Spend time on any low carb forum or Facebook fan page and you’ll quickly realize that coconut oil is fast becoming a fat loss weapon of choice. What was once considered harmful for the human body due to its high saturated fat content, coconut oil has slowly made a comeback packed with numerous health benefits – including weight loss. The big question is, just how is this possible?

Is The Coconut Considered A Fruit?

Or a nut? Or a seed? According to the Library of Congress, “Botanically speaking, a coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe, also known as a dry drupe. However, when using loose definitions, the coconut can be all three: a fruit, a nut, and a seed.” By the way, a drupe is a fruit with a hard stony covering enclosing the seed – think peach or olive. No matter what you may call it, the coconut is one food choice that peaks our curiosity.

The Secret To Coconut Oil Is Its MCFAs Or MCTs.

The majority of our dietary fat comes from long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides (LCT), such as found in most common vegetable or seed oils as well as meats, milk and dairy. As Dr. Mercola explains in his article, these acids are large molecules and are difficult for the body to break down. They are predominantly stored as fat, not what a person trying to lose weight wants! By contrast, coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). MCTs are smaller, easily digested, and immediately burned by your liver for energy. They boost your metabolism and help your body use fat for energy. The theory lies in that what isn’t stored as fat is burned off as energy thus assisting in the body becoming leaner.

Science Backs It Up

The folks over at Coconut Diet point out numerous scientific studies showing how MCTs in coconut oil raise the body’s metabolism and stimulate thermogenesis leading to weight loss. The authors of one quoted study concluded that replacing dietary fats with MCTs, such as found in coconut oil, could over long periods of time produce weight loss even in the absence of reduced caloric intake. Coconut Diet also points out that fat adds satiety to our meals – a feeling of having had enough to eat. A diet higher in refined carbohydrates tends to remove the fat our body needs and instead replaces fat with starches and sugars – a metabolic disaster.

Coconut Oil Cons

As with any “diet” food star in the spotlight, there is always healthy skepticism to take note of. An article published by 3 Fat Chicks reminds us that a single tablespoon of coconut oil contains about 120 calories and nearly 14 grams of fat. The “recommended” three tablespoons of coconut oil for weight loss adds up to an extra 360 calories per day. Many low carber dieters ignore their daily caloric intake which could explain why they have difficulty dropping pounds. Adding coconut oil to the daily diet may stall an otherwise successful drop in weight if calorie intake isn’t factored in. 3 Fat Chicks also state that taking coconut oil is best avoided on an empty stomach as it can lead to gas and bloating.

With that said, coconut oil is back with a vengeance. Not only is coconut oil packed with numerous health benefits, it provides another means to a weight loss end for the low carb community. If you are interested in trying coconut oil for weight loss, shop around for high quality oils. After all, your body is your temple and it deserves the best nature has to offer!

Additional articles that lend value to this discussion can be found at The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D., Organic Facts – Health Benefits of Coconut Oil, and the Coconut Research Center.