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Can Coconut Oil Help You Lose Weight?
You’ve no doubt heard of the many health trends that are booming with popularity these days. There’s acai, green tea, pomegranate, and many others. If you’re up to date with the latest health news and trends, then for sure you have also heard of coconut oil and how it claims to help with weight loss by promoting faster metabolism. According to many studies that support the coconut oil trend, it also helps to boost energy, improves thyroid function, and is a fatty acid that your body can quickly burn for energy.
For years, we’ve been told to stay away from fats and oils like the plague. So what makes coconut oil different from all the other forms of fat out there?
Coconut oil is a natural oil that is made from the dried fruit (nut) of the coconut palm tree. Natural coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids, also known and medium chain triglycerides or MCT, which are more easily burned up and converted by the body into energy.
These fats are shorter and more water soluble than those fats that you can find in canola or olive oil, which are long chain triglycerides (LCT). According to Peter Jones, Ph.D. who is a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, coconut oil fats are more directly routed to the liver, where the body can easily use them up as energy.
This means that there is less chance for it to be stored up in the body as fat, unlike other forms of fat. MCTs are shorter chains of fats, which is why they are easily burned up. LCTs, on the other hand, are longer chains of fat which are made up of larger molecules and are more difficult to burn, leading them to be stored in the body as fat.
According to a study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, MCTs were three times more effective at raising the body’s metabolism than LCTs.
The trick to remember when you are trying to understand the secret behind how this form of fat can aid with weight loss is that not all fats are created equal. Some fats occur naturally, while others are artificially manipulated. These artificially manipulated fats are called trans-fats and are the kind of fats that should be avoided.
Aside from helping increase the body’s metabolism, coconut oil can also help with overall health in many other ways. One way that it helps is that coconut oil helps to slow down the digestion of food, making you feel fuller after a meal. This helps to reduce the urge for snacking.
This slower digestion also benefits blood sugar levels by regulating rate at which carbohydrates in the body are broken down into glucose. Coconut oil also helps destroy Candida. This is a condition of yeast growth in the body which contributes to carbohydrate cravings, weight gain, fatigue, and many other symptoms.
If you are interested in starting with the coconut oil diet, remember to start small. Start with one teaspoon a day, slowly working your way up 3 or 6 tablespoons. The slower process or working up the amount will help your body adjust better to the effects of coconut oil. It’s also important to choose your oil carefully. Organic extra virgin coconut oil is a great choice, as it retains all the natural properties of the oil.
