It may seem just a bit counter-intuitive that fat could actually help weight loss. But it’s true, coconut oil enhances weight loss and I’d like to, if you’ll give me a moment, walk you through it. Let’s start by going over some of the basics that you most likely been taught in University-level biochemistry, if you took it, but may have otherwise forgotten. Fats and oils are composed of hydrophobic groups known as fatty acids. There are really two different ways to classify fatty acids. The first method is based on saturation, and is probably the one, if any, you are most familiar with. Most of you would likely be familiar with saturated or unsaturated fats and oils. The second method to classify a fat is based on size (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) contain less than six carbon atoms, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) have between six to twelve, and long chain fatty acids (LCFA) have fourteen or more carbon atoms. The reason lipids are characterized based on the length of their carbon tail is because the size of the carbon chain affects the physical and chemical properties of the lipid.
Most of the fats, oils and lipids that you ingest come from either plant or animal sources, all of which consist of of long chain fatty acids (LCFA). In fact, approximately 98% of the dietary oils that humans consume is composed of LCFA. The oil taken from coconuts is really unlike most others because it is largely composed of MCFA (medium chain fatty acids), with lauric acid constituting approximately forty-seven percent of coconut oil. Here is where it gets important: medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) are metabolized very differently from LCFA (long chain fatty acids). First, I’ll explain how most dietary fats consisting of long chain fatty acids are metabolized and digested. Then I’ll inform you how MCFA (medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil are digested and metabolized, pointing out the significance and the major differences.
LCFA (long chain fatty acids) existing in plant and animal fat are not easily absorbed by the GI tract and require pancreatic enzymes and bile salts to to metabolize them so that they can be taken up by the intestine. Next, the long chain fatty acids are packaged into, what is called, chylomicrons, which are lipoproteins that transport fats throughout your body. The lipoproteins are transported throughout the lymphatic system then circulate through the bloodstream, where they deliver lipid components to a number of tissues, including cardiac, skeletal tissue, and adipose. After the lipoproteins have uploaded their triglyceride components to these tissues, the left over lipoproteins move to the liver, where they are brought 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 cholesterol, saturated fatty acids, and unsaturated fats that consists of long chain fatty acids (all of your dietary fat) is transported throughout the body.
In contrast, MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) existing within coconut oil are taken up by the GI tract with ease, they do not need any pancreatic enzymes to degrade them, which means less work for your pancreas. Next, medium chain fatty acids are moved to the portal blood stream, directly to the liver, where they go directly into mitochondria without the use of the carnitine palmitoyl transferase, and are instantly oxidized for energy. MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) 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 body fat (and some energy).
Because the MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) found in coconut oils are rapidly and easily transported into the mitochondria, unlike LCFA (long chain fatty acids), they’re immediately used for energy, resulting in a surge of energy and thermogenesis, which, subsequently, increased the speed of metabolism. Several animal studies and clinical studies have shown that ingestion of coconut oil increases the speed of the metabolism and reduces body fat both in animal studies performed on mice and rats, as well as humans. Rats that were fed a diet consisting of medium chain fatty acids had considerably less subcutaneous fat, a visible reduction in overall body adipose tissue, increased metabolism and increased thermogenesis (Lipids 22 (6): 442-444). The burst of energy that is produced by medium chain fatty acids is also great for athletic endurance. Researchers tested the physical endurance of mice that ingested medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) vs. those fed a diet that was, instead, high in long chain fatty acids for six weeks. The animals were tested with a swimming endurance test, where they were forced to swim, every other day. The animals that were fed medium chain fatty acids continually performed better than the others and displayed a much higher level of physical endurance (Journal of Nutrition 125 (3):531-9). This research performed in mice provide us with demonstrable evidence that MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) increase metabolic rate and promote the reduction in body fat while providing a burst of energy that increases physical endurance, in a manner that doesn’t make you fat. Yes, this uplift in energy means you feel less lethargic, and can help you feel less tired.
Numerous studies have shown that coconut oil (as stated earlier, a MCFA) clearly demonstrates an effect in women and men very analogous to what has been shown in other studies involving mammalian animal models: it increases metabolism and decreases overall body fat. For example, 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 12 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). Studies have also shown that medium chain fatty acids also increase the burning of long chain fatty acids (LCFA) 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, MCFA (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 levels of circulating triglycerides were given MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) for 8 weeks. In addition to decreasing body fat, their triglyceride levels were lowered 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 altogether different process than long chain fatty acids altogether, this process expedites its use as energy instead of storing it away as fat. 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 the medium chain fatty acids as well as well. These effects have been seen both in animal studies, and more importantly, human studies.
To reap the medium chain fatty acids benefits you simply need to change the type of oil you normally cook with to coconut oil.
If you enjoyed this informative article please also take a look here: Microalgae Supplements and Infrared Sauna Heater.
categories: weight loss,coconut oil,nutrition,dieting,fitness,diet,health,fatty acids,fats,science