For at least five decades researchers have recognized that the medium chain triglyceride (MCT) were digested differently than other fats. This difference has had important applications in the treatment of many digestive and metabolic health conditions and since that time medium chain triglyceride (MCT) have been routinely used in hospital and baby formulas.
The digestive health advantages of medium chain triglyceride (MCT) over long chain triglyceride (LCT) are due to the differences in the way our bodies metabolize these fats. Because the medium chain triglyceride (MCT) molecules are smaller, they require less energy and fewer enzymes to break them down for digestion. They are digested and absorbed quickly and with minimal effort.
Medium chain triglyceride (MCT) are broken down almost immediately by enzymes in the saliva and gastric juices so that pancreatic fat-digesting enzymes are not even essential. Therefore, there is less strain on the pancreas and digestive system. This has important implications for patients who suffer from digestive and metabolic problems. Premature and ill infants especially whose digestive organs are underdeveloped, are able to absorb medium chain triglyceride (MCT) with relative ease, while other fats pass through their systems pretty much undigested. People who suffer from malabsorption problems such as cystic fibrosis, and have difficulty digesting or absorbing fats and fat soluble vitamins, benefit greatly from medium chain triglyceride (MCT). They can also be of importance to people suffering from diabetes, obesity, gallbladder disease, pancreatitis Crohn’s disease, pancreatic insufficiency, and some forms of cancer.
As we get older our bodies don’t function as well as they did in earlier years. The pancreas doesn’t make as many digestive enzymes, our intestines don’t absorb nutrients as well, the whole process of digestion and elimination moves at a lower rate of efficiency. As a result, older people often suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Because medium chain triglyceride (MCT) are easy to digest and improve vitamin and mineral absorption they should be included in the meals of older people. This is easy to do if the meals are prepared with coconut oil.
In the digestive system medium chain triglyceride (MCT) are broken down into individual fatty acids. Unlike other fatty acids, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) are absorbed directly from the intestines into the portal vein and sent straight to the liver where they are, for the most part, burned as fuel much like a carbohydrate. In this respect they act more like carbohydrates than like fats.
Other fats require pancreatic enzymes to break them into smaller units. They are then absorbed into the intestinal wall and packaged into bundles of fat (lipid) and protein called lipoproteins. These lipoproteins are carried by the lymphatic system, bypassing the liver, and then dumped into the bloodstream, where they are circulated throughout the body. As they circulate in the blood, their fatty components are distributed to all the tissues of the body. The lipoproteins get smaller and smaller, until there is little left of them. At this time they are picked up by the liver, broken apart, and used to produce energy or, if needed, repackaged into other lipoproteins and sent back into the bloodstream to be distributed throughout the body. Cholesterol, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat are all packaged together into lipoproteins and carried throughout the body in this way. In contrast, medium-chain fatty acids are not packaged into lipoproteins but go to the liver where they are converted into energy. Ordinarily they are not stored to any significant degree as body fat. Medium-chain fatty acids produce energy. Other dietary fats produce body fat.
Because of the above advantages, coconut oil has been a lifesaver for many people, particularly the very young and the very old. It is used medicinally in special food preparations for those who suffer digestive disorders and have trouble digesting fats. For the same reason, it is also used in infant formula for the treatment of malnutrition. Since it is rapidly absorbed, it can deliver quick nourishment without putting excessive strain on the digestive and enzyme systems and help conserve the body’s energy that would normally be expended in digesting other fats. Medium-chain triglycerides comprise a major ingredient in most infant formulas commonly used today.
