Weight loss: Why cooking with THIS oil could help boost metabolism and blast belly fat

Replacing some of the fat in a diet with coconut oil has been shown to aid those trying to lose weight.

This is because coconut oil is high in fats called medium-chain triglycerides, which are metabolised differently compared to other fats.

A study into the effect of coconut oil on belly fat found great news for those who struggle to shift pounds from this area.

Clinical trials carried out in 2009 on 40 women aged 20-40 discovered “dietetic supplementation with coconut oil seems to promote a reduction in abdominal obesity”.

Another study from 2011 showed “waist circumference was significantly reduced” after participants switched to using coconut oil instead of their usual choices.

The research did not look further into why this reduction of abdominal fat and waist circumference might be.

But other studies may have the answer – and research has shown coconut oil can boost metabolism and help those who eat it to ingest few calories.

Despite coconut oil only gaining mass popularity in recent years, scientists have been studying its possible benefits for years.

A 1996 study discovered medium-chain triglycerides such as coconut oil help with metabolism.

Study authors wrote a “relatively low-to-moderate intake” of medium-chain triglycerides each day could enhance energy expenditure, or metabolism.

Other research carried out in 1996 looked at how substituting fat less easily metabolised for “readily metabolised fat” such as coconut oil would affect weight gain.

Scientists found “energy intakes were significantly lower” on the diet containing readily metabolised fat.

If coconut oil is not for you, eggs have been found to aid weight loss if you start your day with them.

Egg breakfasts have been shown to cause up to 65 per cent greater weight loss over eight weeks. 

A study published in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health showed the weight loss of healthy overweight or obese participants.

The group were assigned to Egg (E), Egg Diet (ED), Bagel (B) or Bagel Diet (BD) groups. That meant they got either an egg breakfast containing two eggs (340 kcal) or a breakfast containing bagels matched for energy density and total energy for five days a week – and what scientists discovered is astounding.