Coconut oil may once have been the golden child of the health food scene but the oil has since fallen from grace, thanks in part to a damning report from the American Heart Association.

In 2017 the health-focused associated reported that coconut oil’s high levels of saturated fat can have a negative impact on cholesterol, suggesting instead that heart-healthy oils (such as extra virgin olive oil) be used.

Perhaps as a result, and growing understanding of how cholesterol and heart health go hand-in-hand, coconut oil sales have dropped dramatically. Data research from firm SPINS reported that sales dropped in number by a jaw-dropping $US52 million in between 2015 and 2016. That’s a 24.3 percent decrease from the impressive $US229 million in sales made in 2015 in America alone.

SPINS believe it is not only health-related findings that have encouraged movement away from coconut oil. There’s also the factor of increased competition from the continued emergence of new culinary oils to try, namely ghee.

“Perhaps, Medium Chain Triglycerides (aka MCTs), which are a component of coconut oil, have been in the spotlight more [than straight coconut oil for cooking]?” questions Kimberly Kawa of SPINS.

“Another consideration is, since animal protein and animal fats are now more likely to carry label-based attributes with natural product industry appeal [for example on-trend brands such as EPIC Provisions now sell beef tallow, pork lard and duck fat] we are finding consumers picking up a jar of ghee instead of coconut oil.”

While it’s not quite time to throw out that (rather expensive) jar of coconut oil just yet, it may be time to embrace the use of the term sparingly.