Coconut oil reduces features of metabolic syndrome in obese females, animal study finds

Obese females that ate a small amount of coconut oil daily, even as part of a high-fat diet, had decreased features of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that raise the chances of developing diabetes, heart disease and stroke, an animal study finds. The study results were accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, and will be published in a special supplemental section of the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

“Our controlled experimental study suggests that coconut oil may not be bad for cardiometabolic health, contrary to what previous studies have concluded,” said the study’s lead investigator, Annie Newell-Fugate, D.V.M., Ph.D., an assistant professor at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

SUN-663: Dietary Coconut Oil Mitigates Features of Metabolic Syndrome in Obese Females 

These data demonstrate that small amounts of dietary coconut oil, even as a part of a high fat diet, can mitigate features of metabolic syndrome and decrease hepatic and visceral adipose tissue lipid accumulation in obese females.