Can Coconut Oil Burn Fat and Weight Loss
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on healthy eating, especially with the popularity of ketogenic dieting around the world, and coconut oil to burn fat is gaining more and more traction.
Many studies have proven the medicinal and nutritional value of coconut oil, which can help improve immune system function, prevent and improve neurological disorders, reduce the risk of diabetes, and more.
Researchers have also concluded that coconut oil can help burn body fat, especially belly fat. But at the same time, many people are skeptical and feel that it is not that amazing.
Can coconut oil help you burn fat and lose weight? First of all, I think it’s important to tell you what coconut oil is, because if it’s as bad for your health as some people claim, then we can’t use it even if it’s good for losing weight, right?
Is Coconut Oil a Healthy Fat?
The fat composition of coconut oil is complex, which is why there are mixed reviews about it.
1. Most of Its Saturated Fat
Coconut oil is 90% saturated fat, a higher percentage than butter (about 64% saturated fat), beef fat (40%), or even lard (also 40%).
Too much-saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it increases the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. Therefore, it seems that coconut oil is not good for our hearts. However, coconut oil can also raise the “good” HDL HDL cholesterol levels, and the effect is particularly good.
2. Rich in Lauric Acid
Saturated fats are divided into different types according to the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. About half of the saturated fat in coconut oil is the 12-carbon variety known as lauric acid, a much higher percentage than most other edible oils.
Lauric acid has excellent antioxidant properties, which is probably why coconut oil is so effective in raising “good” cholesterol levels.
3. A set of Experimental Data
The BBC once reported on an experiment in which 94 volunteers between the ages of 50 and 75 with no history of diabetes or heart disease were enrolled. The purpose of this 4-week experiment was to test the effect of different fats on cholesterol levels.
The volunteers were divided into three groups, with the first group eating 50 grams of high-quality coconut oil each day; the second group eating the same amount of high-quality olive oil each day; and the third group eating unsalted butter.
Before the experiment began, researchers took blood samples from each subject, specifically LDL and HDL levels, as these two indicators are the most important for the heart disease risk index.
It was expected that the olive oil group would get the best data results, as olive oil has long been considered the best cooking oil for the heart.
However, the results of the experiment surprised everyone:
- The volunteers who ate butter had an increase of about 10% in bad cholesterol levels and 5% in good cholesterol.
- The olive oil volunteers had a slight decrease in harmful cholesterol levels and a 5% increase in good cholesterol levels.
- But the most surprising thing was that in the group of subjects who ate coconut oil, not only did their bad cholesterol levels not increase, but their good cholesterol levels jumped by 15%.
The conclusion is that coconut oil consumption may reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke. However, experts also suggest that this is only the result of a short-term experiment, as the long-term health effects of coconut oil can not be prematurely concluded. Overall, coconut oil is healthy and there is no problem to eat it occasionally.
Can Coconut Oil Burn Fat and Lose Weight?
Coconut oil is so popular in ketogenic low-carb diets that even many Hollywood stars have endorsed it. The fact is that the actual coconut oil is really that amazing. If coconut oil does burn fat and slim down, the basis is – medium-chain fatty acids.
Coconut oil is high in medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA). When the oil is extracted from fresh coconut meat (virgin coconut oil), the amount of MCFA can increase to 85%. MCFAs are readily metabolizable lipids with short chemical chains, so they can be absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and transported directly to the liver.
Once the fatty acids from coconut oil reach the liver, they are immediately metabolized into energy and are not stored in the body’s adipose tissue as long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) are. This way of being digested by coconut oil helps boost metabolism and increase energy. And with an increased metabolism, the body’s ability to burn fat increases.
Because of this, coconut oil has become a staple of sports nutrition and has been shown to improve athletic performance, with many commercially available fitness drinks and foods containing coconut oil.
Experimental Basis for Coconut Oil for Weight Loss
We can’t just hear about the effects of coconut oil on health and weight management – after all, your body is your own and you are responsible for your health. Online resources like the U.S. National Institutes of Health PubMed are great place to find reliable research articles and findings. It is also a reliable source of information for our articles. Here are three experiments on coconut oil from that site.
Experiment 1: Coconut Oil Helps Burn Belly Fat
In a 12-week, double-blind trial involving 40 women aged 20-40, subjects were divided into two groups, with the first group eating two tablespoons of soybean oil per day and the second group eating two tablespoons of coconut oil per day. They were also asked to control their calorie intake (1000-1200 cal/day) and to walk for 50 minutes a day.
Experimental Results
- Subjects in the coconut oil group had increased “good” cholesterol and decreased total and “bad” cholesterol levels.
- Women in the soybean oil group had increased levels of both total and “bad” cholesterol.
Body mass index BMI decreased in both groups, but only in the coconut oil group did waist circumference decrease. The results suggest that coconut oil does not raise cholesterol and promotes abdominal fat burning.
Experiment 2: Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Coconut Oil for Burning Visceral Fat
This was a four-week pilot study conducted in Malaysia to determine if virgin coconut oil could burn abdominal fat. The study was conducted on 20 obese but healthy volunteers between the ages of 20 and 51. Each participant was clinically examined and measured before and after the trial, and 30 ml of virgin coconut oil was taken daily during the trial.
Experimental Results
- Each participant showed a reduction in abdominal fat, especially in men.
- Their body fat percentage and BMI were also reduced.
This study shows that coconut oil rich in medium-chain fatty acids appears to be effective in burning body fat, but there are limitations to the study, including the short duration and the lack of a control group.
Experiment 3: Effect of Olive Oil on Metabolism
This 16-week study compared medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) in coconut oil with olive oil (mainly long-chain fatty acids) to determine whether MCT oil was more effective than olive oil in reducing body fat and body weight. A total of 49 overweight but healthy men and women, aged 19-50 years, participated in the experiment.
The volunteers were randomly divided into two groups, with men consuming 1,800 calories per day and women eating 1,500 calories per day. Their diets included test muffins baked in 10 grams of MCT oil or olive oil.
Experimental Results
- Body fat percentage decreased in both groups
- The group that ate muffins made with MCT oil lost more weight
The study found that using MCT oil as part of a weight loss program burned more body fat. There are many similar experiments on the U.S. National Institutes of Health PubMed website, so search for yourself if you are interested. After reading the data from these studies, do you feel a little more secure?
Conclusion
Coconut oil is a healthy fat, especially virgin coconut oil, which is rich in lauric acid and medium-chain fatty acids that reduce inflammation in the body and help burn fat. Note that coconut oil is high in calories, with each tablespoon containing about 120 calories, so don’t eat too much at once.