Coconut oil is unique. It is unlike most other dietary oils. It is this difference that gives it most of its nutritional and medicinal properties. What makes coconut oil different from other oils is the fat molecules that make up the oil. All fats and oils are composed of fat molecules known as fatty acids. There are two methods of classifying fatty acids. The first, you are probably familiar with, is based on saturation. You have saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. The second method of classification is based on molecular size or the length of the carbon chain within the fatty acid. You have short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), and long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). When three fatty acids are joined together by a glycerol molecule you have a triglyceride. So you can also have short-chain triglycerides (SCTs), medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), and long-chain triglycerides (LCTs). Sometimes people use the terms fatty acid and triglyceride interchangeably.
Short-chain fatty acids include butyric and caporic acids which have carbon chains containing four and six carbons respectively. Medium-chain fatty acids include caprylic, capric, and lauric acids with eight, ten, and 12 carbons. Long-chain fatty acids have carbon chains containing 14 or more carbons.
The vast majority of the fats in our diet, whether they are saturated or unsaturated or come from a plant or an animal, are composed of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, olive oil, lard, and chicken fat, as well as most all other fats and oils in our diet, are composed entirely of LCFAs. Some 98 to 100 percent of the fat you eat each day consists of LCFAs, unless, however, you eat a lot of coconut or coconut oil. Coconut oil is unique; it is composed predominately of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). It is the MCFAs in coconut oil that make it different from other oils and which give it its remarkable nutritional and medical properties.
Until recently coconut oil has not received much attention outside the research community. The reason for this is due to prejudice and a general misunderstanding about saturated fats. Many people, even now, are still confused about the different types of saturated fat. Many ill-informed writers continue to blindly lump coconut oil with lard and beef fat and label it an artery-clogging fat. But when you understand how coconut oil is metabolized by the body, it is easy to see that it does not contribute to hardening of the arteries or to heart disease. In fact, coconut oil can help protect you from heart disease.
Coconut oil is considered a “functional food,” which means it possesses health benefits beyond its nutritional content. Medical researchers have been studying coconut oil for decades and have learned a great deal about this once maligned oil. The remainder of this chapter discusses some of the observed and documented effects of MCFAs found in coconut oil. References to medical studies are included to verify these statements and allow you to pursue further research on your own if you are interested.

DIGESTION AND NUTRIENT ABSORPTION
Medium-chain fatty acids, as the name implies, are shorter and smaller than long-chain fatty acids. The size or length of the fatty acid molecule is extremely important. Our bodies metabolize  fatty acids differently depending on their size. Therefore, medium-chain fatty acids from coconut oil have a completely different effect on us than do the long-chain fatty acids that are more commonly found in our foods.
Because MCFAs are smaller than LCFAs, they digest much more easily and have a greater solubility in water. In fact, unlike LCFAs, pancreatic digestive enzymes and bile are not even necessary for their digestion. Because of this, coconut oil can provide a quick and easy source of nutrition without taxing the enzyme systems of the body.
Let me briefly explain how fats are digested and metabolized. When you eat foods containing long-chain triglycerides (LCTs), they are passed through your stomach and released into your intestinal tract.  Almost all of the digestion of LCTs takes place in the intestine. Digestive enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the gallbladder are necessary for fat digestion. As LCTs are digested, the bonds holding the individual fatty acids together are broken. Individual fatty acids are then absorbed into the intestinal wall. Here they are packaged into little bundles of fat and protein called lipoproteins (chylomicrons). These lipoproteins are then funneled into the bloodstream where they circulate throughout the body. As they circulate, small particles of fat are released from the lipoproteins into the bloodstream. This is the source of the fat that collects in our fat cells and the source of the fat that collects in and clogs artery walls.
When medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are eaten, the process is different. MCTs also travel though the stomach into the intestinal tract, but because they digest so easily they are completely broken down into individual fatty acids by the time they leave the stomach. Therefore, they do not require pancreatic digestive enzymes or bile for digestion. As they enter the intestinal tract they are immediately absorbed into the portal vein and sent directly to the liver.1 In the liver they are used as a source of fuel to produce energy. Therefore, MCFAs bypass the lipoprotein stage in the intestinal wall and in the liver. They do not circulate in the bloodstream to the degree that other fats do. Consequently, they do not get packed away inside fat cells or clog artery walls. They are used to produce energy, not body fat and not arterial plaque

