I'm thinking of adding coconut oil to my diet. Thoughts?

Here's a decent piece on coconut oil from the NYT's Ask Well blog:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/ask-well-is-coconut-oil-a-healthy-fat/

"...despite “a lot of hype about it,” said Dr. Alice H. Lichtenstein, a Tufts University professor of nutrition science and policy who is vice chair of the federal government's dietary guidelines advisory committee, “there’s virtually no data to support the hype.”... There is little research on the health effects in people of coconut oil, Dr. Lichtenstein said, but “there appears to be no independent benefit of consuming it.”

That said, there are different kinds of coconut oil, and virgin coconut oil, which is gently processed, may not have the same harmful effects as highly processed oils, even though the fatty acid composition is similar, said Dr. Tom Brenna, a professor of human nutrition at Cornell University. Refined, bleached and deodorized, or R.B.D., coconut oil, which has been treated with solvents and subjected to intense heat, raises cholesterol so reliably that scientists have used it as a control when running experiments on different fats. The harsh processing may destroy some of the good essential fatty acids and antioxidants, such as lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid believed to raise good H.D.L. cholesterol.

'If you’re going to use coconut oil, make sure you get virgin oil,' Dr. Brenna said. 'And, of course, everything in moderation.'"

And an earlier article in the NYT, with recipes, is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?pagewanted=all


I personally think it's fine and use it as an alternative to olive oil or butter (based on the flavor I want, although I mostly use olive oil), but it's ridiculously faddish right now and the claims that it causes weight loss or has major health benefits are part of that, and not supported. I think there's a certain desire to think that eating some special food (coconut oil, kale, flax seed, chia, ACV, even blueberries) will have a magical effect, and maybe in some cases it will end up having a placebo effect so that people think they feel amazing from including it in their diets. But if that sort of thing isn't overly annoying to you, most of the foods are perfectly healthful additions to a diet, although their calories count like any others.

I find the flavour a bit overpowering but interesting about the high smoke point - I hadn't known that.

fitoverfortymom wrote: »

Hornsby wrote: »

fitoverfortymom wrote: »

I love coconut oil, but it's high in calories and I don't have a lot to spare. I've been using avocado oil lately. It has a high smoking point and fewer calories than coconut or olive oil.

It doesn't have lower calories.

I swore it did. I must be the worst label reader ever, or wasn't paying attention to the units properly on the label. I stand corrected.

If you want a lower calorie fat, use butter (it has some moisture so it's not all fat). Not the best smoke point though.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

I find the flavour a bit overpowering but interesting about the high smoke point - I hadn't known that.

It doesn't have a high smoke point.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/cooking-fats-101-whats-a-smoke-point-and-why-does-it-matter.html

Coconut oil-350. EVOO-325-375.

Oh!

Ah, it must be refined coconut oil that people are referring to in claiming it has a high smoke point. I was wondering why people thought that. The problem is that the alleged health benefits (and taste benefits) are all from unrefined (or virgin coconut oil), and that refined is probably not good for you and often contains trans fats.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/refined-vs-unrefined-coconut-oil-2296.html

And also the article I linked above: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?pagewanted=all

Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, this means it does not need a transport mechanism to get into the muscle cell to be used as energy. That is why the research shows it can improve fat oxidation. It is important in low carb and keto diets. The emphasis of these diets are to program your body to choose fat instead of carbs as its perferred fuel source.

It's fat...it's not magic fat...it's 120 calories per Tbsp of fat...it's delicious...I cook with it regularly, as I do with butter, avocado oil, and olive oil.

It's a healthy, tasty fat...but it's not magic....

Victoria2448 wrote: »

Nutritionist here!

There is very strong scientific evidence that healthy fats:

Cardiovascular protection (though there is less evidence for protecting against heart failure)
Improve body composition
Alleviate depression

Average evidence that they:

Prevent cancers
Preserve memory
Preserve eye health
Reduce incidence of aggressive behaviour
Reduce ADHD and ADD symptoms

Coconut oil is high in medium chain fatty acids which do offer health benefits. It also has a long shelf life.

