If you Google coconut oil you’ll find extensive health claims including weight loss, cancer prevention, dissolving kidney stones to curing Alzheimer’s disease but did you know that……..

Falling coconuts kill 150 people every year – 10 times the number of people killed by sharks.

But from a weight loss perspective, coconut oil is being promoted as a miracle weight loss cure and metabolism booster. This is due to its unique fatty acid composition. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, which is why it’s solid at room temperature like butter. Unlike butter, approx. 50% of this saturated fat is in the form of a medium chain fat called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs)

Our bodies metabolise MCTs differently to other fats. They are more readily burnt as fuel and less likely to be deposited in fat cells. For this reason studies have been conducted to see if the ingestion of MCT oil can promote weight loss.

Of the limited studies that have been done there is minimal evidence to show that 100% MCT oil has any significant effect on weight loss and metabolism and no studies that have shown the same for coconut oil.

Researchers have concluded that MCTs might provide “modest” weight loss over other vegetables oils but only in obese people (approx. 1kg greater weight loss over 4 weeks)

The most important point here is that these studies were conducted using 100% MCT oils not coconut oil which contains only 50% MCTs. Implying that the research data from a study on MCT also applies to coconut oil is a misinterpretation of the data. To date no studies have found that coconut oil aids in weight reduction or increases metabolism.

My Thoughts:

I love coconut oil, I keep a jar in the bathroom and use it in combination with Himalayan sea salt as a face and body scrub and as a hair conditioning treatment. In the kitchen, use coconut oil as an alternative in cooking, baking etc for a change in texture and taste however if you include it as an additional fat on top of your current intake it may cause weight gain due to its high calorie content. (3 teaspoons =145calories).