INCREASES NUTRITIENTS ABSORBTION
Because MCTs are easily digested they also tend to improve the absorption of other nutrients as well. When coconut oil is added into the diet, it enhances the absorption of minerals such as magnesium and calcium, some of the B vitamins, the fat soluble vitamins (e.g., A, D, E, K and beta carotene), and some amino acids (i.e., protein).5, 6  For instance, research demonstrates that symptoms of vitamin B deficiency are diminished when coconut oil is added to the diet. Signs of vitamin B deficiency in rats are counteracted when given coconut oil without any additional source of vitamins.7 In young calves that are fed formula, adding as little as 2 percent coconut oil can prevent vitamin B deficiency.8 Likewise, coconut oil improves calcium metabolism and bone health to the extent of preventing or counteracting the development of rickets.9, 10 The oil itself does not contain all these nutrients, it simply makes what nutrients that are already in the diet more bioavailable.
Studies have shown that when low birth weight infants are given formula containing MCTs, they grow faster and have a higher survival rate. For example, in one study with two groups of low birth weight infants, coconut oil was added to the formula of one group. The group that received the coconut oil gained weight quicker than the group that did not. The weight gain was due to physical growth and not fat storage.11 This must be one of the reasons why MCTs are naturally found in human breast milk.
MCFAs in human breast milk provide an easy source of nourishment as well as protection against infections. The more MCFAs in the milk, the healthier the baby is likely to be. The nutritional makeup and quality of mother’s milk is determined by the types of foods the mother eats. If she eats poor quality foods, her milk will be lacking. If she eats a healthy diet her milk will provide the infant with all the nutrients it needs to be healthy and protect it from disease. If her diet includes a good source of MCFAs her milk will be enriched with these vital health-promoting fats. The MCFAs in human breast milk can be as low as 3 or 4 percent. When coconut products are included in the diet the levels of MCFAs can increase significantly. For instance, eating 40 grams (about 3 tablespoons) of coconut oil in one meal can temporarily increase the lauric acid in the milk for a nursing mother from 3.9 to 9.6 percent after 14 hours.12 The content of caprylic and capric acids are also increased. Mothers who include coconut products in their daily diet can increase the MCFA content of their milk to as much as 18 percent. This increase would enhance the protective nature of the milk and provide a high percentage of easily digestible fatty acids that can promote growth and development. If the mother did not eat foods containing MCFAs before giving birth and does not eat them while nursing, her mammary glands will only be capable of producing about 3 percent lauric acid and 1 percent capric acid. Her child will lose a great deal of the nutritional benefits as well as the antimicrobial protection the infant could have otherwise had.

INCREASES ENERGY LEVELS
Because MCFAs are preferentially used by the liver as a source of fuel to produce energy, coconut oil consumption can boost your energy level. It’s like adding a premium grade gasoline into a high performance car. Your metabolism is shifted into a higher gear.
Adding coconut oil into your diet can help keep you alert and give you an energy boost to help with daily activities. Many people lack energy and quickly become fatigued. Coconut oil can help overcome this problem. Now the boost in energy you get from coconut isn’t like the kick you get from caffeine, it’s more subtle than that, but it’s longer lasting. Unlike caffeine, the effects of coconut oil can last for many hours and you don’t develop a dependence or addiction to it.
When I first was learning about the many benefits of coconut oil, I started using it myself. Although I had read in the medical literature about the studies on the influence MCFAs have on energy and metabolism, it really didn’t hit me how much of an effect they really had. I remember taking some coconut oil in the evening a few hours before going to bed. When I went to bed at my normal time, I was full of energy, my eyes were wide open, and I couldn’t go to sleep. I laid there for at least three hours before finally falling asleep. At first, I didn’t know why I had so much energy. I didn’t connect it to the coconut oil. A couple of days later it happened again. I took some oil in the evening and when I went to bed I had too much energy to sleep. It was then that I realized it must be from the coconut oil. Since then other people have reported similar experiences to me. I now refrain from eating coconut oil late in the evening.
What a great natural alternative to coffee! Instead of drinking coffee to wake you up in the morning or keep you going through an exhausting day, a little coconut oil can do the same thing, but without the side effects of caffeine. A tablespoon of coconut oil in a cup of warm herbal tea, cocoa, or juice can boost your energy.

GOOD FOR LOSING WEIGHT
Because MCFAs are used to produce energy rather than packed away into fat cells, coconut oil can be useful in weight management. In fact, coconut oil has gained the reputation as being the world’s only natural low-calorie fat. A low-calorie fat is a strange concept, but coconut oil fits that description. It has this reputation primarily for three reasons. First, coconut oil actually has fewer calories than any other fat. All other fats have 9 calories per gram. Coconut oil has slightly less, about 8.6 calories per gram. That isn’t much of a difference, but this isn’t the main reason for coconut oil’s low-fat reputation. The other two reasons are much more important.
The second reason is that coconut oil satisfies hunger better than any other fat, and probably any other food. When you add coconut oil to a meal, you become satisfied sooner and do not get as hungry between meals so you can go longer without snacking. By the end of the day you tend to eat less food and consume fewer calories. This means you have fewer excess calories that can be packed away into storage as body fat.
A study published in the International Journal of Obesity illustrates this effect.16 The study compared the effect on hunger between MCTs and LCTs. It consisted of three phases of 14 days each. Volunteers had access to high-fat foods for each of the 14-day periods. In the first phase the diet contained 20 percent of fat from MCTs and 40 percent LCTs. In the second phase there were equal amounts of each. In the third phase there was 40 percent of fat from MCTs and 20 percent from LCTs. The subjects were allowed to eat all they wanted in each phase. Researchers found that as MCTs content in the food increased, total food consumption, and consequently calorie consumption, decreased. Coconut oil, which is composed predominately of MCTs, can satisfy hunger faster and longer than any other dietary oil.
Metabolism is evaluated by measuring energy expenditure. Energy expenditure is the rate at which calories are consumed. The higher the metabolism, the higher the rate of energy consumption. Just adding coconut oil to a meal will essentially reduce the effective number of calories in the meal. In a study that measured energy expenditure before and after a meal containing MCTs, energy expenditure in normal weight individuals increased by 48 percent. In other words, metabolism increased by 48 percent . In obese individuals energy expenditure increased by an incredible 65 percent!17 So the more overweight a person is the greater an effect coconut oil has on stimulating metabolism. This is good news for overweight individuals who want to use coconut oil to help them lose weight.

More good news is that this increase in metabolism doesn’t last for just an hour or two after a meal. Studies have shown that after a single meal containing MCTs, metabolism remains elevated for a full 24 hours!18 So after eating a meal containing coconut oil your metabolism will be elevated for 24 hours.  During this time your body will be burning calories at an accelerated rate and you will enjoy an increased level of energy.

(Short excerpt from the book Coconut Cure, by Bruce Five, N. D.)