Saturated fats have carried a heavy weight in the past, but health professionals are coming around to the unique benefits that a healthy level of saturated fats can offer to a person’s health and well-being. Take coconut oil for example, everyone from parents at home to restaurant chefs are using it as a healthy source of fat for recipes and home remedies. But do you know what it is that makes coconut oil shine on the nutrition scene? The secret is the MCTs, or medium chain triglycerides, that exist within the coconut oil.
Think of MCTs as the uber concentrated form of coconut oil—the best of the best, super healthy saturated fat in a concentrated form, similar to Omega-3’s. How strong? About 6x as strong as ingesting plain coconut oil. Did you know that breast milk also contains MCTs? And don’t go 
thinking medium chain triglycerides are the same as the long chain triglycerides present in safflower and olive oils. MCTs are a huge hit; so let’s take a look at how they can improve your health from a functional standpoint, and we’ll also help you implement them into your diet.
MCTs Aid in Digestion and the Absorption of Nutrition
Medium chain triglycerides are quickly digested by the body because they are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream and don’t require bile salts for digestion. In general, you need to be able to properly digest your food and absorb it into your cells for your body to get healthy and stay healthy. MCTs put little stress on the GI tract, therefore making quick, healing energy readily available to you.
How MCTs can Functionally Improve Your Health
1. Provides High Levels of Caprylic Acid and Capric Acid
Caprylic and capric acids are fatty acids found naturally in palm and coconut oil as well as breast milk in both human and bovine. Because caprylic acid contains strong antimicrobial and antifungal properties, use of these types of MCTs for yeast infections like candidiasis and bacterial infections have shown a reduction in symptoms.
2. Contains Bioactive Essential Fatty Acids
Put simply, essential fatty acids are the bioactive components found in natural oils. We can only obtain EFAs from the food we eat, and they’re necessary for proper cell function and repair. Therefore implementing them into our diet is very important.
3. Supports Dieting Goals as a Low Carb Energy Source
Replacing other fat sources with MCTs as a staple in your diet can help you maintain your dieting goals as it is a low carb energy source. Because of the way it is metabolized, MCTs give you quick energy like carbohydrates without being a sugar source that can ultimately affect insulin levels. MCTs also create the feeling of satiety for lasting fullness that can keep you from snacking between meals.
How to Implement MCTs Into Your Diet
You can eat MCTs raw or cook with them. They do have a very low smoke temperature so be sure to start out on a medium-low heat setting.
It is recommended to start with ½ to 1 tablespoon for a serving and increasing from there as too much of any oil can cause a digestive upset. That being said, MCTs can also come to the rescue of constipation and other digestive issues.
Take your dosage of MCTs in the morning to boost energy and promote and increase productivity.
MCTs can be substituted for any fat source and can be used in various recipes. I like to add it to my protein shakes throughout the day or use it in homemade dressings for my vegetables.
You need fat to burn fat, so have a serving of MCTs with dinner to help keep you full, help your body repair itself, and burn fat while you sleep.
If you are a coffee drinker, try adding a serving of MCTs to your coffee to give you a boost of energy right off the bat!
