Cocoa butter, palm olein and olive oil effects on blood fats in people
What it found
Cocoa butter, palm olein and extra virgin olive oil had almost identical effects on blood fats in young healthy Chinese people.
Only palm olein led to lower triglycerides than olive oil.
What they found
Studies in people
Overall blood fat levels
After accounting for the diets, most blood fat measurements did not differ much among the three oils. The authors say cocoa butter, palm olein and olive oil have almost identical effects on blood fats.
Triglyceride levels
Blood triglyceride levels were lower when people ate the palm olein diet compared to the olive oil diet. Cocoa butter did not differ significantly from either oil for this measure.
Other findings
Study completion and setup
Sixty-seven out of 72 subjects completed the trial. At the start of each diet phase, the three groups had no meaningful differences in their baseline measurements.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that cocoa butter, palm olein and extra virgin olive oil have almost identical effects on blood fats in young healthy Chinese people.
- Their results showed that only palm olein lowered triglycerides compared to olive oil, while most other measures stayed similar across all three oils.
How it was done
The authors wanted to compare how these three cooking oils affect blood fats and types of LDL cholesterol particles in a young, healthy Chinese population.
Seventy-two young, healthy Chinese adults were split into three groups for an 18-week trial where each person tried all three diets. Each diet used one test oil making up about 40% of total fat and about 11.3% of total energy. Sixty-seven people finished the study, with two-week breaks between four-week diet phases.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial lasted 18 weeks, so it cannot show what happens over many years of eating these oils.
- The participants were young and healthy Chinese adults, so the results may not apply to older people or other populations.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Southeast University, P.R. China; Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, P.R. China; d National Institute for Nutrition and Health, P.R. China
The paper
- Title
- A comparative study of the effects of palm olein, cocoa butter and extra virgin olive oil on lipid profile, including low-density lipoprotein subfractions in young healthy Chinese people
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Cheng C, Wang D, Xia H, et al (2019). A comparative study of the effects of palm olein, cocoa butter and extra virgin olive oil on lipid profile, including low-density lipoprotein subfractions in young healthy Chinese people. International journal of food sciences and nutrition. doi:10.1080/09637486.2018.1504009PubMed 30160543DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error