By Elliot Fisher MS, CSCS, PES, NSCA-CPT
There are a lot of trends for weight loss and health. A popular strategy is putting butter in your coffee. There are definitely some benefits to this such as:
Helping reduce cravings
Suppressing appetite
Some healthy fats if using grass fed butter
Vitamin K in butter
Etc
However, butter is mostly saturated fat. Saturated fats generally raise your LDL cholesterol levels. Increased LDL cholesterol levels are strongly linked with atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries and plaque build up. One fat you can add to your coffee that will help improve your cholesterol is virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil is also a saturated fat, however it’s high in lauric acid which does not have the same negative effects on cholesterol and actually improves cholesterol values.
A study published in Nutrition and Metabolism examined the effects of adding 50 grams of fat from butter, extra virgin olive oil, and virgin coconut oil.(1) The butter group showed a large increase in LDL cholesterol and small increase in HDL cholesterol. The virgin coconut oil group showed a decrease in LDL cholesterol and a large increase in HDL cholesterol.
If you’re trying to improve your health by adding fats into your diet or coffee, try adding virgin coconut oil instead of butter!
References:
1. Khaw KT, Sharp SJ, Finikarides L, et al. Randomised trial of coconut oil, olive oil or butter on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in healthy men and women. BMJ Open. 2018;8(3):e020167. Published 2018 Mar 6. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020167