Is Coconut Oil The Healthiest Oil On Earth?

Coconut Oil has been around for years and is widely considered by experts to be one of the healthiest fats on earth, but it’s only recently that it rose to fame after Victoria Secrets model, and wife to Orlando Bloom, Mirranda Kerr famously attributed her amazing figure to the oil revealing ‘I’ve been drinking it since I was 14 and it’s the one thing I can’t live without.’ But what exactly is in it that makes it so healthy?

Well scientists say its health properties have a lot to do with the medium-chain triglyceride content, also known as MCT’s. They are a specific class of fatty acids that are dealt with by your body much like carbohydrates and are preferentially used as fuel for energy instead of being stored as body fat. In fact it’s believed this property of coconut oil is responsible for its amazing weight loss abilities.

Coconut Oil and fat loss:

In a study conducted at the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition in Quebec, Canada it was discovered eating ‘a diet rich in medium chain triglycerides results in a greater loss of fat…perhaps due to increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation.’ The study concluded that ‘MCTs are considered as agents that stimulate weight loss.’ Also according to a study conducted at McGill University in Quebec, Canada, medium-chain triglycerides have been shown to have a great satiating effect therefore helping you with your diet right from day one. As little as 1 teaspoon has proved effective in controlling temptation and reducing hunger. So next time you feel yourself falling off the band wagon and reaching for the biscuit tin, try spreading some coconut oil on your toast or pop a teaspoon in your porridge to help curb those cravings.

Coconut Oil and your immune system:

The medium chain triglyceride content in coconut oil specifically contains health fats such as lauric acid, caprylic acid, and capric acid. Lauric acid is the most plentiful of the MCT’s in coconut oil, and sometimes accounts for as much as 75% of this oil’s total MCT’s. Also increased fat oxidisation and controlled hunger aside, studies show when lauric acid is present in the body, it is converted into monolaurin, a monoglyceride compound which exhibits antiviral, antimicrobial, antiprotozoal and antifungal properties. It basically acts by disrupting the lipid membranes in organisms like fungus, bacteria and viruses, thus destroying them, therefore coconut oil could not only be good for your expanding waistline but your immune system too. Myprotein.com’s coconut oil, ‘Coconpure’ is £9.99 for 460ml. For more information visit: www.myprotein.com/uk/products/coconpure

References:

Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Robert Ross, William D. Parsons and Peter J.H. Jones(2003) ‘Medium-Chain Triglycerides Increase Energy Expenditure and Decrease Adiposity in Overweight Men’ Obesity Research (2003) 11, 395–402

N Baba, EF Bracco and SA Hashim (1982) ‘Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in response to overfeeding with diet containing medium chain triglyceride’ American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 35, 678-682

Ron J Maughan (2005) ‘Role of micronutrients in sport and physical activity’ Department of Biomedical Sciences, University Medical School, Foresterhill, Aberdeen

Theodore B. Van Itallie, M.D. Leonardo Sinisterra, M.D. Fredrick J. Stare, M.D. (1997) ‘Nutrition and Athletic Performance’ The Journal of the American Medical Association

Ron J Maughan (2007) ‘The athlete’s diet: nutritional goals and dietary strategies’ Proceedings of the Nutrition Society

Blixt, G (1965) A Study on the relation between total calories and single nutrients for athletes’ Sociologica et Medica Upsallieusis