Coconut Oil is good for weight loss

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Coconut Oil: A Low-Calorie Fat

 

By Bruce Fife, N.D.

©2001 Reprinted with permission of the author and publisher.

From the book: " The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil. "

 

Not all Fats are Alike

 

We have a dilemma here. Fat is, to put it bluntly, fattening. The more fat we

eat, the more calories we consume, and the harder it is to lose weight. But if

we cut down on fats, we also cut out the essential fatty acids and the

fat-soluble vitamins.

 

What if…what if there was a fat that had fewer calories than other fats and

contributed no more to weight gain than protein or carbohydrate, and actually

promoted better health, would you be interested? Sounds like a pipe dream

doesn’t it? It’s not. There actually is a fat that can do this. That fat is

found in coconut oil.

 

Replacing the fats you now eat with coconut oil may be the wisest decision you

can make to lose excess body fat. We often think that the less fat we eat, the

better. However, you don’t necessarily need to reduce your fat intake, you

simply need to choose a fat that is better for you, one that doesn’t contribute

to weight gain. You can lose unwanted body fat by eating more saturated fat (in

the form of coconut oil) and less polyunsaturated fat (processed vegetable

oils).

 

One of the remarkable things about coconut oil is that it can help you lose

weight. Yes, there is a dietary fat that can actually help you take off unwanted

pounds. Coconut oil can quite literally be called a low-fat fat.

 

All fats, whether they be saturated or unsaturated, from a cow or from corn,

contain the same number of calories. The MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) in

coconut oil, however, are different. They contain a little less. Because of the

small size of the fatty acids that make up coconut oil, they actually yield

fewer calories than other fats. MCT oil, which is derived from coconut oil and

consists of 75 percent caprylic acid (C:8) and 25 percent capric acid (C:10),

has an effective energy value of only 6.8 calories per gram. (1) This is much

less than the 9 calories per gram supplied by other fats. Coconut oil has at

least 2.56 percent fewer calories per gram of fat than long-chain fatty acids

(LCFA). (2) This means that by using coconut oil in place of other oils your

calorie intake is less.

 

This small reduction in calories is only part of the picture. The amount of

calories coconut oil contributes is in effect closer to that of carbohydrate

because it is digested and processed differently than other fats. The digestive

and metabolic effects are discussed below.

 

Produces Energy, Not Fat

 

When people go on diets to lose weight, the foods that are restricted most are

those which contain the most fat. Why is fat singled out? We know it is high in

calories, but there is also another reason. Because of the way it is digested

and utilized in our bodies, it contributes the most to body fat. The fat we eat

is the fat we wear – literally.

 

When we eat fat, the fat is broken down into individual fatty acids and

repackaged into small bundles of fat and protein called lipoproteins. These

lipoproteins are sent into the bloodstream where the fatty acids are deposited

directly into our fat cells. Other nutrients such as carbohydrate and protein

are broken down and used immediately for energy or tissue building. Only when we

eat too much is the excess carbohydrate and protein converted into fat. As long

as we eat enough to satisfy energy needs, fat in our food always ends up as fat

in our cells. Only between meals when physical activity outpaces energy reserves

is fat removed from storage and burned for fuel.

 

MCFA, however, are digested and utilized differently. They are not packaged into

lipoproteins and do not circulate in the bloodstream like other fats, but are

sent directly to the liver where they are immediately converted into energy –

just like a carbohydrate. So when you eat coconut oil, the body uses it

immediately to make energy rather than store it as body fat. As a consequence,

you can eat much more coconut oil than you can other oils before the excess is

converted into fat. It has been well documented in numerous studies using both

animals and humans that replacing LCFA with MCFA results in a decrease in body

weight gain and a reduction in fat deposition. (3-9)

 

These studies have provided the scientific verification that replacing

traditional sources of dietary fat, which are composed primarily of LCFA, with

MCFA, yields meals having a lower effective calorie content. MCFA can be a

useful tool in the controlling of weight gain and fat deposition. The simplest

and best way to replace LCFA with MCFA is to use coconut oil in the preparation

of your food.

 

A Metabolic Marvel

 

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to take a pill that would shift our metabolic

rate into a higher gear? In a sense that is what happens every time we eat. Food

affects our BMR. When we eat, many of our body’s cells increase their activities

to facilitate digestion and assimilation. This stimulation of cellular activity

known as diet-induced thermogenesis, uses about 10 percent of the total food

energy taken in. Perhaps you have noticed, particularly on cool days, that you

feel warmer after eating a meal. Your body’s engines are running at a slightly

higher rate, so more heat is produced. Different types of foods produce

different thermogenic effects. Protein-rich foods such as meat increase

thermogenesis and have a stimulatory or energizing effect on the body. (*This is

true as long as you don’t overeat. Overeating puts tremendous strain on the

digestive system which can drain your energy and make you feel tired. This is

why we often feel sleepy after a big meal.) Protein has a much greater

thermogenic effect than either carbohydrate or fat. This is why when people

suddenly cut down on meat consumption or become vegetarians they often complain

of a lack of energy. This is also one of the reasons high protein diets promote

weight loss – the increase in metabolism burns off more calories.