As long as you are getting a good balance of saturated,(which coconut oil is, but remember, also unique because of the medium chain fatty acids) mono-saturated and poly-saturated fats, you will be fine.

Portion control is key!

Yeah...I'd like to see actual evidence of this...those are some pretty bold claims on your part there...and I don't believe them for a second.

ndj1979 wrote: »

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, this means it does not need a transport mechanism to get into the muscle cell to be used as energy. That is why the research shows it can improve fat oxidation. It is important in low carb and keto diets. The emphasis of these diets are to program your body to choose fat instead of carbs as its perferred fuel source.

please post said research showing that it improves fat oxidation...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12532160

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, this means it does not need a transport mechanism to get into the muscle cell to be used as energy. That is why the research shows it can improve fat oxidation. It is important in low carb and keto diets. The emphasis of these diets are to program your body to choose fat instead of carbs as its perferred fuel source.

Our bodies are designed to switch energy (fuel) pathways when needed. I do not believe we can "program" our bodies to do anything. I can only imagine what kind of damage we would do to ourselves if we really had that much control...

J72FIT wrote: »

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, this means it does not need a transport mechanism to get into the muscle cell to be used as energy. That is why the research shows it can improve fat oxidation. It is important in low carb and keto diets. The emphasis of these diets are to program your body to choose fat instead of carbs as its perferred fuel source.

please post said research showing that it improves fat oxidation...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12532160

But in the end if body comp was not different I don't see the benefit...

J72FIT wrote: »

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, this means it does not need a transport mechanism to get into the muscle cell to be used as energy. That is why the research shows it can improve fat oxidation. It is important in low carb and keto diets. The emphasis of these diets are to program your body to choose fat instead of carbs as its perferred fuel source.

Our bodies are designed to switch energy (fuel) pathways when needed. I do not believe we can "program" our bodies to do anything. I can only imagine what kind of damage we would do to ourselves if we really had that much control...

You said it yourself, our bodies switch fuel preferences when needed. Diet and exercise is how we create an environment that changes the primary fuel source.

J72FIT wrote: »

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, this means it does not need a transport mechanism to get into the muscle cell to be used as energy. That is why the research shows it can improve fat oxidation. It is important in low carb and keto diets. The emphasis of these diets are to program your body to choose fat instead of carbs as its perferred fuel source.

please post said research showing that it improves fat oxidation...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12532160

But in the end if body comp was not different I don't see the benefit...

It's not a magic supplement. Proper diet, resistance training, and overall daily energy expenditure are how you alter your body composition.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Here's a meta-analysis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25636220

"Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) may result in negative energy balance and weight loss through increased energy expenditure and lipid oxidation. However, results from human intervention studies investigating the weight reducing potential of MCTs, have been mixed....

Thirteen trials (n=749) were identified. Compared with LCTs, MCTs decreased body weight (-0.51 kg [95% CI-0.80 to -0.23 kg]; P<0.001; I(2)=35%); waist circumference (-1.46 cm [95% CI -2.04 to -0.87 cm]; P<0.001; I(2)=0%), hip circumference (-0.79 cm [95% CI -1.27 to -0.30 cm]; P=0.002; I(2)=0%), total body fat (standard mean difference -0.39 [95% CI -0.57 to -0.22]; P<0.001; I(2)=0%), total subcutaneous fat (standard mean difference -0.46 [95% CI -0.64 to -0.27]; P<0.001; I(2)=20%), and visceral fat (standard mean difference -0.55 [95% CI -0.75 to -0.34]; P<0.001; I(2)=0%). No differences were seen in blood lipid levels. Many trials lacked sufficient information for a complete quality assessment, and commercial bias was detected. Although heterogeneity was absent, study designs varied with regard to duration, dose, and control of energy intake.

