

You may be familiar with ketones in the context of ketogenic diets, which are quite popular these days. Ketones reduce appetite by either acting directly on the brain’s chemical messengers or altering the levels of hunger-inducing hormones, such as ghrelin ( 10). A proportion of MCTs you eat are broken down in a process that produces molecules called ketones ( 1). This may be related to how the body breaks them down. One interesting feature of MCTs is that they may help reduce food intake ( 8, 9). However, it’s still unclear if coconut oil itself has this effect. Researchers have found that consuming a type of saturated fat in coconut oil, called MCTs, may increase the number of calories you burn.

While MCTs may increase how many calories you burn, keep in mind that coconut oil is very high in calories and can easily lead to weight gain if you consume it in large amounts. In fact, studies on MCT’s weight loss potential even call for caution when interpreting results because larger and higher-quality studies are still needed ( 2, 3). However, there’s currently no good evidence to say that eating coconut oil itself will increase the number of calories you burn. Since the fats in coconut oil are 65% MCT, it may have fat-burning properties that are similar to pure MCT oil ( 1). In doing so, it may help promote weight loss ( 2, 3). Scientists are studying medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), including those found in coconut oil, for their potential health benefits.įor instance, some evidence shows that consuming MCTs may increase the number of calories your body burns. In general, saturated fats are divided into three subgroups, each of which has different effects in your body. Coconut oil is a rich source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), a type of saturated fat.
