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NEW DELHI (WASHINGTON POST) – When epidemiologist Karin Michels of Harvard University gave a lecture on nutrition in Germany this summer, she probably was not expecting to trigger an international incident.
But after calling coconut oil "pure poison" and "one of the worst foods you can eat," India has decided to retaliate.
Dr. Michels, an assistant professor at Harvard, commented on a mixture of indignation and disbelief in a country where coconut oil is a staple, especially in the south (Kerala, a state of the art). South India). coconut tree ").
Mr. Michels' comments are "baseless and irrelevant," wrote B. B. Srinivasa Murthy, Commissioner of Horticulture in India, in a letter sent last week to the Dean of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
He asked the Dean to take "corrective action" and withdraw the comments. Mr. Michels made "negative statements against the revered harvest of billions," Murthy wrote.
In an interview, Mr. Murthy said that Dr. Michels' lecture was made at a meeting last month in Bangkok of the Asia Pacific Coconut Community, a rally of 18 officials. country.
"There was a bit of anguish," he said. "I wondered what made him make this statement."
The skirmish between India and Dr. Michels is part of the wider war around the coconut oil.
As of 2011, coconut oil has gone from a little-known article in natural food stores to a "superfood" that inspired its own craze in the United States, praised for its many health benefits. The followers use it in smoothies and even in coffee.
But coconut oil is also rich in saturated fats, which are one of the leading causes of heart disease. Last year, the American Heart Association warned against the use of coconut oil because its consumption raises a dangerous form of cholesterol, just like butter and palm oil.
Dr. Rajesh Muralidharan, a Kerala cardiologist, said his initial response to Dr. Michels' lecture was "Oh, Not Yet" and to think about all the questions his patients would be facing.
"The answer is that we have no answer," he said. "What we are trying to tell them is that all oils have fat and that they should be used as little as possible."
It's impossible to imagine Keralan's cooking without coconut oil, he added. "Our ancestors have been using it for centuries," he said. "It's something in the blood, the taste of coconut oil."
A spokesman for the Harvard School of Public Health declined to comment. Dr. Michels, who is also a professor at the German University of Freiburg, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr V.S. Sunil Kumar, Minister of Agriculture of Kerala, said that he also planned to write a letter to Harvard for an explanation of Dr. Michels' comments.
"Our experience is that coconut oil is not a poison," he said. "No coconut, there is no life in Kerala, it's true."
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