Coconut oil consumption improves fat-free mass, plasma HDL-cholesterol and insulin sensitivity in healthy men with normal BMI compared to peanut oil.

Background & Aims: The existing scientific evidence on coconut oil consumption and its health effects remains inconclusive due to varied reasons. In this context, we conducted a well-controlled metabolic study, eliminating some of the confounding factors and assessed the effects of the consumption of coconut oil-based diet on various anthropometric, biochemical and inflammatory markers and compared with peanut oil-diet.

Methods: Nine healthy male volunteers with BMI ≤25 kg/m were enrolled for this study and given balanced diets prepared with coconut oil (CO; ~35 g) for a period of eight weeks. After a wash-out period of six weeks, the same subjects were provided with diets prepared with peanut oil (~35 g) for eight weeks. Except fat source, the composition of the diets was identical in all aspects.

Results: Compared to basal values, there were significant increases in fat-free mass (p ≤ 0.022), plasma HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) (p ≤ 0.047) and insulin sensitivity of the subjects at the end of CO-consumption. Further, compared to peanut oil, increase in plasma HDL-C was significant (p = 0.004) in CO treatment. On the other hand, plasma inflammatory markers-associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), namely soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM1) and matrix metalloproteinase levels were reduced significantly by CO-intake. Further, these subjects displayed elevated levels of myristic acid (14:0) in plasma phospholipids at the end of CO-consumption, which correlated positively with HDL-C and negatively with sVCAM1. However, no such changes were observed after peanut oil diet consumption.

Conclusions: In conclusion, compared to peanut oil, the consumption of coconut oil in a balanced diet resulted in increased fat-free mass, plasma HDL-C, elicited favourable changes on insulin sensitivity and CVD risk-associated parameters in healthy men with normal BMI.