What is Virgin Coconut Oil?
A typical site on the road in the Philippines: a truck
carrying copra-based (NOT Virgin) coconut oil.
Virgin Coconut Oil can only be achieved by using fresh coconut
meat or what is called non-copra (see below for a definition of copra).
Chemicals and high heating are not used in further refining. There are
currently two main processes of manufacturing Virgin Coconut Oil:
1. Quick drying of fresh coconut meat which is then used to press out the
oil. Using this method, minimal heat is used to quick dry the coconut meat,
and the oil is then pressed out via mechanical means.
2. Wet-milling. With this method the oil is extracted from fresh coconut
meat without drying first. "Coconut milk" is expressed first by pressing.
The oil is then further separated from the water. Methods which can be used
to separate the oil from the water include boiling, fermentation,
refrigeration, enzymes and mechanical centrifuge.
The method we use at Mt. Banahaw Health Products Corp. in the Philippines
is fermentation. The coconut milk expressed from the freshly harvested
coconuts is fermented for 24-36 hours. During this time, the water separates
from the oil. The oil is then slightly heated for a short time to remove
moisture, and filtered. The result is a clear coconut oil that retains the
distinct scent and taste of coconuts. This is a traditional method of
coconut oil extraction that has been used in the Philippines for hundreds of
years. Laboratory tests show that this is a very high quality coconut oil,
with the lauric acid content being 50 to 53%. This oil is not mass produced,
but made by hand just as it has been done for hundreds of years. Since we
live in the community where the coconuts grow, we personally guarantee that
the best organic coconuts available are used in producing this Virgin
Coconut Oil, and that no chemicals whatsoever are used in the growing or
processing of the coconuts. Our coconuts are also certified organic
according to strict USDA standards.
Delivering Virgin Coconut Oil to
the Mt. Banahaw warehouse in 5-gallon pails. Many of our producers live in
rural areas in coconut-producing communities where no roads exist, and draft
animals like the water buffalo are used.
Bringing in young coconuts from the farm and loaded onto a jeepney to be
transported to the market.
How is Virgin Coconut Oil different from other coconut oils?
Most commercial grade coconut oils are made from copra. Copra is
basically the dried kernel (meat) of the coconut. It can be made by: smoke
drying, sun drying, or kiln drying , or derivatives or a combination of
these three. If standard copra is used as a starting material, the unrefined
coconut oil extracted from copra is not suitable for consumption and must be
purified, that is refined. This is because the way most copra is dried is
very unsanitary. Most of the copra is dried under the sun in the open air,
where it is exposed to insects and molds. The standard end product made from
copra is RBD coconut oil. RBD stands for refined, bleached, and deodorized.
Both high heat and chemicals (e.g. solvent extractions) are used in this
method. When referring to RBD refined oils, there are two main processes:
chemical extraction using solvent extracts, or the older physical/mechanical
processing.
RBD oil is also sometimes hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated.
Hydrogenated oils have been shown to increase serum cholesterol levels which
contribute to heart disease.
One of the main differences between Virgin Coconut oil and refined
coconut oils is the scent and taste. All Virgin Coconut Oils retain the
fresh scent and taste of coconuts, whereas the copra-based refined coconut
oils have no taste at all due to the refining process. Some grades of
refined copra-based oils are also now sold that have a coconut flavor, but
are usually bitter and have a burnt taste to it.
What is "Extra Virgin Coconut Oil?"
Some retailers and manufacturers of Virgin
Coconut Oils, referring to one of the processes mentioned above, call their
coconut oil "Extra Virgin Coconut Oil." But there are no other processes
used to make coconut oil other than the ones mentioned above, so this
classification is simply arbitrary. There is no official classification or
difference between "virgin" and "extra virgin" as there is in the olive oil
industry.
Why do some say that coconut oil causes high cholesterol levels?
While this claim has been widely disproved in many scientific studies and
journals, unfortunately this perception is still around. The tropical oils
were very popular in the US food industry prior to World War II. With the
war and the shortages of imported tropical oils, an effort was made to
promote local oils, like soybean and corn oil. The US is the largest
exporter of soybeans. Studies were done to show that coconut oil, and all
saturated fats, were bad for one's health because they raised serum
cholesterol levels. However, these studies were done on hydrogenated coconut
oil, and all hydrogenated oils produce higher serum cholesterol levels,
whether they are saturated or not. Recent research shows that it is the
presence of trans fatty acids that causes health problems, as they
are fatty acid chains that have been altered from their original form in
nature by the oil refining process.
In addition, numerous studies now show that the high lauric acid content
of coconut oil is very beneficial in attacking viruses, bacteria, and other
pathogens, and that it builds the body's immune system just as human
mother's milk does, which also contains lauric acid. Promising studies have
been done on patients suffering from immune deficiency diseases, such as
AIDS. See our research page.
With polyunsaturated seed oils now largely replacing coconut oil in the
American diet, there is a huge deficiency of lauric acid in the American
diet that was present prior to World War II. The need for quality coconut
oil is greater than ever!
Click here to purchase.
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