People seem to be telling you to put coconut oil in everything now, from your food to your hair. But can (and should) you be putting coconut oil in coffee? Actually, yes. This jack of all trades can boost your coffee game too.
If you still need convincing, read on for 10 great reasons you should have coconut oil in your coffee!
What’s the Hype?
The thing that makes coconut oil special is actually the kind of saturated fat it contains. Now, you may be under the impression that fats aren’t great for your health, but that’s not always the case.
There are good and bad fats. The latter are long-chain fatty acids and are widely understood to have a negative impact on your health. However, MCTs (medium-chain triacylglycerols) are the type found in coconut oil. And, shockingly enough, they’ve been linked to weigh loss instead of weight gain.
While you may not be able to drop 40 lbs from chugging a jar of this stuff, putting a bit into your coffee every once in awhile can have a positive affect on more than one part of your health. As always moderation is key!
Also, coconut oil has Lauric acid and ketones, both of which are known to have some pretty positive benefits and are. involved in several studies on health at the forefront of science right now. We’ll discuss where these fit in as we go!
10 Reasons It Should Be In Your Coffee
1. Like Caffeine? Try MTCs
As coffee lovers, chances are you you can appreciate a nice boost of energy. While coconut oil doesn’t have caffeine the MCTs that we mentioned earlier have actually been shown to boost your energy levels. However, they do work a little differently.
Caffeine is a stimulant that gives you a quick boost of energy due to the release of things such as adrenaline. This creates a chain reaction where your heart beats faster, giving the rest of your body extra blood and triggering the release of sugars to provide even more energy. It also allows for more active brain function, hence the increased alertness.
On the other hand, the energy boost coming from coconut oil has to do with your metabolism. The fatty acids in coconut oil are absorbed significantly faster and through the liver, as opposed to long-chain vegetable oils.
As a result of how it is processed, the fats in coconut oil essentially skip the line and get used sooner by your body as fuel (ie. energy) rather than being stored in fat. Plus, the ketones in coconut oil may also improve mental alertness.
2. The Weight Loss Power Couple
This is another double whammy of sorts, as both coffee and coconut oil can help boost your weight loss. And this particular combination can be more effective than other food or beverage + coconut oil combos. Here’s why:
Coffee on its own helps raise your metabolism and encourage weight loss. Just your one morning cup can boost your resting metabolic rate by about 4%. On top of that, it’s been shown to promote the burning of calories and fat.
Likewise, Coconut oil helps by providing appetite control. Because it is a satiating fat, you will experience a decrease in appetite. With about 120 calories per tablespoon, that can make a huge difference if you are struggling with overeating.
So, when combined, the two substances can be really helpful for weight management, especially when incorporated with other positive lifestyle choices.
3. Body Guard from the Inside-Out
That’s right, coconut oil can also help protect you from some seriously bad juju by boosting your immune system. Lauric Acid (aka that good stuff found in breast milk) makes up about 50% of the fatty acids in coconut oil.
When ingested, Lauric acid has been shown to have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. It is used to treat a whole bevy of things including several strains of the flu, common cold, fever blister and cold sores, and more. It’s even helpful in preventing the transfer of HIV from mothers to children.
Plus, it. may also help your body absorb some vitamins like A, D, E, and K. What’s more is it boosts antioxidant absorption. That property is particularly nice when it’s in coffee, which naturally has a lot of antioxidants!
If you thought it couldn’t get cooler, think again. This stuff also helps your outermost defensive organ: the skin. Not only does it provide extra moisture, coconut oil also wards off fungi, bacteria, and viruses here. So if you want an extra use for the massive amount you get in the jar, try using it as a moisturizer too.
4. Get Things… Moving Along
In addition to helping your immune system, coconut oil can help out your digestion as well. Now, coffee by itself already does a pretty great job of getting stuff going in there. However, coconut oil also promotes good digestive health.
Instead of acting as a stimulant, it functions as a lubricant. Additionally, it can soften your stool. So, when consumed in reasonable amounts (read 1-2 tbsp a day), coconut oil can keep your BMs regular and relatively pleasant.
5. Insulin’s BFF
Like coffee, coconut oil can be useful in regulating blood sugar. As it does not require insulin to be processed, so there is no spike in blood sugar, reducing the need for extra insulin. Additionally, some studies have shown that the Lauric acid in coconut oil can protect against diabetes-induced issues such as dyslipidemia.
Plus, coffee itself has been overwhelmingly shown to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. Just one cup a day can decrease your risk by 7%!
6. Get Those Smarticle Particles!
As we mentioned before, coffee alone can improve brain function. Likewise, coconut oil seems to play a helpful role in doing the same.
There has been some indications that the ketones in coconut oil could be helpful in treating Alzheimer’s patients. As their brains are seemingly resistant to insulin, they don’t get enough fuel in the form of glucose. So, as we mentioned earlier, ketones can function as an alternative fuel for the brain.
Currently, there are studies being conducted to explore this possibility, which is certainly exciting. Nonetheless, we do know that it seems to help sort term brain function as well!
