coconut oil -- a low calorie fat

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On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 21:35:59 -0000 ztarf <no_reply >

writes:

 

{{.........eating coconut regularly saying saturated fat is saturated

fat.............}}

 

I happen to work alot with coconut oil. The above statement does not

pertain. Listed on the Tropical Traditions website:

Coconut Oil: A Low-Calorie Fat

By Bruce Fife, N.D.

©2001 Reprinted with permission of the author and publisher.

From the book: " The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil. "

Not all Fats are Alike

We have a dilemma here. Fat is, to put it bluntly, fattening. The more

fat we eat, the more calories we consume, and the harder it is to lose

weight. But if we cut down on fats, we also cut out the essential fatty

acids and the fat-soluble vitamins.

What if…what if there was a fat that had fewer calories than other fats

and contributed no more to weight gain than protein or carbohydrate, and

actually promoted better health, would you be interested? Sounds like a

pipe dream doesn’t it? It’s not. There actually is a fat that can do

this. That fat is found in coconut oil.

Replacing the fats you now eat with coconut oil may be the wisest

decision you can make to lose excess body fat. We often think that the

less fat we eat, the better. However, you don’t necessarily need to

reduce your fat intake, you simply need to choose a fat that is better

for you, one that doesn’t contribute to weight gain. You can lose

unwanted body fat by eating more saturated fat (in the form of coconut

oil) and less polyunsaturated fat (processed vegetable oils).

One of the remarkable things about coconut oil is that it can help you

lose weight. Yes, there is a dietary fat that can actually help you take

off unwanted pounds. Coconut oil can quite literally be called a low-fat

fat.

All fats, whether they be saturated or unsaturated, from a cow or from

corn, contain the same number of calories. The MCFA (medium chain fatty

acids) in coconut oil, however, are different. They contain a little

less. Because of the small size of the fatty acids that make up coconut

oil, they actually yield fewer calories than other fats. MCT oil, which

is derived from coconut oil and consists of 75 percent caprylic acid

(C:8) and 25 percent capric acid (C:10), has an effective energy value of

only 6.8 calories per gram. (1) This is much less than the 9 calories per

gram supplied by other fats. Coconut oil has at least 2.56 percent fewer

calories per gram of fat than long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). (2) This

means that by using coconut oil in place of other oils your calorie

intake is less.

This small reduction in calories is only part of the picture. The amount

of calories coconut oil contributes is in effect closer to that of

carbohydrate because it is digested and processed differently than other

fats. The digestive and metabolic effects are discussed below.

Coconut Oil Produces Energy, Not Fat

When people go on diets to lose weight, the foods that are restricted

most are those which contain the most fat. Why is fat singled out? We

know it is high in calories, but there is also another reason. Because of

the way it is digested and utilized in our bodies, it contributes the

most to body fat. The fat we eat is the fat we wear – literally.

When we eat fat, the fat is broken down into individual fatty acids and

repackaged into small bundles of fat and protein called lipoproteins.

These lipoproteins are sent into the bloodstream where the fatty acids

are deposited directly into our fat cells. Other nutrients such as

carbohydrate and protein are broken down and used immediately for energy

or tissue building. Only when we eat too much is the excess carbohydrate

and protein converted into fat. As long as we eat enough to satisfy

energy needs, fat in our food always ends up as fat in our cells. Only

between meals when physical activity outpaces energy reserves is fat

removed from storage and burned for fuel.

MCFA, however, are digested and utilized differently. They are not

packaged into lipoproteins and do not circulate in the bloodstream like

other fats, but are sent directly to the liver where they are immediately

converted into energy – just like a carbohydrate. So when you eat coconut

oil, the body uses it immediately to make energy rather than store it as

body fat. As a consequence, you can eat much more coconut oil than you

can other oils before the excess is converted into fat. It has been well

documented in numerous studies using both animals and humans that

replacing LCFA with MCFA results in a decrease in body weight gain and a

reduction in fat deposition. (3-9)

These studies have provided the scientific verification that replacing

traditional sources of dietary fat, which are composed primarily of LCFA,

with MCFA, yields meals having a lower effective calorie content. MCFA

can be a useful tool in the controlling of weight gain and fat

deposition. The simplest and best way to replace LCFA with MCFA is to use

coconut oil in the preparation of your food.

