Coconut oil and heart risk factors in clinical trials
What it found
In people, eating coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol compared with nontropical vegetable oils.
It made no clear difference to blood sugar, inflammation or body fat.
What they found
Studies in people
LDL cholesterol
Coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol by 10.47 mg/dL compared with nontropical vegetable oils. This stayed significant after leaving out nonrandomized or poorer quality trials.
HDL cholesterol
Coconut oil raised HDL cholesterol by 4.00 mg/dL compared with nontropical vegetable oils. This also stayed significant after leaving out nonrandomized or poorer quality trials.
Blood sugar
Coconut oil made no significant difference to markers of blood sugar compared with nontropical vegetable oils.
Inflammation
Coconut oil made no significant difference to markers of inflammation compared with nontropical vegetable oils.
Body fatness
Coconut oil made no significant difference to markers of body fatness compared with nontropical vegetable oils.
What the authors conclude
“Coconut oil consumption results in significantly higher LDL-cholesterol than nontropical vegetable oils.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say coconut oil consumption results in significantly higher LDL-cholesterol than nontropical vegetable oils.
- They say this should inform choices about coconut oil consumption.
How it was done
Coconut oil is high in saturated fat, so it might raise cholesterol, but some have suggested it could help other heart risk factors. The authors wanted to see what the trial evidence showed.
They searched for clinical trials that compared coconut oil with other fats and lasted at least 2 weeks. They found 16 articles and pooled the results.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The trials compared coconut oil with other fats, so this does not show how coconut oil compares with not using it at all.
- The results are averages across trials, so they cannot predict what will happen to one person.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, MA (R.M.v.D.)
The paper
- Title
- The Effect of Coconut Oil Consumption on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Neelakantan N, Seah JYH, van Dam RM (2020). The Effect of Coconut Oil Consumption on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials. Circulation. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.043052PubMed 31928080DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error