Sorry to disagree with you, but I was in the nutraceutical business and understand how the ingredient industry maneuvers and a bit about fatty acids. These types of ingredients are marketed for profit not for your good health. I do not discount the usefulness of coconuts or their constituent products (in the raw), but you should be looking at the complete product assay, along with the full lipid profiles to determine its effectiveness and how it stacks up with other comparative ingredients. As I mentioned, there are other oils just as lipid healthy as coconut oil and in some applications better.
Subsequently, here is another example of taking a good raw ingredient and manipulate its form through processing. Just like soy. Soy used as a condiment, in its natural state is fine and has health benefits. The industry, used the Asians as an example of how beneficial soy is and started processing it and putting it in everything. Soy milk, soy protein, soy meat analogs, etc. And when the gynecomastia (man-boobs) started growing, because of processed soy increasing estragon levels, it garnered full attention then. So who do you think is the number one consuming county of soy products? I will give you a hint, it is not Asia. So while the Paleo Zealots will opt for products made with coconut flour, they are misrepresenting the intent by a constraint to eat coconuts, but do not realize how this changes the assay of the ingredient and subsequent mechanisms of action on the body.
As far the inclusion of the western diets in other cultures and the subsequent detrimental affects, I agree. However it has less to do with coconuts and more do with refined products and processing. Take a look at Gary Taubes book, “Why We Get Fat” for a good deep dive into the western diet. He makes a good argument, with documented references about this.