.
> 
> *Coconut products do not contain any cholesterol.* No plant product does. Only animal products contain cholesterol.



I have a can of my own coconut cream here and it has no cholesterol (0 mg). It has 19 g of fat per 90 g serving (half a cup, 4 oz), of which 17 g are saturated fat and 0 g are trans fat. 190 calories (170 from fat), 11 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate (of which 2 g are sugar) and 1 g protein.]

Coconut cream is the same thing as coconut milk except it's the thick part that rises to the top when your coconut milk settles for a few hours. I prefer CC to CM because it's thicker and doesn't dilute other ingredients, and can always be thinned with water if too thick.



CraigC said:


> Breathing air can kill you now a days! I think I'll start having Thai currys every night! Coconut milk !



Warning: dead topic revival! What got you motivated to dig up this old topic after almost 5 years? 



mkaylady said:


> Coconut oil and other coconut products are  extremely healthy. It is not the people who are selling it who are  saying this. It is the health food enthusiasts. There is a lot of  information available on this.



It's people like me too, who explore interesting cuisines (Thai food) and start cooking their traditional recipes, and then look at the health consequences of eating their food. The biggest consequence I can find is that I'm eating healthier food and consuming more vegetables. And the stuff is tasty too! 

Sorry. If anybody has coconut milk or coconut cream phobias IMO they are not based in reality. They are healthy foods.


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## bakechef (Mar 22, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:
			
		

> I have a can of my own coconut cream here and it has no cholesterol (0 mg). It has 19 g of fat per 90 g serving (half a cup, 4 oz), of which 17 g are saturated fat and 0 g are trans fat. 190 calories (170 from fat), 11 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate (of which 2 g are sugar) and 1 g protein.]
> 
> Coconut cream is the same thing as coconut milk except it's the thick part that rises to the top when your coconut milk settles for a few hours. I prefer CC to CM because it's thicker and doesn't dilute other ingredients, and can always be thinned with water if too thick.
> 
> ...



Oh my, I just noticed the date on this post!


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## CraigC (Mar 23, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> Warning: dead topic revival! What got you motivated to dig up this old topic after almost 5 years?


 
First off, I didn't revive this. There were 2 posts above mine. No clue where they went. Maybe the mod or admin that removed them can shed some light on the matter. I do believe that the reviver was a one post wonder.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Mar 23, 2012)

OIC!  I'm sorry if my question was a bit undiplomatic. I guess moderator action made it appear that you were the dead topic digger upper. 

I suspect the removed posts may have had something to do with advertising spam. I report advertising spam whenever I see it and the mods delete them faster than you can shake a stick. Usually advertising spammers start their own topics but they sometimes find a topic related to whatever they're selling and attach their spam to that.

Anyway there's nothing particularly unhealthy about coconut milk or coconut cream as long as you aren't chugging the stuff all day and all night long.


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## FrankZ (Mar 23, 2012)

As it sometimes happens a very old thread was revived by someone that wanted to sell something to our members (or just con them into something).  That post was removed, as is our policy on spam (not the kind you eat, you can keep at that if that's yer taste).

Sometimes that leaves a continuity issue, especially if someone replied and then it kick starts the thread again.

I will now go back behind my curtain and be the Great and Powerful Oz.


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