Another explanation why coconut oil is interesting to us

dpwellman

Just looking for articles on fat metabolism (or specifically catabolism) during exercise and came across this paragraph. This is the way I try to explain coconut oil, but this is much better worded than mine.

Unlike long-chain triglycerides, ingested medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) are directly absorbed into the blood and liver and are rapidly broken down to fatty acids and glycerol. They therefore provide a theoretical means of rapidly elevating plasma FFA. Another theoretical advantage of MCT is that they appear to be readily transported through cells and into the mitochondria for oxidation. Recent studies have shown that a large percentage of ingested MCT is oxidized and that the oxidation increases more rapidly when the MCT is consumed along with carbohydrate (Jeukendrup et al., 1995). However, most individuals cannot consume more than 30 g of ingested MCT without experiencing severe gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea. Accordingly, MCT ingestion can only contribute 3-6% of the total energy expended during exercise (Jeukendrup et al., 1995). Furthermore, when MCT is consumed with a carbohydrate feeding, the carbohydrate-stimulated insulin secretion partially inhibits the mobilization of the body's own fat stores, resulting in large reductions in fat oxidation compared to exercise when fasted.
Source

Well, that certainly explains my cocoa brownies being popular with some and not quite so popular with others (told them just one or two, but did they listen, no).

Rock on!