 

One food that can rev up your metabolism even more than protein is coconut oil.

MCFA shift the body’s metabolism into a higher gear, so to speak, so that you

burn more calories. This happens every time you eat MCFA. Because MCFA increase

the metabolic rate, they are dietary fats that can actually promote weight loss!

A dietary fat that takes off weight rather than putting it on is a strange

concept indeed, but that is exactly what happens, so long as calories in excess

of the body’s needs are not consumed. MCFA are easily absorbed and rapidly

burned and used as energy for metabolism, thus increasing metabolic activity and

even burning LCFA. (10) So not only are medium-chain fatty acids burned for

energy production, but they encourage the burning of long-chain fatty acids as

well.

 

Dr. Julian Whitaker, a well-known authority on nutrition and health, makes this

analogy between the long-chain triglycerides (LCT) and medium chain

triglycerides (MCT): “LCTs are like heavy wet logs that you put on a small

campfire. Keep adding the logs, and soon you have more logs than fire. MCTs are

like rolled up newspaper soaked in gasoline. They not only burn brightly, but

will burn up the wet logs as well.” (11)

 

Research supports Dr. Whitaker’s view. In one study, the thermogenic

(fat-burning) effect of a high-calorie diet containing 40 percent fat as MCFA

was compared to one containing 40 percent fat as LCFA. The thermogenic effect of

the MCFA was almost twice as high as the LCFA: 120 calories versus 66 calories.

The researchers concluded that the excess energy provided by fats in the form of

MCFA would not be efficiently stored as fat, but rather would be burned. A

follow-up study demonstrated that MCFA given over a six-day period can increase

diet-induced thermogenesis by 50 percent. (12)

 

In another study, researchers compared single meals of 400 calories composed

entirely of MCFA and of LCFA. (13) The thermogenic effect of MCFA over six hours

was three times greater than that of LCFA. Researchers concluded that

substituting MCFA for LCFA would produce weight loss as long as calorie level

remained the same.

 

Coconut oil contains the most concentrated natural source of MCFA available.

Substituting coconut oil for other vegetable oils in your diet will help promote

weight loss. The use of refined vegetable oil actually promotes weight gain, not

just from its calorie content, but because of its harmful effects on the thyroid

– the gland that controls metabolism. Polyunsaturated vegetable oils depress

thyroid activity, thus lowering metabolic rate – just the opposite of coconut

oil. Eating polyunsaturated oils, like soybean oil, will contribute more to

weight gain than any other fat known, even more than beef tallow and lard.

According to Ray Peat, Ph.D., an endocrinologist who specializes in the study of

hormones, unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the

circulation, and the response of tissues to the hormone. When thyroid hormones

are deficient, metabolism becomes depressed. (14) Polyunsaturated oils are, in

essence, high-fat fats which encourage weight gain more than any other fats. If

you wanted to lose weight, you would be better off eating lard, because lard

doesn’t interfere with thyroid function.

 

Farmers are always looking for ways to fatten their livestock because bigger

animals bring bigger profits. Fats and oils are used as additive in animal feed

to quickly pack on weight in preparing them for market. Saturated fat seems like

a good choice to fatten up livestock so pig farmers tired to feed coconut

products to their animals for this purpose, but when it was added to the animal

feed, the pigs lost weight! (15) Farmers found that the high polyunsaturated oil

content of corn and soybeans quickly did what the coconut oil couldn’t. Animals

fed corn and soybeans packed on pounds quickly and easily. The reason these oils

worked so well is that their oils suppressed thyroid function, decreasing the

animal’s metabolic rate. Soybeans are particularly bad because of the goitrogens

(anti-thyroid chemicals) they contain. (16-17) They could eat less food and gain

more weight! Many people are in a similar situation. Every time we eat

polyunsaturated oils, our thyroid gland is assaulted and loses its ability to

function normally. Weight gain is one of the consequences.

 

Up until now most people have been afraid of using coconut oil because of the

propaganda war waged by the soybean industry. People were led to believe that

coconut oil was both unhealthy and fattening, neither of which are true. The

fats in coconut oil, for the most part, do not become fatty issues on our

bodies. They produce energy. This is one of the reasons why food manufacturers

put coconut oil or MCFA in sports drinks and energy bards. It is interesting to

note that soybean oil does just the opposite. It promotes weight gain and fat

deposition. We use more soybean and hydrogenated oils than ever before. Over the

past couple of decades, as soybean oil has replaced tropical oils in our foods,

the problem of obesity has mushroomed. Both adults and kids are much fatter than

they used to be. It appears that the soybean industry’s war on coconut oil has

contributed to our expanding weight problem.

 

If you want to lose unwanted weight, the best thing you can do is to avoid those

oils that make you fat and start using coconut oil – the world’s only natural

low-fat fat.

