Remember we spoke about not all fat created equal back in our Dietary Fat 101 post?
Certain types of fats definitely have a better place in our diets just like the Omega-3 fatty acids we have been talking about in the past month. Today we are going to introduce you another very healthy option of dietary fat - Medium-Chain Triglyceride (MCT).
How is it different from other fats?
Most of the dietary fats in our food such as steak, pork, cheese, and whatnot are either short-chain, long-chain, or super long-chain triglycerides. These fats all go through a complex digestive tract for absorption. In other words, they are not able to provide us immediate energy as it takes time to absorb them. And even after these fatty acids are in the blood stream, they are usually deposited as body fat when passing around the body before being converted to energy. On the other hand, MCTs act more as a carb when going through our digestive system. MCTs are absorbed directly in our intestines to our portal vein, and go straight to our livers where they are converted to energy. Hence, MCTs are able to provide us a rapid source of energy like carbohydrates without the insulin spike, which is not preferable for most of the time during the day.
Metabolic Boost
Not only do MCTs provide an immediate boost of energy, they are also thermogenic, which means the digestion of MCTs involves increased caloric expenditure of our bodies. This is because different types of food go through different metabolic pathways during digestion, and some food cost us more energy to digest than the others. The combination of the immediate boost of energy and the thermogenic properties MCTs can provides results in a faster metabolism, which is very beneficial for weight control.
Other Dietary Fats Benefits
Although MCTs act more like carbohydrates when they are being digested, they still keep the benefits of dietary fats, which include keeping us satisfied, curbing our hunger, and helping us fight against binging and cravings. This can help us on controlling our overall caloric intake throughout the day which is critical for weight management.
Also, MCTs can also provide an environment for certain types of vitamins to be dissolved and absorbed just like any other fats. There are certain types of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K that can only dissolve in fats before being absorbed. Without sufficient fats in our bodies, these essential vitamins would not be able to be utilised.
Where Can We Find MCTs?
Most of us have realised a popularisation of coconut oil in recent years, this is happening for a good reason. Although previous studies have shown fats derived from coconuts are mostly saturated, which was believed to be the main cause of chronic heart diseases. Recent studies have found fats derived from coconuts are mostly MCTs, although being a type of saturated fat, is an unique type that doesn’t have the harmful effects to our health like the rest of the saturated fats. Simply increase your MCT intake by swapping your regular cooking oil with coconut oil. If you really like coconut, you can even have the “meat” of coconut straight as a snack. There are quite a lot of “coconut chips”, which are really just dried coconut sold in the market. These “coconut chips” can be a very healthy snack, just make sure we are getting the unsweetened ones to avoid the added sugar. The coconut “meat” can also be a very good topping to add a crunch to our salads. Be creative and try to incorporate more ingredients derived from coconuts into our diets to reap the benefits of MCTs!
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