Malaeb Samar, Spoke Christopher
Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55407, USA.
Department of Medical Education, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Case Rep Endocrinol. 2020 Dec 27;2020:8841781. doi: 10.1155/2020/8841781. eCollection 2020.
Coconut oil, a saturated fat comprised mostly of the medium-chain fatty acid, lauric acid, has become increasingly popular over the past few decades due to its touted anti-inflammatory, metabolic, and lipid-lowering properties. There have been many studies with mixed results evaluating the effects of coconut oil consumption on lipid metabolism and cardiometabolic risk. However, the effects on glucose metabolism are less clear. There are few trials on the effects of coconut oil on glucose homeostasis but no case reports prior to the current one.
We present a case of a 66-year-old man with a history of type 2 diabetes managed with insulin who developed recurrent hypoglycemia and required reduction in insulin therapy quickly after consuming coconut oil supplementation.
This is the first known case report of coconut oil supplementation in a diabetic patient on insulin resulting in hypoglycemia. Review of the literature shows that coconut oil supplementation can have a favorable effect on glycemic control, possibly through phenolic compounds mediating anti-inflammatory effects. This effect is inconsistent throughout the studies reviewed, likely due to variations in types of coconut oil supplementation and scarcity of trials. Further research is required both in animal models and in humans before coconut oil intake is widely advised and popularized. This is especially true in patients with diabetes, who are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and in whom reduction in saturated fat intake is advised.
椰子油是一种主要由中链脂肪酸月桂酸组成的饱和脂肪，在过去几十年中因其所谓的抗炎、代谢和降脂特性而越来越受欢迎。有许多研究评估了食用椰子油对脂质代谢和心脏代谢风险的影响，结果不一。然而，其对葡萄糖代谢的影响尚不清楚。关于椰子油对葡萄糖稳态影响的试验很少，在本病例报告之前也没有相关病例报道。
我们报告一例66岁男性，有2型糖尿病病史，使用胰岛素治疗，在食用椰子油补充剂后迅速出现反复低血糖，需要减少胰岛素治疗。
这是首例已知的糖尿病患者在使用胰岛素期间补充椰子油导致低血糖的病例报告。文献综述表明，补充椰子油可能通过酚类化合物介导抗炎作用，从而对血糖控制产生有益影响。在所综述的研究中，这种效果并不一致，可能是由于椰子油补充剂类型的差异以及试验较少。在广泛建议和推广摄入椰子油之前，需要在动物模型和人体中进行进一步研究。对于糖尿病患者尤其如此，他们患心血管疾病的风险增加，建议减少饱和脂肪的摄入。
