Virgin Coconut Oil is unique and it's unlike most of other dietary oils. What make coconut oil different from the other oils are the fat molecules that make up of the oil.
1. All fats are composed of fat molecules known as fatty acids. It is classified as:
- Saturated fats
- Monounsaturated fats
- Polyunsaturated fats
2. The second method of classification is based on molecular size or the length of the carbon chain within the fatty acid. It is term as:
- Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
- Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs)
- Long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs)
3. When 3 fatty acids are joined together by a glycerol molecule, you have a triglyceride. So, it is terms as:
- Short-chain triglycerides (SCTs)
- Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)
- Long-chain triglycerides (LCTs)
4. Short-chain fatty acids contain 4 and 6 carbons chain respectively. Medium-chain fatty acids have 8, 10 and 12 carbons. While long-chain fatty acids containing 14 or more carbons.
Note:
- The C indicates carbon atoms.
- The number after the C and before the colon indicates the number of carbon atom in the fatty acid chain. - The number after the colon indicates the number of double bonds.
- A 0 after the colon = Saturated Fat
- A 1 after the colon = Monounsaturated Fat
- A 2 or 3 after the colon = Polyunsaturated Fat
The vast majority of the fats in our diet are composed of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Soya bean oil, canola oil, olive oil, lard and animal fats are composed entirely of LCFAs. Some 98% of the fats that we eat everyday consist of LCFAs. Unlike coconut oil, it's composed predominantly of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). It's the MCFAs in coconut oil that make it different from the other oils, for which it's possesses remarkable nutritional and medicinal properties.
Medium chain fatty acids, as the name implies, are shorter and smaller than long-chain fatty acids. Therefore, MCFAs from Coconut Oil have a completely different effect on our body than do the LCFAs.
Let me briefly explain how fats are digested & metabolized (LCFAs vs. MCFAs):
Our bodies metabolize fatty acids differently depending on their length of the fatty acid molecule. When you eat foods containing LCFAs, they are passed through stomach and released into intestinal tract. Digestive enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the gallbladder are required for fat digestion. As LCTs are digested, the bonds holding the individual fatty acids together are broken. Individual fatty acids are then absorbed into the intestinal wall. Here they are packaged into little bundle of fats and protein called lipoproteins (chylomicrons). These lipoproteins are then funneled into the bloodstream where they circulate through the body. As they circulate, small particle of fat are released from the lipoproteins into the adipose tissue located under our skin as an energy storage. If these fats are polyunsaturated, they will be more susceptible to oxidation damage being more volatile.
When we consume MCFAs, the process is totally different. MCFAs also travel through the stomach into the intestinal tract. Because MCFAs are smaller than LCFAs, they digest much more easily and have a greater solubility in water. Like LCFAs, they do require pancreatic digestive enzymes or bile for digestion. They digest easily and are broken into individual fatty acids in the intestinal tracts and then mostly absorbed immediately into the portal vein and sent directly to the liver, where they are being used as a quick source of energy. If the consumed quantities are not significantly high, MCFAs will mostly be metabolized through this pathway and do not circulate in the bloodstream transported by the chylomicrons like other fats do. Hence, the tendency is for MCFAs to be used up rather than stored. In simple explanation, they are used to produce energy, not body fats!
Virgin Coconut Oil is considered a "Natural Functional Food", which means it possesses health benefits beyond its nutritional content.
Heard that the VCO as source of high MCTs, has incredible curative properties. What are these ? How is it that a fat can cure or improve any condition beyond just providing energy for humans ?
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