Effects of Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, or Butter on Cardiovascular Risk Factors

by | Mar 27, 2018 | 2018, Cardiovascular Health, Fats and Oils - General, Olive & Monosaturated

Written by Joyce Smith, BS. People who supplemented with coconut oil, olive oil or butter found that coconut oil significantly raised high density lipoprotein (HCL-C) compared to butter and olive oil and significantly lowered C-reactive protein compared to olive oil but not butter.

coconut oilAn ongoing debate in the scientific community exists as to whether a reduction in dietary fat intake reduces the risk for cardiovascular disease 1. Fueling this debate are the inconsistencies of previous studies on the potential health-promoting benefits of saturated versus monounsaturated fats 2. Coconut oil recently promoted as a healthy saturated fat 3, contains unlike other fats, the medium chain fatty acids lauric acid (C12:0) and myristic acid (C14:0) which are rapidly absorbed and oxidized in the liver to produce ketones for quick energy4. Yet with poor quality evidence for coconuts’ association with cardiovascular risk, the American Heart Association in 2017 challenged the evidence for coconut oil use, stating, ‘because coconut oil increases low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), a cause of cardiovascular disease and has no known off setting favorable effects, we advise against the use of coconut oil” 5. Thus Khaw et al 2017 6, highly motivated to investigate why coconut oil might have different effects on the body compared to other saturated fats, designed a study to compare the effects of virgin coconut oil and butter (both saturated fats) and olive oil (a monounsaturated fat) on blood lipid profiles and metabolic measures in healthy people.

Ninety-one participants, aged 50-75 years and randomized into three parallel intervention arms, were given a 4-week regimen (50 grams daily) of either extra virgin coconut oil (n=29), butter (n=33, or extra virgin olive oil, (n=30). The primary outcome was a change in serum LDL-C. (There is a well-established causal relationship between LDL-C levels and coronary heart disease risk, with a 1 mmol/L increase in LDL-C providing a 15% decrease in heart disease risk7). Secondary outcomes were a change in total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), TC/HDL-C ratio and non-HDL-C; change in weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, percent body fat, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose and C-reactive protein.

Significantly different changes in LDL-C and HDL-C levels were found between the coconut oil, butter, and olive oil groups. In pairwise comparisons, the following results were:

  • Coconut oil did not significantly raise LDL-C levels compared to olive oil (P=0.74); however, butter significantly raised LDL-C levels compared to both coconut oil (P<0.0001) and olive oil (P<0.0001).
  • Coconut oil significantly raised HDL-C levels compared to both butter and olive oil while butter significantly raised both TC/HDL-C ratio and non-HDL-C more than coconut and olive oils, but there were no differences between coconut oil and olive oil for changes in TC/HDL-C ratio and non-HDL-C.

No significant differences were found in changes in weight, BMI, waist circumference, per cent body fat, fasting glucose or blood pressure among the three groups. Interestingly, coconut oil significantly lowered C-reactive protein when compared to olive oil yet, when compared to butter, it had no significant effect on C- reactive protein.

These results are consistent with previous studies indicating that butter raises LDL-C more than coconut oil and that coconut oil also raises HDL-C 1; however, in this study coconut oil did not increase LDL-C compared with olive oil, an unsaturated oil. Since our diets today include many fats and oils such as soya bean oil, palm oil, and coconut oil, which have not been well-studied, future studies are needed to better understand the subtle differences in dietary fats, how they are metabolized in our bodies, and how they affect our risk for cardiovascular disease.

Source: Khaw K-T, Sharp SJ, Finikarides L, et al. Randomised trial of coconut oil, olive oil or butter on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in healthy men and women. BMJ Open 2018; 8:e020167. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2017-020167

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Posted March 27, 2018.

Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.

References:

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  3. Nagashree RS, Manjunath N, Indu M, et al. Effect of a Diet Enriched with Fresh Coconut Saturated Fats on Plasma Lipids and Erythrocyte Fatty Acid Composition in Normal Adults. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2017;36(5):330-334.
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  7. Goodman DS, Hulley SB, Clark LT, et al. Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults. Archives of Internal Medicine. 1988;148(1):36-69.
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