3. Claim: Kills Bacteria & Viruses

Another bold claim made by these blogs is that coconut oil can kill virus, fungi and bacteria in the body. This seems to be based on the fact that it contains lauric acid, which can produce monolaurin. In actuality, studies have only found monolaurin to provide protection against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (Staph infections), and that too in MICE! Other than that, researcher failed to find any effect with either refined or virgin coconut oil.

There are some infections which monolaurin might help fight, but these are just speculations and not enough to make blanket statements like this as there’s no evidence that the body can produce monolaurin through coconut oil.

There is however, evidence that a manufactured version of monolaurin (glycerol monolaurate), found in coconut oil, is often used to emulsify and provide moisturizing properties in cosmetic products. Therefore, you can credibly say that coconut oil benefits the skin as a moisturizer or makeup remover.