Coconut oil is one of the few foods that can be
classified as a “superfood.”
Its unique combination of fatty acids can have
profound positive effects on health.
This includes fat loss, better brain function and
various other amazing benefits.
Here are the top 10 health benefits of coconut oil
that have been experimentally confirmed in human studies.
1. Coconut Oil Contains a Unique
Combination of Fatty Acids With Powerful Medicinal Properties
Coconut oil has been demonized in the past because
it contains saturated fat. In fact, coconut oil is one of the richest sources
of saturated fat known
to man, with almost 90% of the fatty acids in it being saturated (1).
However, new data is showing that saturated fats
are harmless. Many massive studies that include hundreds of
thousands of people prove that the whole “artery-clogging” idea was a myth (2).
Additionally, coconut oil doesn’t contain your
average run-of-the-mill saturated fats like you would find in cheese or steak.
No, they contain so-called Medium Chain
Triglycerides (MCTs) – which are fatty acids of a medium
length.
Most of the fatty acids in the diet are so-called
long-chain fatty acids, but the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil are
metabolized differently.
They go straight to the liver from the digestive
tract, where they are used as a quick source energy or turned into so-called
ketone bodies, which can have therapeutic effects on brain disorders like
epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.
Bottom Line: Coconut oil contains a lot of
medium chain triglycerides, which are metabolized differently and can have
therapeutic effects on several brain disorders.
2. Populations That Eat a LOT of
Coconut Are Among The Healthiest People on The Planet
Coconut is kind of an “exotic” food in the Western
world, primarily consumed by health conscious people.
However, in some parts of the world, coconut is a
dietary staple that people have thrived on for many
generations.
The best example of such a population is theTokelauans,
which live in the South Pacific.
They eat over 60% of their calories from coconuts
and are the biggest consumers of saturated fat in the world.
These people are in excellent health,
with no evidence of heart disease (3).
Another example of a population that eats a lot of
coconut and remains in excellent health is the Kitavans (4).
Bottom Line: Plenty of populations around
the world have thrived for multiple generations eating massive amounts of
coconut.
3. Coconut Oil Can Increase Your
Energy Expenditure, Helping You Burn More Fat
Obesity is
currently one of the biggest health problems in the world.
While some people think obesity is only a matter of
calories, others (myself included) believe that the sources of
those calories are critical too.
It is a fact that different foods affect our bodies
and hormones in different ways. In this regard, a calorie is NOT a calorie.
The medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in coconut
oil can increase energy expenditure compared to the same amount of calories
from longer chain fats (5, 6).
One study found that 15-30 grams of MCTs per day
increased 24 hour energy expenditure by 5%, totalling about 120
calories per day (7).
Bottom Line: The medium chain triglycerides
in coconut oil have been shown to increase 24 hour energy expenditure by as
much as 5%, potentially leading to significant weight loss over the long term.
4. The Lauric Acid in Coconut Oil Can
Kill Bacteria, Viruses and Fungi, Helping to Stave Off Infections
Almost 50% of the fatty acids in coconut oil is the
12-carbon Lauric Acid.
When coconut oil is enzymatically digested, it also
forms a monoglyceride called monolaurin.
Both lauric acid and monolaurin can kill harmful
pathogens like bacteria, viruses and fungi (8).
For example, these substances have been shown to
kill the bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus (a very dangerous pathogen)
and the yeast Candida Albicans, a common source of yeast infections in humans (9, 10).
Bottom Line: The fatty acids and breakdown products in coconut oil can kill
harmful pathogens, potentially helping to prevent infections.
5. Coconut Oil Can Kill Your Hunger, Making You Eat
Less Without Even Trying
One interesting feature of coconut oil is that it
can reduce your hunger.
This may be related to the way the fatty acids in
it are metabolized, because ketone bodies can have an appetite reducing effect
(11).
In one study, varying amounts of medium and long
chain triglycerides were fed to 6 healthy men.
The men eating the most MCTs ate 256 fewer
calories per day, on average (12).
Another study in 14 healthy men discovered that
those who ate the most MCTs at breakfast ate significantly fewer
calories at lunch (13).
These studies were small and only done for a short
period of time. If this effect were to persist over the long term, it could
have a dramatic influence on body weight over a period of several years.
Bottom Line: The fatty acids in coconut oil can significantly reduce appetite,
which may positively affect body weight over the long term.
6. The Fatty Acids in Coconut Oil Are Turned into
Ketones, Which Can Reduce Seizures
A so-called ketogenic (very low carb,
very high fat) diet is currrently being studied to treat various disorders.
