People who want an alternative to dairy sometimes choose coconut milk. Some people also switch from cow's milk to coconut milk hoping that it will help them lose weight. Although this type of milk is high in saturated fats, most of these fats are medium-chain fatty acids, which are absorbed differently than the long-chain fatty acids found in cow's milk and may not have as adverse an effect on your health.
Fatty Acid Composition
Coconut milk consists of approximately 24 percent fat, with 98 percent of this fat consisting of saturated fat and more than half of this saturated fat consisting of medium-chain fatty acids such as lauric acid, according to an article published in 2006 in the "The Ceylon Medical Journal." Coconut milk also contains palmitic, myristic, capryllic and capric fatty acids.
Bioavailability
Medium-chain saturated fatty acids, like those found in coconut milk, are able to be absorbed whole by your body and are prioritized as a source of energy, notes the article in "The Ceylon Medical Journal." They do not need to go through the same process as long-chain fatty acids, which need to be broken down and reformed to be used by the body.
Health Effects
Because the medium-chain fatty acids are absorbed whole and used for energy, they don't have as much effect on cholesterol as other types of saturated fats, notes an article published in 2010 in the "Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition." The fatty acid composition of coconut milk may even help lower total cholesterol slightly while raising HDL, or good cholesterol.
Considerations
Some types of coconut milk can have a lot more calories and higher amounts of fat per serving than others. Coconut milk from a can can have as many as 550 calories per cup, while that found in the dairy case may only contain about 50 calories per cup. Overall saturated fat levels are recommended at 30 percent of total calories. Coconut milk in the diet should, therefore, replace another source of saturated fat rather than adding to it.
References
- Los Angeles Times: Got Coconut Milk?
- West Indian Medical Journal: Fatty Acid Composition and Possible Health Effects of Coconut Constituents
- The Ceylon Medical Journal: Coconut Fats
- Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Coconut Oil Predicts a Beneficial Lipid Profile in Pre-menopausal Women in the Philippines
Member Comments