MUMBAI: Coconut oil and its ‘health benefits’ are once again at the centre of a medical debate in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of India’s prestigious medical journals, JAPI (Journal of Association of Physicians), has carried a review on coconut oil, focusing on its ‘immunomodulation benefits’ and ‘ability to act against microbes’, in its July edition.
One of the main authors of the paper, Dr Shashank Joshi, who is also the dean of Indian College of Physicians and a member of the state government task force on Covid-19, told TOI that coconut oil has lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid that can be easily synthesized by the body. “Indians consume a lot of saturated fatty acids, especially ghee, which are the right source of fats needed for the body’s metabolism,” he said.
Coconut oil has been recogniz