Coconut Oil Supplements Linked to Fuel Obesity

Coconut oil intake in small amounts is beneficial. However, coconut oil supplements consumed regularly on long term basis, may significantly impact metabolic alterations in food that contribute to the development of obesity and associated comorbidities. This study was conducted in mice by researchers at Metabolic Disturbance Laboratory (LabDiMe) at the State University of Campinas’s School of Applied Sciences (FCA-UNICAMP) in São Paulo state, Brazil and published in the Journal of Functional Foods.

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Link between Coconut Oil and Obesity

Excessive consumption of animal fat is associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as obesity and diabetes. One of the components of this diet is cholesterol, but this type of fat also contains saturated fatty acids, which can activate inflammatory processes via the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) and may lead to disease.

Saturated fatty acids can also be obtained from other sources, such as plants. They account for 90% of the lipids in coconut oil, for example. Although short-chain fatty acids make up a large proportion, and these are beneficial because they reduce inflammation, saturated fatty acids in coconut oil are sufficient to activate inflammatory pathways and cause damage to different kinds of cells.

“Consumption of coconut oil as part of one’s usual diet or as a food supplement has increased considerably in the population,” Marcio Alberto Torsoni, the lead researcher said. The problem is that in most cases it is consumed without the guidance of a nutritionist, who can adjust the daily dose in accordance with the needs of the individual concerned.

Researchers also observed coconut oil supplements causes alterations in feed consumption, weight gain, anxious behavior and an increase in central nervous system, adipose tissue and liver inflammation.

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Exploring Coconut Oil Supplement at Cellular Level

The researchers also found that the capacity of key metabolic hormones leptin and insulin to activate cellular mechanisms responsible for satiety and control of blood sugar levels was impaired, and that the biochemical mechanisms involved in fat synthesis were stimulated.

“The findings suggest that although the process is slow and silent, coconut oil supplementation for long periods can lead to significant metabolic alterations that contribute to the development of obesity and associated comorbidities,” said Torsoni.

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Long term Effects of Coconut Oil Supplements in Mice Model

To find out whether daily consumption of coconut oil for long periods could cause health problems, the research group used an animal model involving healthy mice given a daily dose of coconut oil for eight weeks. This amount of coconut oil was equivalent in calories to about a soup spoonful (13 g) per day, or 5% of the calories from saturated fat in the diet of an adult person of the right weight for their age and height (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Supplementation with CO induces lipogenesis in adipose tissue, leptin and insulin resistance in healthy Swiss mice

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The study suggests that those mice given an oral supplement of extra-virgin coconut oil developed significant alterations in food intake, weight gain, anxious behavior, and central nervous system, adipose tissue and liver inflammation.

Reference:

1. Supplementation with CO induces lipogenesis in adipose tissue, leptin and insulin resistance in healthy Swiss mice - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464623002001?via%3Dihub)

Source: Eurekalert