7. The Edge of Breakthrough
There is a ton of relatively unexplored territory when it comes to coconut oil. One such area is the prevention of neurological disorders.
While coffee has already been shown to help reduce the risk of developing both Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the evidence for coconut oil remains anecdotal. However, there are doctors and laymen alike who swear by it.
The running hypothesis also has to do with the ketones in coconut oil. The having a completely or largely ketogenic diet has been effective for several Parkinson’s and MS patients, which seems to indicate that coconut oil could play a pretty big, assistive role in treating both.
8. Your Heart will Love it!
Who doesn’t want their heart to be happy? One of the few downsides to being an avid coffee drinkers is the risk of high blood pressure. However, coconut oil seems to keep reduce this risk while also increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.
While the area of study is still relatively new, there is a solid chance that consuming coconut oil alongside your morning cuppa could prove to be positive for your heart health.
9. ¡Adios, el Cancer!
So, we already know that coffee can likely reduce the risk of developing several types of cancer (endometrial, liver, colorectal, and melanoma). With percentages reaching from 20-40% risk reduction, that’s already pretty impressive.
To add to that, coconut oil seems to help fight cancer as well, specifically colon cancer. This goes back to both the Lauric acid and ketones we’ve mentioned before. Lauric acid has been shown (in vitro) to exterminate colon cancer cells, which is a pretty promising first step in research.
Also, because cancer cell growth relies on glucose and sugars, using the ketogenic diet (which heavily incorporates coconut oil), can help reduce the risk of getting it and maybe even slow it down!
10. Keeps you Smiling!
Alright, so here some exciting news for you all: science may have proven that coffee makes you happier. That’s because drinking several cups a day has proven to decrease the risk of experiencing depression. Plus, as you already know from reading, it can improve alertness and brain function.
However, while coffee can keep help improve your mental state, it’s not exactly a winner where oral health is concerned. On the other hand, coconut oil can help prevent gingivitis and cavities. These exciting properties are thanks to the anti-bacterial properties of coconut oil.
So, with this helpful duo, you can be smiling honestly and confidently.
Bonus: It’s just tasty!
Here’s one thing we know everyone here care about: the way your coffee tastes. Even if something has some great potential benefits, many coffee lovers wouldn’t think of putting it in their Joe if it meant ruining the taste. But, you thankfully won’t have to worry about that with this combo.
Unlike other additives like syrups or sugars, the flavor that coconut oil lends to your cup isn’t overly sweet. Instead, you’ll find it has a unique, mellow flavor with just a touch of natural sweetness. Plus, it works well blended into both hot and cold coffee.
If you’re wanting to add a tropical flair to your summery cold-brew, coconut oil alongside some vanilla extract and honey can work wonders without the need for ultra-sugary syrups. On the other hand, if left to its own devices it can pretty seamlessly slip into your warm, winter spiced coffee.
As a side note, if you’re worried about the taste or smell of coconut being off-putting, opt for a refined one (rather than virgin coconut oil). It tends to have a more neutral taste and scent and you can still get it organic.
How to Use it
The next big question, of course, is how much you should add to your coffee and how exactly you should go about adding it. Consequently, that’s what we’ll be discussing here.
First, here’s a simple, popular recipe using coconut oil if you’re brewing for two:
The video above also uses butter, but as a bare minimum you will need some coconut oil and your favorite brew. Generally, we recommend using 1 tbsp of coconut oil in your first cup to maximize the benefits without overdoing it.
If you’re burning through 6 cups a day, you probably don’t want to add this much to every single one or else the calorie count will sneak up on you. 1-2 tbsp a day is a nice sweet spot.
As for brewing, it’ll depend on if you’re going hot or cold.
Brewing Hot
If you’re making a hot coffee drink, it’s easiest to put the spoonful of coconut oil at the bottom of the cup then pour the coffee over it. Then, you just have to do a bit of stirring to make sure everything has dissolved and you’re good to go.
Some people do still use a blender for this, especially if they’re adding other ingredients like butter or honey. But if you’re just using the oil, it should work just fine without one.
Brewing Cold
If you are making a cold brew or an iced coffee, you are going to need a blender to get the job done well. however, you are certainly welcome to attempt to just stir it in–it may just not dissolve as well or as quickly. Here, the oil works especially well with milk and honey for a smooth, creamy and refreshing drink.
Bulletproof Coffee
If you’re already a fan of Bulletproof coffee, you already know that it uses coconut oil. However, for those of you who are new to the trend or just haven’t gotten around to testing it yourself, it requires 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp coconut oil. These are blended with a freshly brewed cup of coffee for a seriously creamy energy kick.
Wrapping up
We already know coffee can have a great, positive impact on our health thanks to all of those antioxidants. So why not give your brew an exciting new partner in crime. Coconut oil has already shown to have some pretty cool benefits and up-and-coming studies seem to suggest it could be even better.
So, having a small amount of coconut oil in your morning coffee could prove pretty helpful and healthful for you.
Happy Caffeinating!
