Research

Hormonal

Coconut oil consumption improves cardiovascular lipid profiles by significantly increasing HDL-C and lowering the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio compared to butter, despite raising LDL-C levels relative to unsaturated vegetable oils.

If you are replacing butter with coconut oil, expect your HDL (good) cholesterol to rise significantly, which improves your overall lipid ratio. While your LDL (bad) cholesterol may also rise, the net effect on the LDL/HDL ratio is often more favorable than with butter. However, this does not mean coconut oil is superior to unsaturated vegetable oils like olive or safflower oil for lowering LDL; it is simply a better saturated fat option than animal fats.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Coconut oil consumption leads to a more favorable lipid profile compared to consumption of butter... coconut oil was ranked best to improve HDL-C... coconut oil significantly increased HDL-C by 4.00 mg/dL as compared with non-tropical vegetable oils... Lauric acid decreased the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratios compared to a mixture of carbohydrates.
Susan Hewlings · Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease · 2020

Why this rating

Supported by multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs, though the author notes limitations regarding study duration and lack of hard clinical outcomes.

Source

Coconuts and Health: Different Chain Lengths of Saturated Fats Require Different Consideration

Susan Hewlings · Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease · 2020

DOI 10.3390/jcdd7040059

narrative_reviewCited 48×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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