There are a number of established risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease. These are

• lifestyle based factors like too much alcohol, too little exercise, smoking, and diet
• physiological factors that are associated with heart disease, like high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), diabetes, and obesity
• personal factors like one's age, gender, and family and personal history

In terms of coconut oil and heart health, I have written about coconut oil and diabetes here, and coconut oil and weight loss here. Coconut oil actually benefits both diabetes and obesity. Thus, insofar as these are associated with heart health, coconut oil benefits the heart by alleviating these conditions.

Coconut Oil And Heart Health - Cholesterol

High levels of LDL cholesterol and low levels of HDL cholesterol are considered to be risk factors associated with heart disease. This article on coconut oil and cholesterol discusses this issue in detail. But to summaries, there is evidence that good quality, unprocessed, virgin coconut oil is at the least neutral as a risk factor for heart disease. There is evidence to suggest it may actually lower LDL and increase HDL in people with high cholesterol. Thus, it actually improves the ratio of HDL to LDL.

Coconut Oil And Heart Health - Chronic Low-Grade Infections

There are actually a number of other factors that may play a role in the development of heart disease - namely inflammation and infection. These could help explain why otherwise healthy people who don't have these traditional risk factors suddenly have a heart attack. The American Heart Association write:

"The major injurious factors that promote atherogenesis - cigarette smoking, hypertension, atherogenic lipoproteins, and hyperglycemia - are well established. These risk factors give rise to a variety of noxious stimuli that cause the release of chemicals and the activation of cells involved in the inflammatory process. These events are thought to contribute not only to the formation of plaque but may also contribute to its disruption resulting in the formation of a blood clot. Thus, virtually every step in atherogenesis is believed to involve substances involved in the inflammatory response and cells that are characteristic of inflammation.

In addition, there is also research that indicates an infection - possibly one caused by a bacteria or a virus - might contribute to or even cause atherosclerosis. The infectious bacteria, Chlamydia pneumoniae (klah-MID'e-ah nu-MO'ne-i), has been shown to have a significant association to atherosclerotic plaque. The herpes simplex virus has also been proposed as an initial inflammatory infectious agent in atherosclerosis."

And this from the BBC:

"The researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association: 'There is increasing evidence from observational studies and randomized clinical trials that certain bacterial infections may play a role in the etiology (group of conditions that constitute a disease) of coronary heart disease and subsequent myocardial infarction (heart attack).'"

Coconut Oil And Heart Health - Coconut Oil's Antiviral And Antibacterial Effect

One exciting consequence of this research on the association of viral and bacterial agents to atherosclerosis, is that coconut oil's natural anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties mean it may actually protect heart health. This is quite ironic given the bad rap saturated fats and palm oils like coconut oil have received over the years.

Coconut oil is predominantly composed of the fatty acid lauric acid (about 47% in fact), which is also one of the main fats found in breast milk. Lauric acid in the body is broken down in the intestines into monolaurin. Monolaurin has antimicrobial and antiviral properties. It has been shown to be effective against some fungi like candida, bacteria such as Listeria, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, and viruses like Herpes Simplex, Cytomegalovirus, influenza, measles, and HIV.

Coconut oil also has Caprylic acid in it, about 8%. Caprylic acid is particularly effective against fungi like candida albicans, and has been used by many people against it for years.

Capric acid (7%), which is another fatty acid in coconut oil, has demonstrated significant activity against Herpes Simplex-2, Chlamydia, and HIV-1.

Taken together, it is easy to see how promising are coconut oil's antiviral, anti-fungal, and anti-microbial effects. And if the association between heart disease and certain viruses and bacteria holds true, then we can see how coconut oil could be beneficial for heart health.

Of course, there are many oils that have shown themselves to be healthy for the heart, such as the omega 3 fatty acid containing oils like green lipped mussel. But coconut oil contains immune boosting fatty acids that could provide another boost for heart health. Coconut oil does not harm beneficial bacteria either.

Coconut Oil And Heart Health - Arterial Plaque Composition

Interestingly, when you look at the composition of arterial plaque, you will see that very little of the content comes from fat, and of the fat that there is (16%), which is located at the core of the plaque, 74% is actually unsaturated fats. The rest of arterial plaque is made of fibrous tissue, mostly collagen (68%), calcium deposits (8%), inflammatory cells (7%), foam cells (1%), and the lipid core, at 16%.

As you can see, coconut oil and heart health are definitely not mutually exclusive ideas. If bacteria and viruses play any role in heart disease, then coconut oil may in fact be beneficial for those wanting to keep their heart healthy. In any case, coconut oil has been shown to improve the ratio of HDL to LDL in a positive way. And it assists with diabetes management and weight control, both of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It is easy to use - you can use it in cooking in place of your regular oil. The taste is mild and it doesn't interfere with your cooking.

You can get a high quality, virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil here.

References:
1. healthy-eating-politics.com/atherosclerosis.html
2. lef.org/protocols/heart_circulatory/coronary_artery_disease_atherosclerosis_01.htm
3. holisticjunction.com/displayarticle.cfm?ID=2149ures
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/270625.stm
5. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4648
6. http://www.musc.edu/bmt737/spring2001/Penny/index.htm
7. coconutresearchcenter.org/article10132.htm
8. http://www.nytimes.com/specials/women/warchive/980217_1362.html
9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9259669
10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9259669
11. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10641975
12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1747507.stm