Does coconut oil increase the risk of heart diseases? This question was discussed threadbare at a seminar on 'Coconut oil in human nutrition' organised by the Coconut Development Board in connection with the World Coconut Day in Kochi.

Experts at the seminar ruled out the possibility of coconut causing increased risk of heart ailments.

Addressing the meet, Dr D M Vasudevan, principal, Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, said per capita consumption of coconut in Kerala has decreased considerably in the last 50 years or so, but cardiac diseases have increased during the period.

In his paper on 'National Relevance of Coconut Oil --Myth versus Reality', Dr Vasudevan said although coconut oil is termed as saturated fat it contains lauric acid and myristic acid of medium chain length which are totally different in properties from long chain fatty acids.

Coconut oil is the most easily digestible and absorbed class of fats and it does not circulate in the blood stream. It is not stored and not deposited in any tissues.

Earlier, in the key note address, Dr B M Hegde, former vice-chancellor, Manipal University of Medical Sciences, said that cholesterol was mainly genetic.

Coconut oil lowers cholesterol in hyper-cholesteraemics. It does not alter normal cholesterol levels and increases cholesterol in those with very low cholesterol, he added.