The coconut oil trend has been around for some time now, and while there arguments both for and against its uses in people’s diets, I wanted to highlight some of the reasons why people are now using it in coffee.
The mere sight of the word ‘oil’ might be enough to put people off under the assumption that it’s fatty and therefore unhealthy. However that isn’t strictly the case, and there are a lot of possible health reasons why you might want to consider adding it to your coffee.
Fat aren’t unhealthy on account of just being fat, and there is such a thing as healthy fats. And in the case of coconut oil, this falls into that category.
The controversy lies in coconut oil’s high saturated fat levels. However, the kind of fat found in coconut oil is something called medium chain triacylglycerols, otherwise known as MCTs. This particular type of fat has been linked to weight loss.
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Like with any type of fat, or even food for that matter, the important thing is to apply this in moderation. In our case, we’d only want to add a teaspoon of coconut oil to coffee so this lies within a perfectly healthy limit.
So why should we add coconut oil to coffee?
1. Coconut oil can help with weight loss
Despite containing a remarkable 90% of saturated fats, its high MCT content makes it an excellent aid for weight loss and weight control.
How is this so? Well MCTs are metabolized by your body much faster than other forms of fatty acids. This means that they are largely metabolized before they’re stored in fat cells.
#2. It keeps you feeling full
Studies have shown that MCT intake can help subjects feel fuller for longer, making them far less likely to consume large numbers of calories and, perhaps more importantly, sugar.
Not only this but people on low-fat diets, who instead have a higher intake of sugars in the form of carbohydrates, have been found to feel hungrier later in the day and crave sugary foods.
In short, and this might seem like a contradiction, but healthy fat content can help help you lose weight. The key here isn’t to completely ditch carbohydrates and stock up on fats, but rather to try to find a stable medium between the two, and try to find the sweet spot for consuming each of these food types.
I have actually written about butter coffee before. Check out my guide to butter coffee.
#3. It aids feeling calm
Some of this zen-ness will come as a result of not feeling hunger pangs quite as strongly, however MCT oil itself has been shown to have oxidants with anti-stress effects.
In fact, part of the reason that the Bulletproof coffee movement has gained such traction is its inclusion of MCTs.
#4. It boosts metabolism
Coconut oil is referred to as a thermogenic food. In short, this means it boosts your metabolism which, interestingly, is also an effect long associated with coffee. This makes the blend of the two a winning combination.
#5. It helps your immune system
Coconut oil is high in lauric acids, which is an acid that helps your body’s defences against harmful bacteria and certain types of illnesses.
The MCTs found in coconut oil help destroy viruses by smothering virus cells in fat, which effectively breaks down the membrane of the cell. This extends to skin health, as your skin can be prone to different types of skin infections (like acne or cellulitis). A semi-regular intake of coconut oil could help your skin have a glowing shine to it. Shame I like chocolate and wine too much, which sort of works against me in the skin stakes.
Coconut Oil Coffee Recipes
Coconut oil coffee actually offers a variety of intepretations, so there are a few different ways to make it.
As I mentioned earlier, the most famous by some way is Bulletproof coffee, although sometimes the coconut oil is just straight up swapped for MCT oil directly.
In butter coffee, of which Bulletproof is a type of, the recipe is simply black coffee blended together with butter and a teaspoon of coconut oil. I have actually written quite a bit about butter coffee before.
It’s important with butter coffee to use a blender rather than just mixing it manually. This is to help really combine the fat in the butter and coconut oil with the water in the coffee. If not combined properly, the two will separate and give you a layered and, frankly, disgusting version of the solubles.
If you want to mix it up a bit though with some added flavors, here’s an easy coconut oil coffee recipe you can use today.
Coconut Oil Coffee Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup black coffee brewed through your choice of method
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Heat up an empty cup by pouring freshly boiled water into it. Fill it by about a third and leave it for 1-2 minutes. Having a freshly heated cup will improve the overall flavor and impact of your final cup of coffee greatly.
- Empty the cup and then spoon the tablespoon of coconut oil in. Pour your freshly brewed coffee over it. Stir thoroughly with a spoon and enjoy.
- If you choose to use other ingredients, such as butter, then mix all of them together in a blender to make sure they're smooth. Otherwise the fat content of the butter and the water of the coffee will risk separating.
- Also try adding milk and ice to make a coconut oil coffee latte.
