CLAIM: 

Coconut oil added regularly to a balanced diet lowers cholesterol to normal.

FACT: 

Use of coconut oil in cooking, raises the 'bad' cholesterol levels among individuals.

Many social media users promote coconut oil as a healthful alternative to be included as part of one’s cooking regimen. An X user who has close to 30,000 follower on the platform, for instance, recently posted about the benefits of coconut oil and how it help manage cholesterol.

"As far as the evidence goes, it suggests that coconut oil, added regularly to a balanced diet, lowers cholesterol to normal by promoting its conversion into pregnenolone," they said in a post that has garnered over 17,000 views.

As far as the evidence goes, it suggests that coconut oil, added regularly to a balanced diet, lowers cholesterol to normal by promoting its conversion into pregnenolone.

— Ray Peat Quotes (@RayPeatQuotes) October 10, 2023

This question about whether coconut oil is good for you or not, is something that has plagued people for years now, with different sections coming up with different answers. This cholesterol conundrum has the potential to confound many erudite health readers let alone those that do not read on health and follow hearsay. For the ease of its readers Team First Check took up the yeoman task gathering evidence from various credible resources on health effects of cooking in coconut oil.

To ascertain the impact of consuming coconut oil on blood serum levels, team First Check look at a compilation of 21 research papers, including 8 clinical trials, and 13 observational studies. The results of these studies found coconut oil raise levels of LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels.

The British and American Heart Foundations have also said that coconut oil is a very rich source of saturated fats and thus is associated with raising a person's 'bad' cholesterol a.k.a. LDL (low density lipoprotein).

One of the only studies the First Check Team found which said that coconut oil is good for cholesterol, was a study conducted by BBC in collaboration with Cambridge University, which said that "coconut oil did not raise ‘bad’ cholesterol, despite being high in saturated fat. It also seemed to increase ‘good’ cholesterol."

However, this claim has also been rejected by HEART UK., a British charity dedicated to raising awareness about the ill-health effects of raised cholesterol levels, "HEART UK, the UK government, and most dietetically qualified health professionals currently recommend that coconut oil should be used very sparingly, if at all, and ideally replaced by a vegetable fat such as sunflower oil, olive oil or rapeseed oil."

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