CONCLUSIONS:
Replacement of LCTs with MCTs in the diet could potentially induce modest reductions in body weight and composition without adversely affecting lipid profiles. However, further research is required by independent research groups using large, well-designed studies to confirm the efficacy of MCT and to determine the dosage needed for the management of a healthy body weight and composition."

If you look at the numbers, however, even the ones that seem to support a positive effect are quite small, a lot less than what one gets simply from controlling calories in some way, and the amount of coconut oil (or MCTs) consumed is quite high. Even if there were a small effect (as yet an open question), would it be worth the trade-off given that coconut oil is just fat and doesn't really contribute other nutrients?

A lot of people add healthy fats into their diet. As long as you are staying within your daily calories, it can't hurt. Worth the trade off? That's subjective. People who are doing keto or low carb diets need the fat because fat is their primary fuel source. Do they need coconut oil? No, but why not take in a fat that can improve overall fat oxidation?

schenkzachary2016 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Here's a meta-analysis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25636220

"Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) may result in negative energy balance and weight loss through increased energy expenditure and lipid oxidation. However, results from human intervention studies investigating the weight reducing potential of MCTs, have been mixed....

Thirteen trials (n=749) were identified. Compared with LCTs, MCTs decreased body weight (-0.51 kg [95% CI-0.80 to -0.23 kg]; P<0.001; I(2)=35%); waist circumference (-1.46 cm [95% CI -2.04 to -0.87 cm]; P<0.001; I(2)=0%), hip circumference (-0.79 cm [95% CI -1.27 to -0.30 cm]; P=0.002; I(2)=0%), total body fat (standard mean difference -0.39 [95% CI -0.57 to -0.22]; P<0.001; I(2)=0%), total subcutaneous fat (standard mean difference -0.46 [95% CI -0.64 to -0.27]; P<0.001; I(2)=20%), and visceral fat (standard mean difference -0.55 [95% CI -0.75 to -0.34]; P<0.001; I(2)=0%). No differences were seen in blood lipid levels. Many trials lacked sufficient information for a complete quality assessment, and commercial bias was detected. Although heterogeneity was absent, study designs varied with regard to duration, dose, and control of energy intake.

CONCLUSIONS:
Replacement of LCTs with MCTs in the diet could potentially induce modest reductions in body weight and composition without adversely affecting lipid profiles. However, further research is required by independent research groups using large, well-designed studies to confirm the efficacy of MCT and to determine the dosage needed for the management of a healthy body weight and composition."

If you look at the numbers, however, even the ones that seem to support a positive effect are quite small, a lot less than what one gets simply from controlling calories in some way, and the amount of coconut oil (or MCTs) consumed is quite high. Even if there were a small effect (as yet an open question), would it be worth the trade-off given that coconut oil is just fat and doesn't really contribute other nutrients?

A lot of people add healthy fats into their diet. As long as you are staying within your daily calories, it can't hurt. Worth the trade off? That's subjective. People who are doing keto or low carb diets need the fat because fat is their primary fuel source. Do they need coconut oil? No, but why not take in a fat that can improve overall fat oxidation?

For two reasons: more fat oxidation due to MCT does not translate to weight loss, at least not any more than any other type of fat in any meaningful way, and coconut flavordoes not go well with everything taste-wise so consuming a lot of your fat in coconut oil (which isn't pure MCT mind you) means sacrificing the quality of some of your dishes for a negligible effect. That's majoring in minors and putting more effort into what makes 0.1% of weight loss than what makes 99.9%, that is calories and adherence. Now if you love the taste and can't get enough of it even with eggs, that's a different story.

I read that medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) (coconut oil is contains MCTs) are metabolized differently than long-chain triglycerides. I also read that they MCTs are rapidly broken down and absorbed into the body. Read more in the following article: https://authoritynutrition.com/mct-oil-101/

My nutritionist said coconut oil isn't any better then a good olive oil. If you like the taste, sure go for it but it's not healthier for you. Just make sure it fits in your calorie count for the day.