Coconut Oil: What's the story?

Coconut oil is all the rage. Once a vilified artery-clogging tropical oil recommended only for skin and hair products, coconut oil has somehow reinvented itself as a “clean” culinary superfat. Proponents claim that coconut oil raises HDL (good cholesterol), boosts fat burning, gives you a quick surge of energy, and assists with weight loss. Plus, it tastes great and fits into keto diets perfectly. However, health advocates are concerned about coconut oil’s high saturated fat content, which may increase LDL (bad cholesterol), increasing cardiovascular disease risk. Who to believe?

An article published this month in the journal Circulation set out to review the evidence with regard to coconut oil consumption cardiovascular risk factors such as LDL levels. This systematic review and meta-analysis, which compared outcomes of coconut oil consumption versus non-tropical oil consumption, concluded that coconut oil consumption significantly increases LDL cholesterol, but has no significant effect on blood sugar, inflammation, or body fat.

As far as coconut oil raising HDL — well, this is true. And so do all fats; coconut oil does it more potently than most other oils. But in the context of also raising LDL as coconut oil does, the HDL increase is not as advantageous. To date, studies haven’t revealed just how (or if) coconut oil affects heart disease, just that it raises blood cholesterol. But we do know that mainly unsaturated fats like olive oil tend to decrease LDL while increasing HDL, which is likely a better bet.

What about other claims of positive effects, such as metabolic advantages and energy balance? These usually refer to benefits of those magical MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides found in coconut oil). MCTs have been well studied and its effects documented. There does appear to be a modest therapeutic effect on fat metabolism, but that does not mean that consuming coconut oil will contribute to actual weight loss. The MCT effect in a mixed diet ends up being nothing more than rounding error in real life, since coconut oil is only 14% MCT (studies usually test 100% MCT oil).

Epidemiological observations on populations who consume a high percentage of calories from coconut oil reveal a relatively low prevalence of heart disease. Of course, we need to ask, what else are these folks eating, and what are their other lifestyle behaviors? While these findings are interesting, we can’t base a recommendation of one food based on these small studies.

Bottom line? Even with the positive findings, most of which are quite modest and/or have been classified as low-quality evidence, the overwhelming message at this point is: there is currently lack of meaningful evidence that people derive true health benefits from coconut oil. Consumed in moderation, and in its less processed “virgin” form when possible, it may not be particularly harmful, but does not appear to offer specific health advantages either, especially if used in place of fats known to protect health.