A Metabolic Marvel

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to take a pill that would shift our

metabolic rate into a higher gear? In a sense that is what happens every

time we eat. Food affects our BMR. When we eat, many of our body’s cells

increase their activities to facilitate digestion and assimilation. This

stimulation of cellular activity known as diet-induced thermogenesis,

uses about 10 percent of the total food energy taken in. Perhaps you have

noticed, particularly on cool days, that you feel warmer after eating a

meal. Your body’s engines are running at a slightly higher rate, so more

heat is produced. Different types of foods produce different thermogenic

effects. Protein-rich foods such as meat increase thermogenesis and have

a stimulatory or energizing effect on the body. (*This is true as long as

you don’t overeat. Overeating puts tremendous strain on the digestive

system which can drain your energy and make you feel tired. This is why

we often feel sleepy after a big meal.) Protein has a much greater

thermogenic effect than either carbohydrate or fat. This is why when

people suddenly cut down on meat consumption or become vegetarians they

often complain of a lack of energy. This is also one of the reasons high

protein diets promote weight loss – the increase in metabolism burns off

more calories.

One food that can rev up your metabolism even more than protein is

coconut oil. MCFA shift the body’s metabolism into a higher gear, so to

speak, so that you burn more calories. This happens every time you eat

MCFA. Because MCFA increase the metabolic rate, they are dietary fats

that can actually promote weight loss! A dietary fat that takes off

weight rather than putting it on is a strange concept indeed, but that is

exactly what happens, so long as calories in excess of the body’s needs

are not consumed. MCFA are easily absorbed and rapidly burned and used as

energy for metabolism, thus increasing metabolic activity and even

burning LCFA. (10) So not only are medium-chain fatty acids burned for

energy production, but they encourage the burning of long-chain fatty

acids as well.

Dr. Julian Whitaker, a well-known authority on nutrition and health,

makes this analogy between the long-chain triglycerides (LCT) and medium

chain triglycerides (MCT): “LCTs are like heavy wet logs that you put on

a small campfire. Keep adding the logs, and soon you have more logs than

fire. MCTs are like rolled up newspaper soaked in gasoline. They not only

burn brightly, but will burn up the wet logs as well.” (11)

Research supports Dr. Whitaker’s view. In one study, the thermogenic

(fat-burning) effect of a high-calorie diet containing 40 percent fat as

MCFA was compared to one containing 40 percent fat as LCFA. The

thermogenic effect of the MCFA was almost twice as high as the LCFA: 120

calories versus 66 calories. The researchers concluded that the excess

energy provided by fats in the form of MCFA would not be efficiently

stored as fat, but rather would be burned. A follow-up study demonstrated

that MCFA given over a six-day period can increase diet-induced

thermogenesis by 50 percent. (12)

In another study, researchers compared single meals of 400 calories

composed entirely of MCFA and of LCFA. (13) The thermogenic effect of

MCFA over six hours was three times greater than that of LCFA.

Researchers concluded that substituting MCFA for LCFA would produce

weight loss as long as calorie level remained the same.

Coconut oil contains the most concentrated natural source of MCFA

available. Substituting coconut oil for other vegetable oils in your diet

will help promote weight loss. The use of refined vegetable oil actually

promotes weight gain, not just from its calorie content, but because of

its harmful effects on the thyroid – the gland that controls metabolism.

Polyunsaturated vegetable oils depress thyroid activity, thus lowering

metabolic rate – just the opposite of coconut oil. Eating polyunsaturated

oils, like soybean oil, will contribute more to weight gain than any

other fat known, even more than beef tallow and lard. According to Ray

Peat, Ph.D., an endocrinologist who specializes in the study of hormones,

unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the

circulation, and the response of tissues to the hormone. When thyroid

hormones are deficient, metabolism becomes depressed. (14)

Polyunsaturated oils are, in essence, high-fat fats which encourage

weight gain more than any other fats. If you wanted to lose weight, you

would be better off eating lard, because lard doesn’t interfere with

thyroid function.

Farmers are always looking for ways to fatten their livestock because

bigger animals bring bigger profits. Fats and oils are used as additive

in animal feed to quickly pack on weight in preparing them for market.

Saturated fat seems like a good choice to fatten up livestock so pig

farmers tired to feed coconut products to their animals for this purpose,

but when it was added to the animal feed, the pigs lost weight! (15)

Farmers found that the high polyunsaturated oil content of corn and

soybeans quickly did what the coconut oil couldn’t. Animals fed corn and

soybeans packed on pounds quickly and easily. The reason these oils

worked so well is that their oils suppressed thyroid function, decreasing

the animal’s metabolic rate. Soybeans are particularly bad because of the

goitrogens (anti-thyroid chemicals) they contain. (16-17) They could eat

less food and gain more weight! Many people are in a similar situation.

Every time we eat polyunsaturated oils, our thyroid gland is assaulted

and loses its ability to function normally. Weight gain is one of the

consequences.

