Food and drink

Is coconut oil healthier than other cooking oils?

Written by AI from saved sources. A script checks every quote and every figure against the saved sources, and a second AI compares each claim with its source. How we work and corrections

Coconut oil has no established overall health advantage over common unsaturated cooking oils. HDL is sometimes called “good” cholesterol. LDL is sometimes called “bad” cholesterol.

Coconut oil can raise HDL cholesterol versus nontropical vegetable oils. A trial in generally healthy people lasted four weeks. It found lower LDL with virgin coconut oil than with unsalted butter. Neither finding establishes long-term heart protection.

Checked against: the 2023 cardiovascular-risk review, the 2022 cardiometabolic review, and the 2025 virgin-coconut-oil review, October 2026.

Why people believe it

A 2023 review describes coconut oil as stable for cooking. A four-week trial in generally healthy people found lower LDL with virgin coconut oil than with unsalted butter. A Columbia commentary says coconut oil has been promoted as a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT). An MCT is a special type of fat. The commentary says only a small percentage of coconut oil is MCT. That commentary says prescribed MCT oil should not be replaced with coconut oil.

The Coconut Coalition of the Americas made a claim about the studies covered by the 2020 review. It argued that coconut oil did not produce unhealthy LDL levels in those studies. That is an advocate’s claim, not evidence of better heart outcomes.

“It’s better than other vegetable oils”

Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat. This type of fat is solid at room temperature. Sunflower, canola and corn oils are rich in unsaturated fats. A 2020 analysis combined 16 trials. A 2023 review reports its results. That analysis found higher LDL cholesterol with coconut oil than with nontropical vegetable oils. LDL is one blood cholesterol measure used in these comparisons.

The reviews do not all agree. The 2022 review combined seven studies involving 515 people. It found no statistically clear LDL difference compared with its mix of oils and fats. Its authors rated all assessed results very low certainty. That means very little confidence that the estimated effects are close to the true effects. This was because of risk of bias and inconsistent findings. Risk of bias means possible flaws in how studies are planned or carried out.

“But it raises HDL cholesterol”

Yes: the 2020 analysis also found higher HDL, another cholesterol measure, compared with nontropical vegetable oils. The 2022 review found a small overall HDL rise with coconut oil versus the other oils and fats studied. The authors also grouped studies with lifestyle changes separately from those without them. A statistically clear HDL rise appeared only in studies that included lifestyle changes. Its discussion says raising HDL alone has not been shown to protect against heart disease.

“Virgin coconut oil is different”

A 2025 review of virgin coconut oil (VCO) covered 14 trials involving 1,049 adults. The interventions lasted two to 24 weeks. It found no statistically clear overall LDL difference. But its combined comparisons included butter, other oils and groups without VCO. That does not establish equality with unsaturated oils. The authors also noted uncertainty about processing methods. They acknowledged limits on drawing long-term conclusions.

“It helps with weight and inflammation”

The 2023 review reports results from the 2020 analysis. That analysis detected no effect on body weight, body fat or markers of inflammation compared with nontropical vegetable oils. The 2022 review likewise found no statistically clear weight reduction with coconut oil versus the other oils and fats studied.

“It protects the heart in the long run”

There is not enough evidence that coconut oil protects the heart in the long run. Broader evidence looks at reducing saturated fat generally. Cochrane’s 2020 review found a 17% lower risk of heart and circulation problems counted together. Adults were assigned to reduce saturated fat or to higher saturated-fat intake or usual diet for at least two years. This was based on moderate-certainty evidence. This was a relative reduction, not a coconut-oil result. The review found little or no effect on deaths overall or from heart and circulation disease.

What official bodies say

WHO’s guideline of 17 July 2023 strongly recommends that adults and children reduce saturated fat to 10% of total energy. It strongly recommends replacing it with polyunsaturated fats. The American Heart Association’s 31 March 2026 release recommends unsaturated fats in place of saturated fats. It recommends getting them from nuts, seeds, avocados and nontropical plant oils.

What people also ask

Is coconut oil better than vegetable oil?

No overall advantage over nontropical vegetable oils is established. The 2020 comparison found higher LDL.

Why do cardiologists say to avoid coconut oil?

The American Heart Association recommends replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats. Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat.

Which is healthier, canola oil or coconut oil?

Canola is rich in unsaturated fats, the kind favoured over saturated fats in AHA guidance. A long-term heart-health advantage for coconut oil over canola is not established.

Is coconut fat good for you?

Studies of traditional diets involving coconut flesh or squeezed coconut do not isolate bottled oil. Their findings are vulnerable to other differences between people.

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