Hi Scott. I'm currently trying to eat more to reach my calorie goal, and you suggested that I could try adding a spoon of coconut oil.

I know you've told me that saturated fat isn't necessarily bad, however I'm sure you would agree that unsaturated fat is still better. So, (and I hope this isn't a dumb question), instead of having a spoon of coconut oil (which is mostly saturated fat), wouldn't it be better to have a spoon of mayo (which is mostly unsaturated fat)? Thanks!

Again, some of your trepidation is caused by the years of mis-information about saturated fats that has been propagated in the media. Coconut oil is a special type of saturated fat called an MCT - Medium Chain Triglyceride. MCTs are processed differently than other fats. MCTs go straight to the liver and are used as energy for the body. They therefore provide extra calories without leading to fat gain. If it was my choice, I would use coconut oil and ditch the mayo.

As for mayo, unless you are making it yourself the answer is "no". Look at the ingredients in a typical jar of mayonaise. Sometimes it has added sugar and other junk that make it the highly processed food it is. Unfortunately regardless of what the label says, all mayo is processed in some way or form and the best mayo is mayo you make yourself with eggs, vinegar, mustard, oil, and salt. If you read the label of bottled mayo, it has more than just these ingredients listed.

Unsaturated fat comes in 2 types - mono and poly. Monounsaturated fats like Olive oil are very good for you. The only good poly-unsaturated fats are Omega 3's as found in oily fish and egg yolks. All the poly-unsaturated vegetable oils you see - corn, soy, sunflower, safflower - are the most unhealthy and worst oils you can eat. The media will have you believe these are healthy when in fact they are very damaging to the entire body as they are very pro-inflammatory. Unfortunately, the U.S. produces more corn and soy than any other country in the world and it is subsidized by the U.S. government so these oils are very cheap to produce and therefore are marketed as healthy so you will buy them.

John

John has it covered again! You can also, check out this article: http://muscularstrength.com/article/Coconut-Oil-Bad-Oil-Gone-Good

Got to have healthy levels of saturated fat in your diet so you can have healthy testosterone levels!!