clean eating
mct oil vs. coconut oil: what’s the difference?
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hile both can be therapeutic for certain conditions, there are key differences between MCT and coconuts oils, and each has unique benefits and uses. It’s important to understand the pros and cons of each to determine which oil is best for you—or whether you want to use them both. Coconut oil is used in many tropical areas of the world, and it has become popular among many health-oriented shoppers in recent years. It is considered the richest food source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), also called mediumchain fatty acids, which are primarily capric, caprylic, and lauric acids. It also contains some long-chain fatty acids, which aren’t as easy for the body to digest. The fact that coconut oil is listed as a rich source of MCTs should have an asterisk next to it, though. The highest percentage of fatty acids in coconut oil is from lauric acid. Even though lauric acid is considered a medium-chain fatty acid by chemists, it behaves more like a longchain fatty acid in terms of digestion and absorption. For this reason, many experts suggest that coconut oil should not be considered an MCT-rich oil. Lauric acid has notable antimicrobial effects, but it doesn’t have the easy-to-digest characteristics attributed to MCTs that encourage the body to burn fat and provide quick energy. MCTs, on the other hand, don’t require the enzymes or bile acids for digestion and absorption that long-chain fatty acids require. This allows MCTs to go straight to your liver where they are either used for immediate energy or turned into ketones, compounds produced when your liver breaks down a lot of fat. MCT oil contains 100 percent MCTs, compared with about 50 percent in coconut oil. MCT oil is made by refining
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Both have therapeutic health effects, but they aren’t the same.
coconut oil or palm oil to remove other compounds and concentrate the MCTs that are naturally found in the oils.
Benefits and Uses of MCT Oil Research suggests that MCT oil may help boost weight loss, metabolic functioning, and energy production more than other oils. As mentioned, your body turns MCTs into alternative forms of energy called ketones, which provide your brain with energy and which increase your metabolic rate and burn excess fat. Mark Hyman, MD, author of Eat Fat, Get Thin, calls MCT oil “the secret fat that makes you thin.” He calls MCT oil a super fuel for your cells that increases mental clarity and boosts fat burning. MCTs can increase the number of calories your body burns compared with longer-chain fatty acids‚ and replacing other dietary fats with MCT oil can produce weight loss. One study found that people saw more weight loss and decreased body fat from consuming MCT oil rather than olive oil. Other studies suggest that MCT oil may help you exercise longer and improve your stamina. Because of the rapid and simple digestion of MCTs, MCT oil also may help people who have malabsorption issues. Some holistic-oriented medical practitioners use MCTs as nutritional therapy for reducing intestinal irritation in patients with irritable bowel disease, short bowel syndrome, or celiac disease, or after gastrointestinal surgery.
Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil Decades ago, coconut oil was avoided because it is a saturated fat that people in the Western world incorrectly associated with heart disease. History and research show that coconut oil doesn’t increase cardiovascular disease. In parts of the world, such as islands in the South Pacific and Papua New Guinea, where coconuts are a dietary staple, people have thrived eating it for generations and have very low rates of heart disease. Lauric acid makes up about half of the fatty acids in coconut oil. When your body digests lauric acid, it forms a substance called monolaurin. Both lauric acid and monolaurin can kill harmful pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Test-tube studies show that these substances help kill Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections, and the yeast Candida albicans, a common source of yeast infections in humans. Research also shows that lauric acid has potent inhibitory effects against Clostrid-
June 2021
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4/26/21 10:27 AM
