Coconut Oil Weight Loss

There are numerous health benefits to using coconut oil in cooking and recipes. You will have many things. For starters the fats contained in coconut oil are medium chain triglycerides. Medium chain triglycerides break down into byproducts that don’t raise your cholesterol or spike your blood pressure. Although this data is currently being investigated and these particular health effects are currently debatable, there are many more positive health effects from consuming coconut oil here are a few:

 Coconut oil has antifungal properties.  Learn about coconut oil’s antifungal properties here.

Medium chain triglycerides are explained here.

Aside from these two, coconut oil is great for the skin and eyes.  The effectiveness of the oils on these cosmetic and fat dependent characteristics is undebatable.

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. It is also saturated fat, but scientists or a science loving dietitian or nutritionist what that means. Basically it doesn’t harden the arteries like so many other saturated fats.

There are many kinds of tropical oils. The general idea is that coconut oil and other tropical oils are still up in the air as far as whether or not they’ll help you lose weight…but they are healthier than many of the others despite having high saturated fat. Saturated fat is not bad for your health as a whole though most saturated fats do raise HDL. Most saturated fats found in coconut oil and other types of tropical oils have been shown to raise LDL levels so they are quite ok to consume, especially on a low carb diet!

Kinds of Tropical Oils

There are 3 kinds of tropical oils, all of which come from palm trees. They are palm kernel oil and palm oil and coconut oil.

Palm Kernel Oil and Palm Oil

Palm oil is high in beta carotene (where it gets its red color from) It is produced primarily in Indonesia, it comes from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm.

Palm kernel oil is pretty high in saturated fat, though it’s great for frying due to its high smoke point and stability at high temperature.

Out of the 3 kinds of tropical oils, palm oil seems like the best for weight loss (in terms of fat at least.) It has only 50% saturated fat by weight, which is lower saturated fat then coconut and palm kernel oil.

Don’t rush out to get some just yet however…

A report in 2006 suggested that palm oil might actually raise bad cholesterol levels to the same effect as trans fatty acids. However…

a lot has been said about palm oil and palm kernel oil…more research needs to be done as this oil has a lot of positive health benefits too. I wouldn’t discount it, though I wouldn’t use it for everything either until more can be learned about it.

From Wikipedia: According to the World Health Organization, evidence is “convincing” that consumption of palmitic acid increases risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, placing it in the same evidence category as trans fatty acids. The report does not cite any studies that actually found a link between palmitic acid intake and patient outcomes.

Now let’s look at the other two.  One of which is not a kind of tropical oil at all (but it is included here because it is very healthy.) And coconut oil is higher in saturated fat than palm oils, though perhaps its actually healthier.

Coconut Oil

This kind of tropical oil comes from the meat of mature coconuts. It is harvested from the coconut palm. It is used in many things and it is the second most consumed oil in the world. Just like palm oil it is stable at high temperatures which makes it good for frying and because of this stability, it is also slower to go rancid. Due to its high level of saturated fats, it has a long shelf life, lasting up to two years or more.

Despite certain stigmas about coconut oil held by the AMA and other such organizations, coconut oil (as well as other kinds of tropical oils) has been shown through independant research to be a very healthy substitute for other oils.

It’s generally a good idea to not rely solely on information from government agencies. The FDA for example is slow to accept new research as it makes them look silly for liking the old research among other reasons…Health and nutrition authorities promote information which is often backed by rather antique government research.

There is a lot of good stuff to be said about coconut oil (not just in terms of weight loss) Look at the bottom for links for more coconut oil info!

Canola Oil is a lot like other kinds of tropical oils but lower in saturated fat.

Canola Oil

Canola oil comes from rapeseed so it is not tropical oil. The reason it I put on here is that it is possibly the healthiest oil out there, accepted by for a much everybody. It has about 7% saturated fat. Its main component is Oleic acid, which is a healthier monounsaturated fat.

Canola oil has about 2% Erucic acid.  This acid is toxic although at the concentrations it is found in canola oil is believed to be safe. All in all, canola oil
is a healthy oil for just about every cooking application.

Many things have been said about coconut oil including that it can help you lose weight. Some people say coconut oil can cure infections, prevent diseases, boost your metabolism, kill tapeworms, relieve stress and even prevent osteoporosis! For all the information out there, it seems like people haven’t really decided what coconut oil is and isn’t. At the very least there is a lot of support for coconut oil as a healthy alternative to many of the other fats out there.
On this page, we are going to look into what the major medical associations (in the US) have to say about these things.

At Coconutoilweight-loss.com, we realize that modern medicine is always changing. Although the medical and medical research associations we mentioned here are widely recognized as the authorities on medical issues like weight loss and health in general, their data and conclusions are far from the final word on any subject. They are however, a great place to determine the facts and myths behind coconut oil and all the claims made about it.

Major health authorities say no to coconut oil

The American Heart Association, seems to go by the rule of limiting saturated fat intake in general for heart health. They say that coconut oil and most other tropical oils, seeing as they are high in saturated fats, should be limited if not just omitted entirely. There have been studies and research showing the type of fat in coconut oil (and other tropical oils) as possibly not being as dangerous or bad for our health as we once thought. The American Heart Association, like most of the major health authorities in the US, doesn’t immediately acknowledge every report and study that comes out (and for good reason.) When and if more evidence is shown that coconut oil is as healthy as it’s advocates claim, organizations like the American Heart Association will most likely change its tune.

The American Medical Association is also on the side that coconut oil, with all that saturated fats, should be limited or excluded from the diet. The American Dietetic Association and so many other major medical organizations are also on the side that discourages coconut oil consumption.

