Coconuts have been a valued food in tropical areas for thousands of years.
They are traditionally enjoyed as coconut water from the centre of the coconut, coconut flesh, or coconut ‘milk’ (made by steeping the flesh in hot water).
Solid white coconut oil is now the darling of celebrities and bloggers, paleo enthusiasts and sellers of so-called superfoods.
Claims for its supposed medical value reverberate around the internet, but how well do they stand up to scientific scrutiny?
Here, in a piece for The Conversation, Dr Rosemary Stanton, a leading nutritionist based at the University of New South Wales, debunks the myths.