The best known therapeutic application of this diet
is treating drug-resistant epilepsy in children (14).
This diet involves eating very little carbohydrates
and large amounts of fat, leading to greatly increased concentrations ofketone bodies in the blood.
For some reason, this diet can dramatically
reduce the rate of seizures in epileptic children, even those who
haven’t had success with multiple different types of drugs.
Because the MCTs in coconut oil get shipped to the
liver and turned into ketone bodies, they are often used in epileptic patients
to induce ketosis while allowing for a bit more carbs in the diet (15, 16).
Bottom Line: The MCTs in coconut oil can increase blood concentration of ketone
bodies, which can help reduce seizures in epileptic children.
7. Coconut Oil Can Improve Blood Cholesterol Levels
and May Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease
Coconut oil is loaded with saturated fats, which
actually do not harm the blood lipid profile like previously thought.
Saturated fats raise HDL (the good) cholesterol and
change the LDL cholesterol to a benign subtype (17, 18).
In one study in 40 women, coconut oil reduced Total
and LDL cholesterol while increasing HDL compared to soybean oil (19).
There are also rat studies showing that coconut oil
reduces triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol, increases HDL and improves
blood coagulation factors and antioxidant status (20, 21).
This improvement in cardiovascular risk factors
should theoretically lead to a reduced risk of heart disease over the long
term.
Bottom Line: Studies in both humans and rats show that coconut oil improves
important risk factors like Total, LDL and HDL cholesterol, which may translate
to a reduced risk of heart disease.
8. Coconut Oil Can Protect Hair Against Damage,
Moisturize Skin and Function as Sunscreen
Coconut oil can serve various purposes that have
nothing to do with eating it.
Many people are using it for cosmetic purposes and
to improve the health and appearance of their skin and hair.
Studies on individuals with dry skin show that
coconut oil can improve the moisture and lipid content of the skin (22).
Coconut oil can also be very protective against
hair damage and one study shows effectiveness as sunscreen, blocking about 20%
of the sun’s ultraviolet rays (23, 24)
Another application is using it like mouthwash in a
process called oil pulling,
which can kill some of the harmful bacteria in the mouth, improve dental health
and reduce bad breath (25, 26, 27).
Bottom Line: Coconut oil can be applied topically as well, studies showing it
to be effective as a skin moisturizer and protecting against hair damage. It
can also be used as a mild form of sunscreen and as mouthwash.
9. The Fatty Acids in Coconut Oil Can Boost Brain
Function in Alzheimer’s Patients
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of
dementia worldwide and occurs primarily in elderly individuals.
In Alzheimer’s patients,
there appears to be a reduced ability to use glucose for energy in certain
parts of the brain.
Ketone bodies can supply energy for the brain and
researchers have speculated that ketones can provide an alternative energy
source for these malfunctioning cells and reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s (28).
In one 2006 study, consumption of medium chain
triglycerides lead to an immediate improvement in brain
function in patients with milder forms of Alzheimer’s (29).
Other studies support these findings and medium
chain triglycerides are being intensively studied as potential therapeutic
agents in Alzheimer’s disease (30, 31).
Bottom Line: Studies show that the fatty acids in coconut oil can increase
blood levels of ketone bodies, supplying energy for the brain cells of
Alzheimer’s patients and relieving symptoms.
10. Coconut Oil Can Help You Lose Fat, Especially
The Dangerous Fat in Your Abdominal Cavity
Given that coconut oil can reduce appetite and
increase fat burning, it makes sense that it can also help youlose weight.
Coconut oil appears to be especially effective in
reducing abdominal fat, which lodges in the abdominal cavity and around organs.
This is the most dangerous fat of all and is highly
associated with many Western diseases.
Waist circumference is easily measured and is a
great marker for the amount of fat in the abdominal cavity.
A study in 40 women with abdominal obesity,
supplementing with 30 mL (1 ounce) of coconut oil per
day lead to a significant reduction in both BMI and waist circumference in a
period of 12 weeks.
Another study in 20 obese males noted a reduction
in waist circumference of 2.86 cm (1.1 inches) after 4 weeks of 30 mL (1 ounce)
of coconut oil per day (32).
This number may not seem too impressive on the
surface, but be aware that these people aren’t adding exercise or restricting
calories. They’re losing significant amounts of abdominal fat simply by
adding coconut oil to their diet.
11. Anything Else?
If you want to enjoy the immense health benefits of
coconut oil, then make sure to choose organic, virgin coconut oil… NOT the
refined stuff.
This is really just the tip of the iceberg. People
are using coconut oil for all sorts of things with incredible success.
Feel free to add to the list in the comments!
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