Coconuts and Health: Different Chain Lengths of Saturated Fats Require Different Consideration

Abstract

The diet heart hypothesis has driven nutrition recommendations and policy for decades. Recent studies have questioned the hypothesis and sparked great controversy over the assumed connection between saturated fat intake and heart disease. Recent evidence suggests that dietary patterns should be the focus of dietary recommendations, not any one food or nutrient. Furthermore, to classify foods as simply saturated fat, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats is to ignore the many other potential nutrients and health benefits. Coconut is classified as a saturated fat and therefore listed as a food to limit to reduce heart disease risk. However, different saturated fats, medium-chain or long-chain, act differently metabolically and thus have different health effects. The medium-chain fatty acids predominate in coconut are absorbed differently and have been associated with several health benefits, including improvements in cognitive function and a more favorable lipid profile compared to longer chain fatty acids. Coconuts provide a healthful source of saturated fats and should not be considered the same as foods with longer chain saturated fats. Future recommendations should take this research into consideration. It is the purpose of this review to discuss the research regarding the connection between saturated fat intake, specifically coconut consumption, and health, while focusing on dietary patterns and lifestyle behaviors.

Antibacterial Effect of Coconut Oil (Cocus nucifera) on Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175: An In vitro Study

“…It has been reported in the literature that the main component conferring antibacterial properties to coconut oil is monolaurin, a heat-stable monoglyceride produced by the esterification of lauric acid and glycerol. Monolaurin appears to act primarily by destroying a variety of lipid-coated viruses by disrupting their membranes, thus interfering with assembly and maturation (Boateng et al, 2016;Hewlings, 2020). It is also attributed with the ability to permeate cell membranes by rendering the phospholipids of the lipid bilayer more fluid, inhibit membrane enzyme activities and nutrient uptake, and interfere with transduction signalling in bacteria (Khoramnia et al, 2013;Liebermann et al, 2006).…”

Association between a dietary pattern high in saturated fatty acids, dietary energy density, and sodium with coronary heart disease

“…Direct causal relationship between coconut fat and CVDs or CHD risk, is inconclusive as several studies even showed beneficial effect of coconut milk and coconut oil on lipid profile and CVD risk 59,60 . Thus, even though coconut contains primarily SFA, it is fundamental for the researcher to look at the length of SFA chain too, since different chain of SFA act differently metabolically and have different health effects 61 . These rather contradicting findings have led to inconclusive evidence, therefore further prospective longitudinal studies on coconut based foods, impacts of different types of SFA on health outcomes and CHD risk may be required to confim this association.…”

Zastosowanie Frakcji MCT Z Oleju Kokosowego W Żywieniu I Wpływ Na Zdrowie

“…long-chain triglycerides). Suma wszystkich kwasów nasyconych oleju kokosowego waha się między 90 a 95 % [21]. Nienasycone kwasy tłuszczowe (np.…”