So is this information definitive? Most would say it is. Everything points to coconut oil as being no healthier than other oils containing large amounts of saturated fat.

However, the more info I find discouraging use of coconut oil as part of ones diet, the more evidence I find suggesting it’s not so bad. The only problem is, these sources just aren’t as reliable as the others. A lot of them are selling coconut oil or coconut oil products, or they are basing their conclusions on shaky studies with little or no evidence.

Overall, I would say that out of other oils with large amounts of saturated fat, coconut oil is probably the winner due to the abundance of medium chain triglycerides (as opposed to long chain triglycerides in the others) in terms of cardiovascular health. As far as losing weight…there is nothing special in coconut oil to promote weight loss significantly.

I do have to admit, there’s a lot of compelling evidence on either side. As far as coconut oil being better for you than and any other oil, probably not. With all the enthusiasm for coconut oil out there however, it may be time for the major health organizations to take another look.

Coconut is the name given to the fruit of the coconut palm. The coconut is not a nut like the name suggests that rather a drupe Other drupes include mangoes, almonds (that’s right, not “nuts” either) cherries, coffee beans, peaches, nectarines and apricots.

Coconuts are an important food. In Oceania, the Pacific Islands and other tropical places, coconuts are the staple food. There are many cultures which consider coconuts to have properties beyond that of a normal food. They believe to be a remedy for many diseases, illnesses and ailments. These cultures value this tree so much they call it “the tree of life.” There may be a decent amount of scientific truth behind their beliefs and tradition. For starters, coconuts are classified as a functional food as they contain a bounty of vitamins and minerals as well as an enormous amount of dietary fiber and are high in protein. But we are going to be talking about coconut oil and whether it can help us lose weight.

The oil is extracted from coconuts via a number of different ways. Dry processing is when the meat of the Coconut is dried to produce copra. Oil is extracted from the copra by using solvents to dissolve and separate it from the rest of the material. This process produces more oil than wet processing, which uses centrifuges to spin the oil out of the pre treated wet coconut meat. Dry processing is also less expensive and requires less energy.

Special Fat

Coconut oil is almost 85% saturated fat, but it is composed mainly of medium chain triglycerides, which are believed to be less harmful to the cardiovascular system than other fats. They also have their own health benefits. Most medium chain triglycerides actually lower blood sugar slightly. Many of them, including the ones found in coconuts have antioxidant and anticoagulant effects. As a result the oils in coconuts are not believed to lead to heart disease and arterial plaque like similar fats.

A study conducted at Vanderbilt University in 1989 shows medium chain triglycerides stimulate thermogenesis more readily than long chain triglycerides. Thermogenesis is when our bodies use energy to create heat on the cellular level. When we are cold this process is at full steam, causing us to shiver. However, thermogenesis is always occurring in our bodies to some extent. Increasing the normal amount of thermogenesis has been shown to lead to fat loss, especially in combination with regular exercise and a ***good diet***.

Lauric Acid

One of the main facts in Coconut oil is lauric acid. Lauric acid has been studied extensively for it’s health benefits. According to one study: Consumption of a solid fat rich in lauric acid gives a more favorable serum lipoprotein pattern than consumption of partially hydrogenated soybean oil. (J Nutr. 2001 Feb;131(2):242-5.) Which basically means it lowers cholesterol. While these claims are exciting, there is not enough research to consider this a fact. It is very promising however, and there is most likely truth behind it.

All in all it is not recommended to just replace every fat in your diet with coconut oil, however this oil would appear to be a healthier alternative than nearly all oils high in saturated fats. Mainstream medicines opinion of saturated fat as a whole would indicate coconut oil as less healthy and more fattening oil. When you take a closer look at coconuts however, you will see that they do not follow the norm. The goal of this site is to determine the usefulness of coconut oil for weight loss and to explore it’s other possible health benefits as we have briefly going into here.

Thank you for reading. We promise you nothing but the most accurate information on coconut oil for weight loss. Take a few moments to leave a comment and don’t forget to read our other illuminating articles on the subject!

I’m 28, and my metabolism hasn’t kicked out yet like everyone said it would. I don’t think this is something that ever has to happen or really makes too much sense when you think about it. what is metabolism, anyway? There is an answer, and I am pretty sure most of the diet supplement marketers aren’t 100% sure of what it is. The thing is, the metabolism is a LOT of different things put together. By “things” I mean organs doing stuff and the processes themselves. By “put together” I mean the organs are all connected, like some sort of…human centipede.
Everything is done in a sequence, so this whole process of metabolizing (from the time you’ve eaten the food to moments before you flush the toilet) is not viewed as a whole but as individual processes.
There are several key processes of human metabolism. I am only going to go over the ones at points where they can be manipulated.
Of course, we can limit the amount of food we take in, starting the metabolic process. I want to reinforce that this is not the beginning of the process. Our bodies and minds are dynamically linked prior to eating we have desire to eat, or hunger. When levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin change, one of the results is hunger…but what causes these hormones to change? Ghrelin levels in obese people are lower than normal. In those with anorexia nervosa they have been shown to be very high. Studies done on people with low body fat (who dont suffer from anorexia) have nocturnal ghrelin increases…this points to a possible biological resistance to ghrelin both automatically or in the case of anorexia, neuropathic ghrelin resistance.
There are several non-stimulant means of controlling your appetite: hot peppers eaten at the point you feel hungry can make the desire to eat a little bit less for a short period of time. After which there several means of preparing and eating the food itself that will reduce a little hunger and help you avoid overshooting the biological response to stop eating respectively, basically by cooking your own food, and eating it slowly.