Virgin coconut oil is rich in the medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), like lauric acid, that have been shown to boost the metabolism. In fact, around 50% of coconut oil is lauric acid. It turns out that the amount of energy used to metabolize these MCFAs is greater than the energy they provide, and scientists have found that lauric acid is the most rapidly metabolized fatty acid. Coconut oil has a “thermogenic” effect, meaning it raises your body temperature. This in turn boosts energy levels and metabolism.

Another good thing about coconut oil, especially for the many of us who have spent years consuming harmful fats like the trans-fats in vegetable oils, is that coconut oil is easier to digest than other fats. It doesn’t need bile in order to be broken down and used by the body. This can be useful since many of us now have a hard time digesting fats because we produce less bile. Even if you don’t have a problem with fat digestion, coconut oil is still great for losing weight because of the way the body is able to turn it directly into energy.

According to a 2000 report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, you burn off coconut oil three times faster than many other common fats. In a 1986 study by T.B. Seaton et al in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who ate meals containing MCFAs increased their metabolic rate an average of 12%, compared to a 4% increase for those eating meals with long-chain fatty acids (LCTs). The authors concluded that eating MCFAs could “over long periods of time produce weight loss even in the absence of reduced (caloric) intake”.

Once again, coconut oil is nature’s richest source of these medium-chain fatty acids, which in addition to increasing metabolism have many other health-enhancing properties.

Research alludes to the fact that the number one cause of weight problems may be an under-active thyroid gland, especially among women. That’s because the thyroid gland controls body temperature and metabolism, and when the thyroid is sluggish, body temperature and metabolism tend to slow down. Some other symptoms of low, or hypothyroid, are fatigue, cold hands and feet, depression, anxiety, constipation, easy bruising, insomnia, dry skin, unhealthy and brittle nails, allergies and asthma, migraines, acne, hair loss and low sex drive.

Coconut Oil and Weight Loss

Many people have reported that consuming Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) helps them to lose weight. They often see increased energy levels and fewer cravings for carbohydrates and sweets. It’s easier for many people to eat less when consuming 2 - 6 Tablespoons of coconut oil per day, because the fats provide a feeling of satiety or fullness after eating that is not generally experienced when eating a low-fat meal. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why low-fat diet don’t work in the long-term.ave been reported to help this condition and to sometimes raise the temperature back to normal without drugs.
See our Resource Section for thyroid-boosting all-natural supplements.

Other Benefits of Coconut Oil

Dr. Conrado S. Dayrit, M.D., after a 1999-2000 study of HIV patients, concluded that coconut oil does have an anti-viral effect and that it “can beneficially reduce the viral load of HIV patients.”

Are you still caught up in the low-fat mantra of the past couple decades? Do you think you have to cut back on the amount of fat you eat if you are trying to lose weight? These ideas are still so prevalent in our media and in the low-fat products you see everywhere, in the grocery stores and in restaurants, that it’s no wonder you may still believe this. In fact, even many doctors still believe this. However, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, in 1999-2000, an estimated 64% of adults in the United States were either obese or overweight. That’s almost 2/3 of the adult population! 1/3 of our children are now overweight as well, and these figures are increasing. In the past 30 years, the number of overweight children has doubled. In just the past decade, the number of obese people in the U.S. has gone up 2 ½ times. Fifty years ago, only a small percentage of the population had problems with their weight. Now it’s an epidemic! All this has happened while we cut back from 40% to around 32% fat as a percentage of our diet.

Low-fat diets not only don’t work, but they’re not healthy, not natural, and they tend to promote weight gain! Research confirms this statement. The famous Framingham Study that started in 1948 is still going on, and it shows that the more saturated fat, the more calories, and the more cholesterol a person ate, the lower their serum cholesterol! The results also show that the more fat they ate, the less they weighed! We are eating less fat as a nation, but are gaining weight. There are a number of reasons for this. One is that since fat gives foods much of their flavor, when manufacturers cut out the fat, they add sugar, MSG and other chemicals to the food to enhance the taste. These can all have adverse effects on both our weight and our health.