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DEAR DR. ROACH: I started using coconut oil instead of milk and sweetener in my coffee. I find a quarter of a teaspoon of coconut oil mixed with 12 ounces of coffee to be quite delicious. But I want to make sure I don’t hurt, because my own LDL has gone up and my HDL has gone down since December. I’ve heard that coconut oil is healthy, but also that it’s saturated fat. – QL
REPLY: Compared to a similar amount of non-tropical vegetable oil, coconut oil increases both total and LDL cholesterol. The effect is not great. In a review of numerous studies, the increase in cholesterol was around 10 points in people who started using coconut oil, but the amount people use will of course be critical: a quarter of teaspoon per day is unlikely to have much of an effect on your blood cholesterol level.
The effect on HDL cholesterol in these studies was different from what you’ve seen, as coconut oil tends to increase healthy HDL levels. Overall, most experts believe that coconut oil is not as healthy for you as other vegetable oils, such as olive or sunflower oil, but it is not as healthy for you as other vegetable oils, such as olive or sunflower oil. bad for you than saturated animal oils, like butter or lard.
DEAR DR. ROACH: Now that transoceanic travel will resume in the near future, I would like to hear your opinion on the benefit (if any) of traveling in business class to reduce the risk of DVT compared to traveling in economy class.
Does lying down in business class overnight reduce blood clots, especially in older passengers, as opposed to sitting in economy class with your feet on the floor? Or should Business Class passengers also be advised to get up and walk around the cabin every hour to avoid PST (and sleep)? – GEV
REPLY: This has been studied, although there were not enough blood clots in the two groups to be able to show a difference. The study authors looked at D-dimers, a blood test known to correlate with the risk of a blood clot. In this study, business class did not differ significantly from economy class for the development of high D-dimer.
Most people don’t have to worry about developing a clot while traveling. The risk of a clinically significant blood clot is low, less than 0.05%. However, for people who have never had a blood clot and who otherwise have no risk factors, the general advice for people concerned about a blood clot would be to walk every hour as you suggest; drink enough fluids to avoid exhaustion (the dry air in airplanes can cause you to lose fluid faster than you think); and doing leg exercises while sitting.
People who are at increased risk of a blood clot – for example, those with a history of blood clots; pregnant women; people with active cancer; and those who have just had surgery – should consider additional maneuvers that have been shown to reduce the risk of blood clots during flights. These include wearing compression stockings, as well as following the tips above. Those at very high risk should discuss medication use with their doctor before a long flight.
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Dr Roach regrets not being able to respond to individual letters, but will fit them into the column whenever possible. Readers can send questions by email to [email protected] or by mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.
(c) 2021 North America Syndicate Inc.
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