Coconut Flakes

Coconut flakes are not a by-product. They are the white meat of mature coconuts, pared, shredded and dried, the same desiccated coconut sold for baking. Pressing the oil out of dried meat makes a different product, copra meal.^1,4,12

1. 01 // Source Coconut kernel The white meat of mature coconuts, which runs about 65 to 68% fat once dried.
2. 02 // Process Pared and washed The thin brown skin is pared off thoroughly, or brown flecks show in the product, then the meat is washed.
3. 03 // Process Shredded and steamed Machines shred the meat, then steam or hot water destroys salmonella and the fat-splitting enzymes called lipases.
4. 04 // Process Hot-air dried The shreds dry on wire mesh belts under hot air until moisture falls below 4%.
5. 05 // Output Desiccated flakes Sieved into grades from extra fine to coarse. Unsweetened, the finished product is about 3% water.

1. 01

   Extra calories in a small sprinkle

   Unsweetened flakes are about two-thirds fat on a dry basis, and fat carries more than twice the energy of protein or starch per gram, so a pinch raises a meal's calories quickly.¹

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None
2. 02

   Fermentable fiber for the colon

   About a sixth of the dry flake is dietary fiber. In a test tube, dog fecal bacteria fermented coconut endosperm fiber into butyrate, a fuel for colon cells, but no dog feeding trial exists.^1,9

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

1. 01

   Dense fat calories

   Unsweetened flakes carry about 660 kcal per 100 g as sold, most of it from their 64.5 g of fat. A small sprinkle adds far more calories than its weight suggests.¹

2. 02

   Flavor and texture

   Flakes add chew, smell and visible texture to a topper, and coconut reads as a familiar human food on a label. That is marketing as much as nutrition.

3. 03

   Some fermentable fiber

   Unsweetened flakes are about 17% dietary fiber dry. In a test tube, dog fecal bacteria turned coconut endosperm fiber into butyrate about as readily as pectin.^1,9

How much No source publishes how much coconut a dog food holds; the aged-dog MCT trial fed refined MCT oil at 5.5% of the diet, not flakes.⁷

1. Brands say

   Coconut's MCTs fuel the brain and calm seizures

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In a 21-dog crossover trial funded by Nestlé Purina, an MCT diet cut seizures from 2.67 to 2.31 a month. Commercial MCT oil is mostly C8 and C10. Coconut fat is only about 10% C8 and C10, and flakes were never tested.^5,6

2. Owners say

   Coconut's fat gives dogs pancreatitis

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In one study, 3 of 9 dogs on a 57%-fat diet developed pancreatitis against 2 of 31 on a 16%-fat diet. A 2022 review says the fat link cannot be settled yet. A sprinkle of flakes is not a 57%-fat diet.¹¹

3. Brands say

   Coconut fiber feeds good gut bacteria

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Unsweetened flakes are about 17% dietary fiber dry. In one test-tube study, dog fecal bacteria fermented coconut endosperm fiber to as much butyrate as pectin. We found no dog feeding trial of coconut fiber.^1,9

4. Brands say

   Lauric acid fights yeast and bacteria

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Coconut fat is about 44% lauric acid. A veterinary dermatologist reviewing the evidence found no study testing coconut in dogs with bacterial or yeast infections, and a 2019 cell study found coconut oil damaged canine skin cell membranes.^1,10

5. Owners say

   Coconut gives a shinier coat and healthier skin

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Coat and skin respond to omega-6 fats like linoleic acid. Unsweetened coconut has under 1% linoleic acid dry, and a veterinary dermatologist calls coconut oil a poor choice for skin. No controlled dog trial shows a coat benefit.^1,10

1. 2023 // Before and after diet trial

   Coconut oil left gut bacteria unchanged in sick dogs¹³

   18 dogs with chronic enteropathy

   Found. After 30 days of virgin coconut oil at 10% of energy in a home-cooked diet, fecal bacteria balance held steady and stool lauric acid rose 600%. With no control group and one week on diet alone, symptom gains cannot be credited to the oil.

   What it means. Even fed as oil at a tenth of calories, coconut did not reshape the gut microbiome. A sprinkle of flakes is unlikely to do more.

2. 2015 // Feeding trial, 2 diets

   MCT diet cut seizures modestly in dogs with epilepsy⁶

   21 dogs with idiopathic epilepsy

   Found. Seizures fell from 2.67 to 2.31 a month on a diet with 5.5% MCT. Three dogs became seizure free, 7 more had seizures at least halved, and 6 showed no response. Nestlé Purina funded the trial.

   What it means. The effect came from refined MCT oil, not coconut. Flakes carry little of those fats, so they are not a seizure treatment.

3. 2020 // Supplement trial, 2 oils

   MCT oil supplement lowered seizures in a 28-dog trial⁸

   28 dogs with treated idiopathic epilepsy

   Found. With MCT oil supplying 9% of energy for 3 months, median seizures fell from 2.67 to 2.51 a month. Two dogs became seizure free, 3 more had seizures at least halved, and 12 improved less.

   What it means. A second trial by the same research group finds MCT oil helps some epileptic dogs a little. That finding belongs to purified oil, not coconut flakes.

4. 2015 // Lab fermentation test

   Coconut fiber made as much butyrate as pectin⁹

   Fecal bacteria from dogs, no live dogs

   Found. After 16 hours with dog fecal bacteria, coconut endosperm fiber produced more butyrate than chicory pulp and as much as pectin, and kept bifidobacteria at levels similar to beet pulp and FOS.

   What it means. Coconut fiber ferments well in a dish. We found no trial feeding it to dogs, and flakes are mostly fat anyway.