Up until now most people have been afraid of using coconut oil because of

the propaganda war waged by the soybean industry. People were led to

believe that coconut oil was both unhealthy and fattening, neither of

which are true. The fats in coconut oil, for the most part, do not become

fatty issues on our bodies. They produce energy. This is one of the

reasons why food manufacturers put coconut oil or MCFA in sports drinks

and energy bards. It is interesting to note that soybean oil does just

the opposite. It promotes weight gain and fat deposition. We use more

soybean and hydrogenated oils than ever before. Over the past couple of

decades, as soybean oil has replaced tropical oils in our foods, the

problem of obesity has mushroomed. Both adults and kids are much fatter

than they used to be. It appears that the soybean industry’s war on

coconut oil has contributed to our expanding weight problem.

If you want to lose unwanted weight, the best thing you can do is to

avoid those oils that make you fat and start using coconut oil – the

world’s only natural low-fat.

Testimonials:

I would like to say that I have been on Virgin Coconut Oil for the past 2

months ( 4 tablespoons daily) and feel better than I have in a long time!

My energy levels are up & my weight is down. I am never hungry anymore, &

have incorporated a daily exercise routine & have lost 20 pounds. Paula -

from the Coconut-info discussion group.

I receive several health news letters and eagerly went to your website

and devoured it's contents. I immediately ordered a half gallon of the

wonderful oil. I have been consuming it for about 6 weeks and have lost

about 5 pounds. I have noticed an increase in energy. I had had low

metabolism since I was a teen. I am now 76 yrs old. I'm so pleased that

I'm losing about a pound a week and no longer have tenderness in my

gallbladder area. I walk about 3 miles 3 times a week and love the taste

of the oil. I'm 76 and shooting for 100 unless the Savior comes before

that! Sally - from the Coconut-info discussion group.

I started taking Tropical Traditions virgin coconut oil faithfully six

weeks ago. I am up to 2 ozs. a day and I am experiencing fabulous

results. I am also using it on my skin immediately following bathing,

before drying off. My diet has completely changed back to vegetarian and

I have not had any desire for sweets for over a month. I lost 10 pounds

(I was about 30 lbs. overweight) and my appetite is back to normal. I

feel great and have much more energy. I am a massage therapist and have a

very busy practice. I have been tired and burned out for years but still

I plugged away and satisfied my customers. I have not felt tired for

weeks now. I am also back to my spiritual practices and feeling very

optimistic. I am a great deal less negative and don't even like to watch

TV violence and find TV news disturbing, too dramatic and not worth my

time. I am recommending the oil to my clients daily. I could go on for

ever about the changes. Bruce, L.M.T. - from the Coconut-info discussion

group.

References

Ingle, D.L., et al. 1999. Dietary energy value of medium-chain

triglycerides. Jour. of Food Sci. 64(6):960

Thampan, P.K. 1994. Facts and Fallacies About Coconut Oil. Asian and

Pacific Coconut Community. P.1-2

Baba, N. 1982. Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in

response to overfeeding with diet containing medium-chain triglyceride.

Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 35:678

Bach, A.C., et. al. 1989. Clinical and experimental effects of medium

chain triglyceride based fat emulsions-a review. Clin. Nutr. 8:223

Hill, J.O., et. al. 9. Thermogenesis in humans during overfeeding with

medium-chain triglycerides. Metabolism 38:641

Hasihim, S.A. and Tantibhedyangkul, P. 1987. Medium chain triglyceride in

early life: effects on growth of adipose tissue. Lipids 22:429

Geliebter, A. 1980. Overfeeding with a diet containing medium chain

triglycerides impedes accumulation of body fat. Clinical Research 28:595A

 

Bray, G.A. et al. 1980. Weight gain of rats fed medium-chain

triglycerides is less than rats fed long-chain triglycerides. Int. J.

Obes. 4:27-32

Geliebter, A. 1983. Overfeeding with medium-chain triglycerides diet

results in diminished deposition of fat. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 37:1-4

Baba, N. 1982. Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in

response to overfeeding with diet containing medium chain triglyceride.

Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 35:678-82

Murray, M.T. 1996. American Journal of Natural Medicine 3(3):7

Hill, J.O., et. al. Thermogenesis in man during overfeeding with medium

chain triglycerides. Metabolism 38:641-8

Seaton, T.B., et al. 1986. Thermic effect of medium-chain and long-chain

triglycerides in man. Am. J. of Clin. Nutr. 44:630

Peat, R. Ray Peat’s Newsletter 1997 Issue, p.2-3

Encylcopedia Briticanica Book of the Year, 1946. Cited by Ray Peat, Ray

Peat’s Newsletter, 1997 Issue, p.4

Shepard, T.H. 1960. Soybean goiter. New Eng J. Med. 262:1099

Divi, R.L. et. al., 1997. Anti-thyroid isoflavones from soybean:

isolation, characterization, and mechanisms of action. Biochem.

Pharmacol. 54(10):1087