You've no doubt noticed that coconut oil is on everyone's lips lately. Quite literally, too, as people are using it in place of Chapstick. You may also be aware that it's in their frying pans, their smoothies, their hair, and in a little jar on their nightstand. What underlies this oil's recent adoption by the masses is the sheer benefits of coconut oil for the mind, body, and soul that it promises.

And it's not a marketing spin; a growing body of research shows that adding coconut oil to your diet and your person could be one of the easiest ways to improve your health, well-being, appearance, and even your sex life. Read on to learn about some of the coconut oil benefits and how to incorporate it more in your diet with these 20 Coconut Oil Recipes That Will Shrink Your Waist.

It helps you lose weight

A meta-analysis of 13 studies published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) can help you lose weight when they replace long-chain triglycerides (like those from soybean and canola oil) in your diet. And a Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology showed that the MCT in coconut oil can increase diet-induced thermogenesis in humans by as much as 6%.