Happy Monday to all my Wellness Warriors!
I’ve been stepping up my personal coconut oil game, as well as the rest of my family’s consumption efforts. With my quest for more knowledge about this wonderful substance, most of you know I am a little “coo-coo for coconuts,” which I use for seemingly everything; I have found some interested evidence. In fact, I’ve stumbled across some VERY interesting studies on the relationship between coconut oil (or any type of coconut fat, including coconut milk and cream) and body fat, specifically.
The findings may surprise you, and might be another way of convincing you to also be a little COO-COO for COCONUT!
The Coconut Oil Study that Opened my Eyes:
A 2009 study published in the Journal Lipids tested the effects of either 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or 2 tablespoons of soybean oil on a group of 40 women over the span of 28 days. Results showed that the group that ate the coconut oil had a decrease in abdominal fat, while the soybean oil group actually showed a slight increase in belly fat (soybean oil is found in so many common products and foods). Additionally, the group that ate the coconut oil showed increased HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels, while the soybean oil group had decreased HDL cholesterol and increased LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol. The Journal of Nutrition published a study where researchers investigated all studies relative to medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) — which are abundant in coconut fat.
The studies showed that diets rich in fats such as those found in coconut oil prompted a boost in metabolism, increase in energy, decrease in food consumption, reduced body weight and lower body fat mass. The study authors highly recommend using oils that contain MCFAs, such as coconut oil, as a tool to drop extra abdominal fat, manage a healthy weight, and even as a way to treat obesity.
Another Study on how Fat Makes You Thin: (the right kind of fat that is… coconut)
Yet ANOTHER study reviewed body weight and fat storage relative to three different types of diets — including a low-fat diet, a high-fat diet with long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), and a high fat diet with MCFAs. In order to bring about weight gain, caloric intakes were adjusted for each diet. At the end of the research period (which lasted 44 days), the low-fat diet group stored an average of 0.47 grams of fat per day, the LCFA group stored 0.48 grams of fat per day, and the MCFA group only stored a mere 0.19 grams per day (despite purposely increasing calories). Those in the MCFA group (eating coconut fat) had a 60 percent reduction in body fat stored compared to the other diets.
Research on Keeping you FULL:
Another added bonus of consuming organic coconut oil (and coconut cream or milk) is that it tends to make us feel fuller for longer. Studies indicate that MCFAs help increase feelings of fullness and lead to a reduction in calorie intake when compared to the same amount of calories from other fats.When MCFAs are metabolized, ketone bodies are created in the liver. Ketones have been shown to have a strong appetite reducing effect, which helps you lose fat faster.
Meg’s Way of Getting Her Daily Dose of Coconut:
Try working 2 tablespoons on coconut oil into your daily diet. You can take it in by the tablespoons, add it to your gluten free oatmeal, scoop some into your protein shake, or use it to replace any use of butter or other oils. You can DO this and you WILL FEEL a difference. Need a more personalized approach to how add these benefits to your wellness plan, contact Meg at ‘Whole Energy Lifestyle Living’! Recipes using coconut oil to follow-up blog.
