Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil by Nutiva

 What does Coconut Oil do?

Coconut oil is a member of the family of tropical oils, which also include palm, palm kernel, cocoa, and shea nut oils. These oils have been used for centuries in the traditional diets of people living in tropical regions such as the Polynesian islands. Because these populations experience less of the diseases, such as heart disease, that are common in Western countries, some people believe that tropical oils such as coconut oil, especially in their natural state, can be part of a healthful diet.^{1 2} Currently, these oils are used in Western countries in small amounts, primarily in the production of processed foods.

Tropical oils are high in saturated fat, which has been associated with increased risk of high blood cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and heart disease.^{3 4 5} However, saturated fat is not a single substance but rather a family of molecules having varying lengths, and coconut oil has more of the shorter-length type of saturated fat molecules (known as lauric acid and myristic acid) compared with most animal fats.⁶ This has led to speculation that coconut oil might have different effects on cholesterol levels and heart disease risk compared with other sources of saturated fats. Most controlled human studies, however, find significant cholesterol-raising effects of diets high in either myristic acid,^{7 8 9} lauric acid,^{10 11} or a combination of these two fatty acids,¹² although this increase is usually a combination of both higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL; “bad”) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL; “good”) cholesterol.

Whether consuming coconut oil will result in unhealthy changes to blood cholesterol levels is controversial. In a double-blind study of young men with normal cholesterol levels, coconut oil was used to create a diet higher in both myristic and lauric acids, and this diet was compared with a similar diet with longer-chain saturated fatty acids. The coconut oil diet resulted in higher levels of both total and LDL cholesterol, whereas HDL levels were not significantly different.¹³ Most other controlled studies of healthy young adults have reported that coconut oil increases both LDL and HDL compared with either beef fat, palm oil, or vegetable oils high in unsaturated fats.^{14 15 16 17} A controlled study of Polynesians found that a diet with coconut oil resulted in lower LDL levels compared with butter, while HDL was not different between the two diets.¹⁸ However, one trial found no difference in the effects on cholesterol levels of a diet containing small amounts (4% of total calorie intake) of coconut oil compared with similar diets containing other fat sources.¹⁹ More research is needed to determine whether consuming coconut oil will affect the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Animal studies suggest that coconut oil can affect energy and fat metabolism in a way that could improve the results of a weight-loss diet.²⁰ In a two-week double-blind trial investigating the effect of dietary fat on fat metabolism, a diet containing shorter-chain saturated fatty acids from coconut oil and butter was compared with one containing longer-chain saturated fatty acids from beef fat.²¹ The coconut oil-butter diet led to changes in fat metabolism that suggested that eating these fats might result in better control of body weight. However, no studies have investigated whether consuming coconut oil actually affects body weight.

According to test tube studies, some of the fatty acids present in coconut oil have antibacterial,^{22 23 24} antiviral,^{25 26 27 28} and immune system-stimulating effects,²⁹ suggesting that coconut oil might be helpful in fighting infections. However, no research has investigated these possible effects in humans.

Synthetic fats resembling those found in coconut oil have been found to have anticancer effects in animals but whether these effects would be possible in humans consuming coconut oil is unknown.^{30 31}