How miraculous is coconut oil?

I have been looking forward to writing on this topic for a while. Everywhere I look at the moment, coconut oil seems to be the rage. Every "healthy" recipe I come across contains it as an ingredient. Every person I meet tells me they eat it (when they find out I'm a dietitian). Whether rubbed on your skin or eaten, coconut oil seems to do it all. I'm sure you've seen the many memes on social media...

When I first heard about coconut oil being used in cooking, I was seriously skeptical. It was during my dietetics undergraduate degree. We had just learnt that coconut was high in saturated fat, which could increase bad cholesterol levels. I found it difficult to understand how its oil could be promoted as a "healthy" alternative.

To settle my confusion, I decided to tackle this popular topic by looking at all the scientific studies performed on coconut oil and its affect on our health...

What are the different types of coconut oil?

Firstly, if you've walked down the aisles of your local supermarket in search of coconut oil, you've probably stopped in front of the shelf and wondered why there were so many different types and how on earth you were supposed to choose.

If you are money-conscious, you may have opted for the standard coconut oil, because it is cheaper, but if you're health-conscious, you probably would have been lured in by the "extra virgin". To save you from future indecisiveness, here is the difference between the types...

Standard (refined) coconut oil: this type of coconut oil is produced from a dried out form of coconut nut flesh called "copra". The drying processes used, however, leave copra inedible, unless refined further. Refining can be done either mechanically or chemically (use of hexane) to extract the oil out.

Hydrogenated coconut oil: this type of coconut oil has had all its unsaturated fats hydrogenated, so that the oil will remain solid even at high temperatures. This is used mostly in candies, sweets and baked products, but won't be found in a jar on the shelf.

Virgin and extra virgin coconut oil: these types of coconut oil are derived from fresh coconut flesh and not copra. The flesh is either dried and then the oil is pressed out or else it is wet-milled. Wet milling involves expressing coconut milk from the wet coconut flesh and then separating the oil out. As it stands, there is no difference between "extra virgin" and "virgin" coconut oils, so it is simply a marketing term.

Something important to note: there is no certification required for putting the label "virgin" on coconut oil, so it is possible that "standard" coconut oils may be labelled as "virgin" too. It is therefore necessary to find out where the brand of coconut oil comes from.

Coconut oils made from fresh coconut will have a coconut odor and will be clear in the liquid form, while those made from copra will be odorless and a yellowish colour in the liquid form.

Copra in the process of being dried out.

Are all forms of coconut oil healthy?

Because of its saturated fat content, coconut oil was originally put into the category of "unhealthy fats" by the American Heart Association (AHA). This guideline looked, however, at the commercially refined oil derived from copra, since this is the "standard" type available.

There has been no link found between virgin coconut oil (VCO) and increased risk of heart disease. In fact, VCO has been linked to decreased risk of heart disease, decreased blood pressure and decreased body fat.

Why is virgin coconut oil healthier?

1. Medium chain triglycerides

Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) are fatty acids which have a shorter chain length than most other fatty acids found in food, i.e. long chain fatty acids (LCFAs).

There is a much larger quantity of MCTs present in VCO than in coconut oils derived from copra. This is because the process used to extract oil from copra saturates most of these fats.

MCTs have been linked to numerous health benefits:

better weight control
decreased development of heart disease
increased functioning of the immune system.

2. Antioxidants

VCO contains a much higher amount of antioxidants (A.K.A. polyphenols) than copra-derived coconut oils, especially when formed using wet milling. If you've read my previous blog post on how fattening fruit is, you would have already heard about polyphenols.

Polyphenols have also been linked to numerous health benefits:

lower blood pressure
decreased rate of aging
decreased risk of cancer
better controlled blood sugar levels.

So in a nutshell (pun fully intended)?

My skepticism around the coconut oil hype turned out to be only partially true...

Coconut oil can either be super healthy or not at all, depending largely on where it comes from. When purchasing coconut oil, it is a good idea to check if it is "virgin" (or "extra virgin") and that it has been derived from fresh coconut flesh and not copra.

Remember that there is no such thing as a single solution miracle food. True virgin coconut oil can definitely have some benefits, but it is more important to focus on maintaining a healthy, balanced diet in general, than just including this one food. See my page on Nutrition Basics for more info.

On a final note, try to switch your fats up too. Different fats have different benefits, so also include extra virgin olive oil, nuts and small amounts of butter. Variety ensures you get all the different nutrients you need.

References:

Assunçao, Monica L., Haroldo S. Ferreira, Aldenir F. dos Santos, Cyro R. Cabral, and Telma MMT Florêncio. "Effects of dietary coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting abdominal obesity." Lipids 44, no. 7 (2009): 593-601.

Babu, Abraham Samuel, Sundar Kumar Veluswamy, Ross Arena, Marco Guazzi, and Carl J. Lavie. "Virgin coconut oil and its potential cardioprotective effects." Postgraduate medicine 126, no. 7 (2014): 76-83.

Carandang, E. V. "Health benefits of virgin coconut oil." INDIAN COCONUT JOURNAL-COCHIN- 38, no. 9 (2008): 8.

Nevin, K. G., & Rajamohan, T. (2004). Beneficial effects of virgin coconut oil on lipid parameters and in vitro LDL oxidation. Clinical biochemistry, 37(9), 830-835.

Marina, A. M., YB Che Man, and I. Amin. "Virgin coconut oil: emerging functional food oil." Trends in Food Science & Technology 20, no. 10 (2009): 481-487.