Quite frankly, it seems a bit counter-intuitive that fatty acids could actually aid in weight loss. However, it is, in fact,, coconut oil aids in loss of body fat and I’m going to tell you how. Let’s start by going over some of the basics that you very well may have been taught in college biochemistry, if you took it, but may have otherwise forgotten. Fats and oils are composed of fatty acids. There are really two different ways to characterize fatty acids. The first method is based on saturation, and is probably the one you may be most familiar with. Most of you would likely be familiar with saturated or unsaturated fats and oils, what with the attention they get in fad diets and the media. The second method to describe a lipid is based on relative size or length of the fatty acid chain. There are SCFA (short chain fatty acids), 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 6-12 carbons, and long chain fatty acids (LCFA) have fourteen or more carbon groups. The reason oils are characterized based length of their carbon backbone is because the size of the carbon chain influences the chemical and physical properties of the lipid.
Most of the fats, oils and lipids that you eat come from either animal or plant sources, all of which consist of of long chain fatty acids (LCFA). In fact, probably more than ninety-eight percent of the dietary fat that people ingest is composed of LCFA. The oil taken from coconuts is really unlike most others because it is primarily composed of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), with lauric acid making up approximately forty-seven percent of coconut oil. Here is where it gets important: medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) are metabolized very 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 metabolized and digested, pointing out the differences and the major significances.
Long chain fatty acids (LCFA) found in animal and plant fats are not easily taken up by the gastrointestinal tract and require pancreatic enzymes and bile salts to to metabolize them so that they can be absorbed by the intestine. Next, the long chain fatty acids (LCFA) are packaged into chylomicrons, which are lipoproteins that transport fats throughout the body. The chylomicrons 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 chylomicrons have dropped off their fat components to these tissues, the left over lipoproteins are transported to the liver, where they are imported into the mitochondria of liver cells, using the CPT (carnitinte palmitoyl transferase) machinery, and are finally oxidized for energy use (Life Sciences 62 (14): 1203-1215). This is how all saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fat, and cholesterol is made up of long chain fatty acids (all of your dietary fat) is transported throughout the body.
In stark contrast, medium chain fatty acids existing within coconut oil are taken up by the gastrointestinal tract with ease, they do not require any pancreatic enzymes to break them down, which means less work for your pancreas. Next, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) are transported 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, LCFA (long chain fatty acids) found in all other dietary fats produce some energy, but mostly body fat.
Because the MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) found in coconut oils are rapidly and easily transported into the mitochondria, unlike long chain fatty acids, they are immediately used for the production of energy, resulting in a surge of energy and thermogenesis, which, subsequently, increases metabolism. Several clinical and animal studies have proven that ingestion of coconut oil increases the speed of the metabolism and decreases body fat both in animal studies performed on mice and rats, as well as humans. Rats that were fed a diet consisting of MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) had reduced subcutaneous fat, a visible decrease in overall 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 study, Researchers tested the physical endurance of mice that ingested MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) vs. those fed a diet consisting primarily in long chain fatty acids for six weeks. The mice were subjected to a swimming endurance test, where they had to swim. The animals that were fed medium chain fatty acids instead of long chain fatty acids consistently performed better than the others and showed a much higher level of physical endurance (Journal of Nutrition 125 (3):531-9). These studies in animals provide us with evidence that MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) increase metabolic rate and promote the loss of fat while providing a surge of energy that increases physical endurance, in a manner that doesn’t make you fat. Yes, this surge in energy means you feel less lethargic, and can help you feel less tired as you perform daily activities.
A ton of 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 medium chains fats or long chain fats in addition to a diet similar in fat, protein, and carbohydrate content for twelve weeks. After the 12 weeks were over it was found that individuals that took medium chain fatty acids had significantly less body weight and, specifically, body fat (The Journal of Nutrition 131 (11): 2853-2859). Studies have also shown that medium chain fatty acids also increase the oxidation 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 (MCFA) also increase energy production by increasing thermogenesis, which increases the metabolic rate in humans as well (Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental 38 (7): 641-648). In another study, people with high levels of circulating triglycerides were given MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) for 8 weeks. In addition to decreasing body fat, their triglyceride levels plummeted by 14.5 percent (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 expedites 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 coconut oil, but long chain fatty acids pre-existing the consumption of coconut oil as well. These effects have been seen both in animal studies, and more importantly, human studies.
To reap the MCFA benefits you simply need to change the type of oil you ordinarily cook with to coconut oil.
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