Coconut Oil:
Does A Tablespoon A Day Keep the Doctor Away?
Claims that coconut oil can protect you from heart disease and help you lose weight are all over the net.
You can add it to your coffee, put it in your smoothie, bake it into goodies, or just use it for frying.
But as you know, adding fat adds calories, and coconut oil, one of the tropical oils, is high in saturated fat. So, why is it being sold to improve your health?
In this week's newsletter I want to review a few studies to lay out some actual facts about the cardiovascular and weight loss benefits of coconut oil.
Coconut oil, like any oil, provides 9 kcal/g;
that means a tablespoon provides about 120 kcal!
But coconut oil is unusual because it contains a high percentage of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs).
Most oils are made up of long-chain triglycerides (LCTs).
Our bodies metabolize MCTs differently than LCTs.
Instead of having to go through the lymphatic system and the blood stream and then to our cells, MCTs are transported directly from the intestines to the liver, where they can be broken down to provide energy.
Coconut oil is also high in lauric acid, which raises blood levels of total cholesterol but unlike other saturated fatty acids, it also raises levels of healthy HDL cholesterol.
So, does this mean that a diet high in coconut oil is good for your heart?
Unfortunately, clear data on the effect of coconut oil on heart disease and weight loss are scarce. (1)
We know that the incidence of heart disease is not elevated in Polynesian islands populations where coconut fat intake is high, but obviously this does not automatically mean that the reason is coconut oil.
The data on coconut oil and blood lipid levels are actually mixed. (2)
For example, Filipino women with the highest coconut oil intake are found to have higher HDL (good cholesterol) levels. (3)
A study that compared low-calorie diets supplemented with coconut oil versus soybean oil found an increase in HDL cholesterol in the coconut oil group. (4)
But, another study showed that coconut oil caused an increase in 'bad' LDL cholesterol as well as 'good' HDL cholesterol when compared with olive oil.
What about weight loss?
MCT oil is less likely to be stored in adipose tissue (because it does not go through the bloodstream).
But does this mean that adding coconut oil will make weight loss easier?
A study of overweight subjects compared those who consumed 18 g of MCT oil as part of their daily diet with those who consumed 18 g of a long-chain triglyceride oil (canola, soybean, peanut...) and found that the MCT oil group lost more weight and decreased their waist circumference although calories were equated for. (5)
Another study that compared food intake after a pre-meal dose of MCT oil versus LCT oil showed a reduction in food and calorie intake in the MCT group due to reported higher satiation. (6)
These studies suggest that MCT oil may promote weight loss, but they were done using 100% MCT oil. Coconut oil on the other hand is only 60% MCT and it is unclear whether coconut oil would have a similar effect. One study that compared coconut versus soy oils in addition to a low-calorie diet showed similar weight loss in both groups...
Still, coconut oil is all the hype. Vegans are using it as a plant-based alternative to butter on their toast and chefs are discovering its unique properties in food. But is adding coconut oil really likely to improve your health?
1. Total calories is still what matters the most for weight loss, whether from canola oil or coconut oil.
2. The fats we really want to limit as much as possible (and this is factual) are TRANS FASTS found in processed foods. Additionally even if not as detrimental as once believed, research still supports that we want to limit saturated fats to a maximum of about 20% of our total daily fat intake. (7)
3. Fats we should absolutely incorporate more into our diet are OMEGA 3s and other poly- and monounsaturated fatty acids like those found in fish, eggs, nuts, avocado, seeds, extra virgin olive oil... (omega 3 fatty acids can also be found in good quality meats).
4. It appears that replacing some of the processed oils (canola oil, soybean oil, peanut oil etc) with coconut oil or even better MCT oil could have a positive effect on weight loss (given a calorie deficit) and your cholesterol levels.
5. Overall body fat levels, macro- and micronutrients in your diet (veggies, fruit, enough protein...), how often you consume alcohol, your activity level, whether you smoke, your stress levels... is going to make MUCH more of a difference to your health than coconut oil ever could.
No individual food determines whether a diet is healthy. Adding coconut oil to a poor diet does not transform it into a healthy one. Coconut oil can be part of a healthy diet as long it is counted as part of the total amount of fat and calories allowed for the day.
Lastly, coconut oil can also be used for many other great things such as natural hair masks, as a moisturizer, for wound healing and so on! It definitely deserves a place in your cupboard one way or another :).
