Key takeaway:
Coconut oil and butter are both mostly saturated fat, but they don’t behave the same way once they’re in your bloodstream. Randomized trials show butter raises LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind) significantly more than coconut oil does, while coconut oil raises HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind) more than either butter or olive oil. Bottom line: coconut oil isn’t as hard on your heart as butter, but it’s not as good for you as olive oil either. If your cholesterol is already a concern, use coconut oil sparingly and lean on olive oil and fish oil instead.
Coconut oil gets praised in some corners and demonized in others. Some see it as a health-promoting superfood. Others see it as just another saturated fat linked to heart disease. That leaves the typical consumer confused. Do you buy the big gallon bucket or not? Coconut oil is widely used in tropical cultures where heart disease isn’t as big a problem as it is in the USA, so it can’t be that bad, can it?
At the center of this debate is whether coconut oil is truly different from other saturated fats, especially when it comes to cholesterol and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In this article, I’ll walk through the science behind coconut oil. It gets a bit technical for a minute or two, but by the end you’ll understand where it fits into a heart-healthy diet.
Understanding Coconut Oil’s Composition
Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fatty acids, a higher share than butter (around 60%) or lard. Unlike other saturated fats, which are dominated by long-chain fatty acids (14 to 18 carbons), coconut oil is rich in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), particularly lauric acid (C12:0), which makes up nearly 50% of its fatty acids. MCTs get absorbed and metabolized faster than long-chain fatty acids, which usually means less fat storage and a different effect on cholesterol. Lauric acid’s behavior complicates that picture, though, as we’ll see below.
Head-to-Head Comparison: Butter, Virgin Coconut Oil, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) by Khaw and colleagues, published in BMJ Open in 2018, ran a head-to-head comparison that hadn’t been done before or repeated since. The study was prompted by the fact that coconut oil had been lumped in with other saturated fats in the 2017 American Heart Association Presidential advisory on dietary fats and cardiovascular disease. The BBC sponsored the study to get a real answer on coconut oil and CVD risk. Researchers recruited 91 healthy adults who consumed 50 grams daily (about 3 tablespoons) of virgin coconut oil, unsalted butter, or extra virgin olive oil for 4 weeks. The results were striking:
- Butter significantly increased LDL cholesterol (LDL-C, the “bad” cholesterol) by 16.2 mg/dL compared to coconut oil and 14.7 mg/dL compared to olive oil (P<0.0001 for both).
- Coconut oil and olive oil showed no significant difference in LDL-C change (−1.5 mg/dL, P=0.74).
- Coconut oil raised HDL cholesterol (HDL-C, the “good” cholesterol) more than butter (+7.0 mg/dL) and more than olive oil (+6.2 mg/dL).
Those numbers show coconut oil’s effect on cholesterol looks closer to heart-healthy olive oil than to butter, which challenges the idea that all saturated fats are equally harmful.
What Else Do Other Studies Say About Coconut Oil?
Khaw and colleagues aren’t the only researchers who’ve studied coconut oil. Other trials found similar, but not identical, results.
Nikooei and coworkers published a randomized controlled trial in 2021 in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. They studied 48 people with metabolic syndrome who consumed 30 grams of virgin coconut oil daily for 4 weeks. Compared to a no-oil control group, coconut oil increased HDL-C by 7.3 mg/dL, but it also raised LDL-C by 21.9 mg/dL and total cholesterol by 36.8 mg/dL, pointing to possible drawbacks for people with metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes.
Korrapati and coworkers published a metabolically controlled trial in 2018 in Clinical Nutrition. Nine healthy men (BMI ≤25 kg/m²) consumed diets providing about 35 grams of coconut oil or peanut oil for 8 weeks each, with a 6-week washout in between. Coconut oil significantly increased HDL-C (P≤0.047) and improved insulin sensitivity compared to peanut oil. The trial didn’t report significant LDL-C changes, and while it lacks a direct comparison to butter or olive oil, the HDL-C increase lines up with what Khaw and colleagues found.
A 2020 meta-analysis by Neelakantan and colleagues in Circulation pooled data from 16 clinical trials and found that coconut oil raises LDL-C by 10.47 mg/dL and HDL-C by 4.00 mg/dL compared to nontropical oils (olive, soybean, and similar). Compared to butter, coconut oil still had a less pronounced effect on LDL-C, which fits its position as somewhere in the middle.