 

The Coconut Diet

 

According to the Mayo Clinic, 95 percent of those people who go on weight loss

diets regain all their weight back within five years. Many regain more weight

than they had before. The diets not only don’t work but can make matters worse.

In order for a diet to work it needs to be permanent. This cannot be done with a

weight-reducing diet. These types of diets are looked on as temporary

restrictions in food, and as soon as the weight is lost we go back to eating the

way we did before, the way that made us fat in the first place. You never stay

slim by eating the way you used to. In order to lose weight permanently you must

make a permanent change. This, however, is undesirable for most people. Who in

their right mind would want to remain on a weight-loss diet forever? These diets

are just too restrictive and in many cases unhealthy.

 

But what if I told you there was a diet that you would like, that you could stay

on permanently and still enjoy most of your favorite foods without worrying

about counting calories or weighing food? For lack of any better name I call it

“The Coconut Diet.” I call it this because it is based around coconut and the

fact that coconut oil is a reduced-calorie fat which promotes weight loss.

 

The coconut diet is simple. The most important and most unique feature of this

diet is that coconut oil and other coconut products are used as much as

possible. Most people are not accustomed to using coconut, so at first they may

think this might be difficult, but it’s not. You can add coconut products to

your ordinary way of eating without noticing much change.

 

The most important change is replacing all the refined vegetable oils you

currently use in your food preparation with coconut oil. Eliminate all

margarine, shortening, and other hydrogenated oils from your diet. Olive oil and

butter are okay, but use coconut oil whenever possible.

 

The second thing you should do is use other coconut products as much as

possible. Find ways to use fresh and dried coconut. You can find recipes in

cookbooks. Coconut milk is a wonderful item that can be used in a wide variety

of dishes. It can replace cow’s milk and cream in most any recipe and tastes

great. Some of the dishes I make using coconut milk include butterscotch

pudding, coconut milk pancakes, clam chowder, chicken almondine, and creamy

coconut gravy, to mention just a few. Coconut milk that you buy in the can is

not sweetened so it can be used for a wide variety of main dishes or desserts.

With delicious meals like these, dieting can be a pleasure, and because there

are no calorie restrictions to worry about, it can easily be maintained for life

without feeling hungry or deprived.

 

When combined with a high-fiber diet, using coconut oil and coconut products can

have a remarkable effect on your weight and your health. For more detailed

information about using coconut products to lose unwanted weight I recommend the

book Eat Fat, Look Thin: A Safe and Natural Way to Lose Weight Permanently. This

book outlines a dietary program based on coconut and includes numerous

delicious recipes.

 

References

 

1.. Ingle, D.L., et al. 1999. Dietary energy value of medium-chain

triglycerides. Jour. of Food Sci. 64(6):960

2.. Thampan, P.K. 1994. Facts and Fallacies About Coconut Oil. Asian and

Pacific Coconut Community. P.1-2

3.. Baba, N. 1982. Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in

response to overfeeding with diet containing medium-chain triglyceride. Am. J.

Clin. Nutr. 35:678

4.. Bach, A.C., et. al. 1989. Clinical and experimental effects of medium

chain triglyceride based fat emulsions-a review. Clin. Nutr. 8:223

5.. Hill, J.O., et. al. 9. Thermogenesis in humans during overfeeding with

medium-chain triglycerides. Metabolism 38:641

6.. Hasihim, S.A. and Tantibhedyangkul, P. 1987. Medium chain triglyceride in

early life: effects on growth of adipose tissue. Lipids 22:429

7.. Geliebter, A. 1980. Overfeeding with a diet containing medium chain

triglycerides impedes accumulation of body fat. Clinical Research 28:595A

8.. Bray, G.A. et al. 1980. Weight gain of rats fed medium-chain triglycerides

is less than rats fed long-chain triglycerides. Int. J. Obes. 4:27-32

9.. Geliebter, A. 1983. Overfeeding with medium-chain triglycerides diet

results in diminished deposition of fat. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 37:1-4

10.. Baba, N. 1982. Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in

response to overfeeding with diet containing medium chain triglyceride. Am. J.

Clin. Nutr. 35:678-82

11.. Murray, M.T. 1996. American Journal of Natural Medicine 3(3):7

12.. Hill, J.O., et. al. Thermogenesis in man during overfeeding with medium

chain triglycerides. Metabolism 38:641-8

13.. Seaton, T.B., et al. 1986. Thermic effect of medium-chain and long-chain

triglycerides in man. Am. J. of Clin. Nutr. 44:630

14.. Peat, R. Ray Peat’s Newsletter 1997 Issue, p.2-3

15.. Encylcopedia Briticanica Book of the Year, 1946. Cited by Ray Peat, Ray

Peat’s Newsletter, 1997 Issue, p.4

16.. Shepard, T.H. 1960. Soybean goiter. New Eng J. Med. 262:1099

17.. Divi, R.L. et. al., 1997. Anti-thyroid isoflavones from soybean:

isolation, characterization, and mechanisms of action. Biochem. Pharmacol.

54(10):1087

 

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