Pure Coconut Oil & Weight Loss

Can fat make you skinny? It's not quite as simple as that, but numerous studies have come up with a surprising discovery: replacing traditional sources of dietary fat with coconut oil lowers the effective calorie content of one's meals. The oil sparks the body's metabolism at the same time as it effectively avoids being stored on one's waistline.

Significance

• Interestingly, pure coconut oil has an effect on the body not unlike commonly marketed weight-loss nutritional supplements; the big difference is in how, exactly, the oil takes effect. The lab-created supplements use drugs such as ephedra and caffeine to forcibly kick off the process of thermogenesis (fat burning) in the body, whereas the coconut oil simply encourages the body to turn up its "furnace". The fatty acids that make up coconut oil are quickly and easily burned by the body, providing an efficient fuel that the metabolism uses preferentially.

Function

• Digestion breaks down most fats into individual components -- fatty acids -- and reassembles them into units of fat and protein called lipoproteins. The body delivers those lipoprotiens to the fat cells, where the fatty acids are deposited for storage. But the medium-chain fatty acids that make up coconut oil behave differently in the body. Instead of being packaged into lipoproteins and delivered to the fat cells, they're sent directly to the liver, where they're converted immediately into energy. As a result, replacing polyunsaturated fats with medium-chain-fatty-acid-based fats decreases fat deposition, adding up to a slimmer frame while still satisfying the dieter's "fat tooth."

Identification

• If you want to use coconut for weight control, ensure that the product is a high-quality, virgin (or expeller-pressed) coconut oil. The packaging should be clearly labeled as such. Minimal processing guarantees that the maximum nutritional value will be available, not compromised by solvent extraction or high factory heat. Coconut oil becomes a solid at lower temperatures, and is thus sometimes referred to as coconut butter; the oil regains a liquid consistency when stored at room temperature. In its liquid state, a high-quality oil is clear and has a distinctly coconut-like scent.

Effects

• As well as providing a thermogenic boost, coconut oil helps control weight in a couple of other important ways. First, when taken with other foods, coconut oil slows down the digestive process -- which helps to modulate blood sugar levels and engender a feeling of satisfaction. Second, the fatty acids in coconut oil are instrumental in controlling candida overgrowth. Candida is a yeast that grows naturally in the body; when there's too much of it, it triggers cravings, fatigue, and eventually weight gain.

Considerations

• There have been multiple clinical studies run on the metabolic effects of coconut oil. One of those studies, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that the medium-chain fatty acids that comprise coconut oil were threefold more effective than polyunsaturated oils at raising metabolism. The same journal published another study that went on to show the connection between eating medium-chain fatty acids and burning stored fat.