Taken together, these studies point to a consistent pattern: coconut oil reliably boosts HDL-C, but its effect on LDL-C depends heavily on the comparison fat and the population studied.
Here’s Why Coconut Oil Falls in the Middle
Coconut oil’s unique effects trace back to its high lauric acid content. It’s tempting to think of lauric acid as acting purely like a medium-chain triglyceride, absorbed directly through the portal vein to the liver for quick energy. But a 1992 study by Denke and Grundy in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that only about 25 to 30% of dietary lauric acid is absorbed through that direct portal route. The rest, roughly 70%, gets packaged into chylomicrons (the lipoprotein particles that carry fat through your bloodstream) before it ever reaches the liver. Since most of the lauric acid travels the same route as other long-chain saturated fats, it contributes to some rise in LDL-C, though less than longer-chain fats like the palmitic acid found in butter.
This dual metabolism is why coconut oil lands in the middle. It raises LDL-C less than butter but more than unsaturated oils like olive oil, while its HDL-C benefit is more pronounced thanks to its MCT-like properties.
Practical Implications for Your Diet
The evidence suggests coconut oil isn’t as hard on your heart as butter, but it’s not as good for your heart as extra virgin olive oil or other vegetable oils either. The Khaw study and the supporting research suggest that replacing butter with coconut oil may improve your cholesterol profile, especially by boosting HDL-C. It’s likely to raise your LDL-C a bit too, which offsets some of the benefit. If you’re already healthy, that won’t cause much of an issue. If you have metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes, you may want to reach for the oil with the best overall results instead.
If you want the benefits of MCTs without any of the cholesterol-raising effects of lauric acid, look into MCT oil, which is rich in C8 (caprylic acid) and C10 (capric acid). Unlike coconut oil, MCT oil is rapidly metabolized, doesn’t raise cholesterol, and supports ketone production, which can help with energy during fasting. If you’re doing intermittent fasting with a short eating window, a small amount of MCT oil can give you a morning boost without breaking your fast.
It isn’t wise to make coconut oil your only source of fat. It doesn’t supply essential fatty acids, which you get from unrefined vegetable oils like expeller-pressed canola oil or grapeseed oil. But coconut oil can certainly be part of a wholesome diet. For heart health, lean on extra virgin olive oil as your primary cooking fat and an organic, unrefined vegetable oil for salad dressings.
And it’s worth repeating: the most powerful fat for heart health is still fish oil. Don’t skip it. Getting your omega-3 index above 8% will cover for a lot of other less-than-optimal oil choices along the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is coconut oil really better for you than butter?
In terms of cholesterol, it looks that way. Butter raises LDL cholesterol significantly more than coconut oil does, and coconut oil raises HDL cholesterol more than butter. But “better than butter” doesn’t mean “best.” Olive oil still comes out ahead of coconut oil on LDL.
Does coconut oil raise cholesterol?
Yes, it raises both LDL and HDL cholesterol, though less LDL than butter does. The size of the effect depends on the study and the population. In healthy adults, the LDL increase is modest. In people with metabolic syndrome, the rise in LDL and total cholesterol can be more pronounced.
Is there a downside to coconut oil?
A few. It still raises LDL cholesterol to some degree, it doesn’t supply essential fatty acids, and it’s very calorie-dense. It also shouldn’t replace your only source of fat, since you need unsaturated fats too.
Is a tablespoon of coconut oil a day good for you?
For most healthy people, a tablespoon or two a day (the amount used in several of the trials above) hasn’t been shown to cause problems and may modestly boost HDL. If you already have high LDL, metabolic syndrome, or type 2 diabetes, talk with your doctor before making it a daily habit.
What’s the healthiest substitute for butter?
Based on the cholesterol research, extra virgin olive oil comes out ahead of both butter and coconut oil for LDL cholesterol. It’s a solid default for cooking and salad dressings if heart health is your main concern.
Conclusion
Coconut oil’s high lauric acid content sets it apart from other saturated fats, giving it a cholesterol profile that’s less harmful than butter’s but not as beneficial as olive oil’s. Its ability to raise HDL-C is a real advantage, but it usually raises LDL-C too. So if your cholesterol is already a concern, use coconut oil sparingly, and make sure you’re getting your fish oil. As research continues, coconut oil remains a nuanced player in the world of dietary fats: neither villain nor hero. As always, choose oils processed with human health in mind, not shelf life.
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