Daily consumption of coconut oil can cause obesity – 04/07/2023 – Equilibrium

An article published in the Journal of Functional Foods showed that mice with a diet supplemented with coconut oil showed important changes in food consumption, greater weight gain, anxious behavior and an increase in inflammatory markers in the central nervous system, adipose tissue and liver.

The researchers also observed that the ability of leptin and insulin (two hormones central to metabolism) to activate cellular mechanisms responsible, for example, for satiety and blood glucose control, was impaired. Furthermore, the biochemical mechanisms involved with fat synthesis were stimulated.

“The data suggest that, although the process is slow and silent, supplementation with coconut oil for long periods can lead to important changes in metabolism that contribute to the development of obesity and associated comorbidities”, says Marcio Alberto Torsoni, from the Laboratory of Metabolism Disorders at the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Unicamp (State University of Campinas

The laboratory is linked to the OCRC (Center for Research on Obesity and Comorbidities) and the Metabolic Programming and Perinatal Management Center (Center for Metabolic Programming and Perinatal Management, in Portuguese) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in the United States. United.

“The consumption of coconut oil as a component of the usual diet or as a food supplement has increased a lot in the population”, says Torsoni, who has a doctorate in functional and molecular biology, with post-doctorates at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Unicamp and at the University of Michigan (U.S). The problem is that, most of the time, this consumption is carried out without the supervision of a nutritionist, who can adjust the daily inclusion of this lipid according to individual recommendations.

experimental model

To investigate whether the daily consumption of coconut oil for a long period could cause damage to health, the research group used animal models, in this case healthy mice that were supplemented with coconut oil daily.

The dose in calories offered every day for eight weeks to the mice can be compared to the consumption of a tablespoon, about 13 grams of oil. The amount is equivalent to supplementing about 5% of the amount of calories from saturated fat in the diet of an adult individual with weight within the range of appropriateness for age.

Torsoni points out that the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population recommends that coconut oil be used in small amounts, as part of culinary preparations to season or cook food, preferably those in natura or minimally processed, within a balanced consumption profile following the principles of quantity, quality, harmony and adequacy.

“Furthermore, it is not recommended as a supplement for the treatment of diseases or recovery of health”, warns the scientist.