Coconut Oil for Weight Loss and Heart Health?

Over the past few years I’ve noticed a phenomena over coconut oil being a miracle fat. After a quick google search, some uses include cooking, lotion, shampoo, stain remover, wound healer, eye makeup remover, wood shiner, deodorant, and much more! I just wanted to get some facts out there on whether or not eating of this fat will help you waist line (and heart), or if this is another food to watch portions on.

Just so everyone is aware, coconut oil is a fat made up of primary medium chain fatty acids. It is a plant oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut. It is almost entirely made up of saturated fat, which is the type that is recommended to limit for heart health. I think many people think that since it is plant derived, it is somehow healthier that other saturated fats, but that is just simply not the case. Some studies have found that it can raise your good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), but studies also find that it raises your bad cholesterol too (LDL cholesterol). On the contrary, I don’t think everyone needs to avoid it completely! However, I think it is important to discuss the nutrition composition and amount to limit it to if you’re trying to improve your lipids and lose weight in a healthy way.

In one tablespoon of coconut oil, there is:

130 calories

14g of total fat (13 of which is saturated fat)

And….. that’s it! Typically, for heart health you would want about 7% of your daily total calories to come from saturated fats. For someone with a 2,000 calorie diet, this would be about 15g/day. As you can see, one tablespoon would be about what you need for a whole day for saturated fats. 

So bottom line is that you should still watch portions. There are some benefits to having medium chain fatty acids, but the cons of this being a very calorie dense and high saturated fat food means limiting to no more than 1 tbsp/day (even less if you have other sources of saturated fats such as fatty meats, cheeses, or dairy).

I hope you found this information helpful for your next grocery store trip. Comment below which other foods you are unsure of!