Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefits

Introduction and aim: Coconut products are becoming increasingly popular both in Poland and in the world. Their assortment is constantly increasing, but the most well-known coconut product is oil. Its use in human nutrition raises a lot of controversy, mainly due to the high proportion of saturated...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Natalia Mikołajczak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kazimierz Wielki University 2017-09-01
Series:Journal of Education, Health and Sport
Subjects:
Online Access:https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/24474
_version_ 1811301745837473792
author Natalia Mikołajczak
author_facet Natalia Mikołajczak
author_sort Natalia Mikołajczak
collection DOAJ
description Introduction and aim: Coconut products are becoming increasingly popular both in Poland and in the world. Their assortment is constantly increasing, but the most well-known coconut product is oil. Its use in human nutrition raises a lot of controversy, mainly due to the high proportion of saturated fatty acids. However, there are many clinical studies that suggest its positive effect on the human body. The aim of this article is to review the available literature on the nutritional value of coconut oil and health benefits after its consumption. Brief description of the state of knowledge: Coconut oil belongs to the group of saturated fats, whose share in this type of oil is over 90%. The dominating fatty acid found in coconut oil is lauric acid (about 50% of the total of all acids), while the shares of other medium chain fatty acids (myristic, caprylic, capric) also has a high content of 5-20%. In addition, unrefined coconut oil is a valuable source of many biologically active compounds, such as sterols, tocols, and phenolic compounds, whose content in 100 g of product is 70 mg, 4 mg and 50 mg, respectively. Clinical studies show the beneficial effect of coconut oil on skin, heart, brain and liver. Coconut oil supplementation is also important both in the prevention and treatment of cancer, helps to reduce body fat, and also reduces the biological activity of many bacteria, viruses and fungi. Summary: The collected data confirm that unrefined coconut oil is a valuable source of medium chain fatty acids and biologically active compounds such as sterols, tocols, and phenolic compounds. Such chemical composition of coconut oil suggests its beneficial effects on the body, both for children and adults.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T07:15:37Z
format Article
id doaj.art-656d05ce54284da7b767613dfc9c0ebb
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2391-8306
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T07:15:37Z
publishDate 2017-09-01
publisher Kazimierz Wielki University
record_format Article
series Journal of Education, Health and Sport
spelling doaj.art-656d05ce54284da7b767613dfc9c0ebb2022-12-22T02:56:46ZengKazimierz Wielki UniversityJournal of Education, Health and Sport2391-83062017-09-0179Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefitsNatalia Mikołajczak0University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Faculty of Food Sciences, Chair of Food Plant Chemistry and Processing Introduction and aim: Coconut products are becoming increasingly popular both in Poland and in the world. Their assortment is constantly increasing, but the most well-known coconut product is oil. Its use in human nutrition raises a lot of controversy, mainly due to the high proportion of saturated fatty acids. However, there are many clinical studies that suggest its positive effect on the human body. The aim of this article is to review the available literature on the nutritional value of coconut oil and health benefits after its consumption. Brief description of the state of knowledge: Coconut oil belongs to the group of saturated fats, whose share in this type of oil is over 90%. The dominating fatty acid found in coconut oil is lauric acid (about 50% of the total of all acids), while the shares of other medium chain fatty acids (myristic, caprylic, capric) also has a high content of 5-20%. In addition, unrefined coconut oil is a valuable source of many biologically active compounds, such as sterols, tocols, and phenolic compounds, whose content in 100 g of product is 70 mg, 4 mg and 50 mg, respectively. Clinical studies show the beneficial effect of coconut oil on skin, heart, brain and liver. Coconut oil supplementation is also important both in the prevention and treatment of cancer, helps to reduce body fat, and also reduces the biological activity of many bacteria, viruses and fungi. Summary: The collected data confirm that unrefined coconut oil is a valuable source of medium chain fatty acids and biologically active compounds such as sterols, tocols, and phenolic compounds. Such chemical composition of coconut oil suggests its beneficial effects on the body, both for children and adults. https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/24474coconut palmcoconut oilnutrition valuehealth benefits
spellingShingle Natalia Mikołajczak
Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefits
Journal of Education, Health and Sport
coconut palm
coconut oil
nutrition value
health benefits
title Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefits
title_full Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefits
title_fullStr Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefits
title_full_unstemmed Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefits
title_short Coconut oil in human diet - nutrition value and potential health benefits
title_sort coconut oil in human diet nutrition value and potential health benefits
topic coconut palm
coconut oil
nutrition value
health benefits
url https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/24474
work_keys_str_mv AT nataliamikołajczak coconutoilinhumandietnutritionvalueandpotentialhealthbenefits