Coconut Oil for Thyroid Health, Weight Loss, And More

5 min readJan 15, 2023

Coconut oil for thyroid metabolism might be the top health benefit of this superfood. That’s why it works for weight loss. And that’s just the beginning.

(Image by moho01 from Pixabay)

If you’ve been brainwashed by The Modern Low Fat Diet Plague, this may shock you:

THE RIGHT FATS ARE SUPERFOODS!

And coconut oil definitely contains the right fats.

So forget the fear-mongering by mainstream medicine about the evils of dietary fats. That misguided view has a long history perpetuated by bad science, misconceptions, prejudice, and self-interest.

Without good dietary fats, you’d be a corpse.

The key is knowing WHICH fats are good for you and which aren’t.

That’s exactly where coconut oil shines. Let’s see what it can do for you, starting with the thyroid.

Coconut oil is definitely one of the good guys in the dietary fat game.

How good? The title of this book by Dr. Bruce Fife, ND, says it all: Coconut Oil: The World’s Most Powerful Superfood.

Coconut Oil for Thyroid Health

Coconut oil provides so many health benefits that it’s hard to know where to begin looking into it.

The thyroid occurred to me as a good place to start, since thyroid hormones have such a wide range of activities in our bodies.

These include:

Metabolism. Thyroid hormones regulate your basal metabolic rate. They stimulate the absorption of fats and the breakdown of glucose. These activities have a direct influence on appetite.
Cardiovascular system. Thyroid hormones increase the strength and rate of the heartbeat. They work by enhancing the activity of mitochondria, which boosts the use of oxygen. This effect is to maintain body temperature and increase blood flow.
Development. Thyroid hormones increase the maturation of the brain during fetal development and the first few years of infants and toddlers. They continue regulating the growth rate of young people for many years thereafter.
‘Bonus’ benefits. Thyroid hormones also aid sexual function (specifically, libido and normalized menstrual cycle), sleep, and speed of thought.

This is just the beginning of the beneficial fallout from coconut oil for thyroid health.

Let’s dive into a more complete list to see just how ‘super’ this superfood can be, starting with…

Coconut Oil for Weight Loss

Keep in mind that obesity is an inflammatory condition starting in the brain. Some oils will make it worse, which is what I pointed out in a previous post, here: Vegetable Oils That Cause Inflammation.

This is where the anti-inflammatory properties offer a huge advantage for weigh loss. The main fatty acids provide energy without upsetting the balance of hormones behind good weight management.

Just one of the fatty acids, capric acid, showed a quick loss of weight in lab animals. Capric acid works in part by boosting thyroid function.

Another fatty acid, caprylic acid, hastened fat breakdown so much the effect was to simulate fasting. IN other words, it boosted the efficiency of harvesting energy from storage fats.

In addition, coconut oil is a key ‘health’ fat in a ketogenic diet. As such, it simulates some aspects of a true Paleo diet. (See, for example, my explanation of what that means here: Will the Real Paleo Diet Please Stand Up?)

…and More

Each of the following benefits merits a separate article, which I may post soon. Meanwhile, I’m simply going to list the main health benefits from coconut oil represented in the medical research literature and the USDA Nutrient Database.

Alzheimer’s Disease.
Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure
Urinary/Kidney Tract Infections
Inflammation of Arthtitis
Cancer
Antimicrobial (vs. bacteria, fungi, and viruses)
Brain Health (esp. memory)
Low Energy and/or Endurance
GI Health (esp. ulcerative colitis, stomach ulcers)
Skin Health (esp. psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, and burns)
Gum Disease and Cavities
Osteoporosis
Type 2 Diabetes
Muscle Loss
Dandruff/’Dry’ Hair
Yeast (Candida) Infections
Hormone Imbalance (esp. estrogen)

Gee, if you could invent a food providing that many benefits, wouldn’t you call it a superfood, too?

How Much Coconut Oil?

How much should you take when you’re seeking coconut oil for thyroid health, weight loss, or any of the other benefits listed above?

The simplest ‘dosage’ is just 2 tablespoons a day.

Take it any ol’ way you want. Eat it right out of the jar. Cook with it. (It’s the best oil there is for cooking.) Mix it in your nutrition shakes.

How about one of my favorites — put a tsp. of coconut oil into a cup of coffee or tea.

Two recommendations you want to note:

The melting point of coconut oil is right around room temperature. This means it will be solid on your kitchen counter in winter and liquid in summer. (You can also replace it with the enhanced version, called MCT Oil, which is always liquid. A bit pricier, though.)
Use only organic, virgin coconut oil. It’s real easy to find, and it’s pretty inexpensive.

Here’s one product I recommend, since I can get it either online or at my local Costco.

Whatever product you use, just be sure to have a good dose of it every day.

This is amazing stuff!

References

Assuncao ML, Ferreira HS, dos Santos AF, et al. (2009). Effects of dietary coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting abdominal obesity. Lipids; 44(7):593–601. Doi: 10.1007/s11745–009–3306–6. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11745-009-3306-6

Boateng L, Ansong R, Owusu WB, Steiner-Asiedu M. Coconut oil and palm oil’s role in nutrition, health and national development: A review. Ghana Med J. 2016 Sep;50(3):189–196. PMID: 27752194; PMCID: PMC5044790. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5044790/

Gupta, G., Sharma, P., Kumar, P., & Itagappa, M. (2015). Study on Subclinical Hypothyroidism and its Association with Various Inflammatory Markers. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR, 9(11), BC04–BC6. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2015/14640.6806. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4668398/

Intahphuak S, Khonsung P, Panthong A. (2010). Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of virgin coconut oil. Pharmaceutical Biology; 48(2):151–157. Doi: 10.3109/13880200903062614. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20645831

Langley AE, Pilcher GD. Thyroid, bradycardic and hypothermic effects of perfluoro-n-decanoic acid in rats. J Toxicol Environ Health. 1985;15(3–4):485–91. doi: 10.1080/15287398509530675. PMID: 4032495. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4032495/

Lei T, Xie W, Han J, Corkey BE, Hamilton JA, Guo W. Medium-chain Fatty acids attenuate agonist-stimulated lipolysis, mimicking the effects of starvation. Obes Res. 2004 Apr;12(4):599–611. doi: 10.1038/oby.2004.69. PMID: 15090627. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2004.69

Martin SS et al. (2017). Thyroid Function, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Incident Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. doi: 10.1210/jc.2017–00986. Retrieved from: https://www.thyroid.org/patient-thyroid-information/ct-for-patients/august-2017/vol-10-issue-8-p-9/

Mizokami T, Wu Li A, El-Kaissi S, Wall JR. (2004). Stress and thyroid autoimmunity. Thyroid;14(12):1047–1055. Doi: 10.1089/thy.2004.14.1047. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19437058

Sanyal, D., & Raychaudhuri, M. (2016). Hypothyroidism and obesity: An intriguing link. Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism, 20(4), 554–557. doi:10.4103/2230–8210.183454. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4911848/

Wang Y, Liu Z, Han Y, Xu J, Huang W, Li Z. Medium Chain Triglycerides enhances exercise endurance through the increased mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 8;13(2):e0191182. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191182. PMID: 29420554; PMCID: PMC5805166. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5805166/

Yeap, S. K., Beh, B. K., Ali, N. M., Yusof, H. M., Ho, W. Y., Koh, S. P., … Long, K., (2015). Antistress and antioxidant effects of virgin coconut oil in vivo. Experimental and therapeutic medicine, 9(1), 39–42. doi:10.3892/etm.2014.2045. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4247320/