Medium Chain Triglycerides Benefits the Obese

Quite frankly, it seems a bit counter-intuitive that fat could actually enhance weight loss. But it's true, coconut oil encourages loss of body fat and I'm going to step you through it. Let's start by going over some of the classroom-level fundamentals that you likely been taught in college-level biochemistry, if you took it, but may have have forgotten. Oils and fats are composed of hydrophobic groups known as fatty acids. There are really two different ways to define fats. The first method is based on saturation, and is probably the one, if any, you are most familiar with. Most of you are acquainted with saturated or unsaturated fats and oils, what with the attention they get in fad diets and the media. The second method to define a lipid is based on relative size (length) of the fatty acid. There are short chain fatty acids (SCFA), medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), and long chain fatty acids (LCFA). Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) have fewer than 6 carbon atoms, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) have between 6 to 12, and long chain fatty acids (LCFA) have fourteen or more carbon groups. The reason fats are classified based on their length is because the size of the carbon chain influences the physical and chemical properties of the lipid.

Most of the fats and oils that you absorb from your diet come from either plant or animal sources, all of which are composed of LCFA (long chain fatty acids). In fact, probably more than 98% of the dietary fatty acids that people eat consists of LCFA. The oil taken from coconuts is really unique because it is mostly composed of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), with lauric acid, another unique component of coconut oil, constituting approximately 47 percent of coconut oil. Here is where it gets important: medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) are metabolized quite differently from long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). First, I'll explain how most dietary fats consisting of long chain fatty acids are digested and metabolized. Then I'll inform you how MCFA (medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil are broken down and digested, pointing out the differences and the major significances.

LCFA (long chain fatty acids) found in animal and plant fats are not easily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and require bile salts and pancreatic enzymes to break them down so that they can be absorbed by the intestine. Next, the LCFA (long chain fatty acids) are packaged into, what is called, chylomicrons, which are lipoproteins that transport fats throughout the body. The lipoproteins are transported throughout the lymphatic system then circulate through the bloodstream, where they deliver fat components to a number of tissues, including adipose, cardiac and skeletal tissue. After the lipoproteins have uploaded their fat components to these tissues, the left over lipoproteins are transported to the liver, where they are imported into the mitochondria of liver tissues, using the carnitine palmitoyl transferase (CPT) machinery, and are finally oxidized for energy uses (Life Sciences 62 (14): 1203-1215). This is how all unsaturated fats, cholesterol, and saturated fatty acids is made up of long chain fatty acids (almost all of your dietary fat) is transported throughout the body.

In stark contrast, MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) found in coconut oil are absorbed by the GI tract (gastrointestinal) with ease, they do not need any pancreatic enzymes to degrade them, which means less work for your pancreas. Next, MCFA are moved to the portal blood stream, directly to the liver, where they go directly into mitochondria markedly without the use of the carnitine palmitoyl transferase, and are immediately oxidized for energy. Medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) from coconut oil do not get packaged into lipoproteins, and do not get transported to a variety of tissues and are not stored as body fat, they go directly to the liver and are metabolized for energy (Life Sciences 62 (14): 1203-1215). The bottom line is that medium chain fatty acids from coconut oil produces almost exclusively energy, whereas, long chain fatty acids (LCFA) found in all other dietary fats produce some energy, but mostly body fat.

Because the medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) found in coconut oil are rapidly and indiscriminately pulled into the mitochondria, unlike LCFA (long chain fatty acids), they're immediately used for the production of energy, resulting in a burst of energy and thermogenesis, which, subsequently, increases metabolism. Several clinical and animal studies have shown that ingestion of coconut oil increases the speed of the metabolism and decreases bodyfat both in studies done on animals, and humans. Rats that were fed a diet consisting of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) had less subcutaneous fat, a visible reduction in body fat, increased metabolism and increased thermogenesis (Lipids 22 (6): 442-444). The energy burst that is produced by medium chain fatty acids is also great for athletic endurance. In one scientific study, Researchers tested the physical endurance of mice that were fed medium chain fatty acids vs. those fed a diet high in long chain fatty acids for six weeks. The animals were subjected to a swimming endurance test, where they were forced to swim against a current. The animals that were fed medium chain fatty acids instead of long chain fatty acids consistently performed better than the rest and characteristically had a much higher physical endurance (Journal of Nutrition 125 (3):531-9). These scientific studies in mice provide us with demonstrable evidence that medium chain fatty acids increase metabolism and promote the loss of fat while providing a burst of energy that increases physical endurance, in a manner that doesn't make you fat. Yes, this boost in energy means you feel less lethargic, and can help you feel less tired.

Innumerable studies have shown that coconut oil (as stated earlier, a MCFA) clearly has an effect in men and women very analogous to what has been shown in other studies involving mammalian animal models: it increases metabolism and decreases overall body fat. For example, in one study, healthy men and women were administered either long chain fatty acids or medium chain fatty acids in addition to a diet similar in protein, carbohydrate, and fat content for twelve weeks. Throughout the 12 weeks, individuals that took medium chain fatty acids had significantly less body weight and, specifically, body fat (The Journal of Nutrition 131 (11): 2853-2859). Scientific studies have also shown that ingestion of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) also increase the burning of long chain fatty acids that are already in your body (International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity 24 (9): 1158-1166). Similar to the scientific animal studies, medium chain fatty acids also increase production of energy by increasing thermogenesis, which speeds up metabolism in humans as well (Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental 38 (7): 641-648). In another study, people with high blood triglyceride levels were given medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) for 8 weeks. In addition to decreasing overall body fat, their triglyceride levels plummeted by 14.5% (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63 (7): 879-886).

So just a quick refresher for those of you that lost focus:

• Coconut oil, a source of medium chain fatty acids, is metabolized by a different process than long chain fatty acids altogether, this process speeds up its use as energy instead of storing it away as adipose tissue.
• Because the body has to preferentially burn the fat off, it ramps up the metabolism by increasing thermogenesis.
• This ramping up of the metabolism then proceeds to not only burn off the medium chain fatty acids, but long chain fatty acids pre-existing the consumption of coconut oil as well.
• These effects have been demonstrated both in animal studies, and more importantly, human studies as well. To reap the medium chain fatty acids benefits you simply need to change the type of oil you ordinarily cook with to coconut oil.