Coconut & Cholesterol: Why It’s Not the Heart-Healthy Food You Think

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Blog/What To Eat/Coconut & Cholesterol: Why It’s Not the Heart-Healthy Food You Think

Coconuts cut in half. High in saturated fat and poor heart health.

Coconut has this “health halo” around it. It’s natural, tropical, delicious, and all over health blogs and fancy product labels.

But here’s the truth:

If your goal is to lower cholesterol—especially fast—coconut is not your friend.

It’s one of the highest sources of saturated fat found in nature, and saturated fat is one of the key drivers behind elevated LDL cholesterol. Even plant-based diets can go sideways if they rely too heavily on foods like coconut oil, coconut cream, or coconut milk.

Let’s break this down:

🔎 What You're About To Discover:

Why coconut is not good when trying to lower cholesterol

How much saturated fat coconut has compared to other fruits

Better alternatives to use for creaminess

Why coconut isn't good for cholesterol

Even though it’s a fruit, coconut behaves more like butter in your bloodstream.

Why? Because over 80% of the fat in coconut is saturated fat—the kind of fat that directly raises LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels. And while the saturated fat in coconut is mostly lauric acid, it still raises cholesterol just like any other saturated fat.

So while it’s plant-based, it’s not cholesterol-lowering. In fact, it does the opposite.

Coconut VS Other Fruits

Here’s how much saturated fat coconut has compared to other fruits (per 100g):

Coconut meat: 30g

Avocado: 2g

Banana: 0g

Mango: 0g

Apple: 0g

Let that sink in. Coconut has 15x more saturated fat than avocado, and 30x more than fruits like mango or banana.

And coconut oil? It’s 100% fat, and 90% of that is saturated.

Better creamy alternatives

Want that rich, creamy texture without spiking your LDL?

Here are my favorite cholesterol-safe swaps:

Unsweetened oat milk – creamy and mild

Blended white beans – smooth, neutral, great for sauces

Mashed potatoes or cauliflower – add thickness and body

Silken tofu – excellent for puddings, dressings, and soups

Banana or dates – perfect for creamy, sweet recipes

You can get that luscious mouthfeel without compromising your health. Creaminess doesn’t have to come from fat.

What about you?

Have you been using coconut in your meals, thinking it was healthy?

I definitely did for years until I learned how much fat coconuts have.

Hi, I'm Alejandra

Founder Of Without Statins

I stumbled onto a natural way to lower cholesterol—totally by accident.

While building a research-based weight loss program, people with high cholesterol kept asking, “Will this improve my cholesterol too?”

To our surprise, many came back just weeks later saying, “My cholesterol is already back to normal.”

That’s when it hit me: With high cholesterol running deep in my own family history, it became a no-brainer — I had to enhance the program to help more people avoid meds and finally stop worrying.

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