Use Coconut Oil to Enhance Energy & Fat Loss

Enhancing the Body & the Mind

The popularity of coconut oil has soared in recent years, with many people using it to help supplement a healthy diet. Coconut oil is a useful fat source, full of fatty acids; essential as part of a well-balanced diet, along with enabling the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K). Compared to other sources of fat, the structure of coconut oil is unique, thus offering benefits to enhance your energy levels and fat burning abilities.

What Actually Is it?

Coconut oil is extracted from matured coconuts and made from the white flesh and/or the milk. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, the same form of fat found in red meat. Unfortunately, saturated fat tends to gets a lot of bad publicity as it’s thought to be correlated to elevating LDL cholesterol (the bad one), leading to hardening of your arteritis and additional fat deposits which over time causes coronary heart disease.

Now this is where coconut oil is different. Up to 60% of coconut oil is made up of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) which increase the HDL cholesterol (the good one) countering the effects of LDL. Ingestion of coconut oil can actually lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as undoing potential damage from previously poor dietary and lifestyle habits. It’s these high levels of MCTs within coconut oil which makes it an anomaly of which we can use to improve our body’s biochemistry.

Enhancing Energy

When fat is digested, the rate of breakdown and absorption are dependent upon the length of the fatty acid chain. These fatty acid chains are divided into short chain, medium chain and long chain fatty acids which are processed through different systems to give us energy.

The high percentage of MCTs within coconut oil can lead to a rapid boost of energy compared to long chain fatty acids which takes longer to absorb. MCTs bypass the normal digestion process. Alike other fatty acids MCTs are absorbed through the small intestine, after this occurs the short cut as they travel directly to the liver. At the liver, MCTS are then converted into ketones which when released into your blood can be broken down to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP); your body’s main source of energy.

ATP is known as the power source of all biochemical responses such as muscle contractions, transportation of substrates, communication with other cells and discarding of broken or damaged structures. With ATP continuously being used for both physical and mental function, restoration is vital in avoiding fatigue. Due to their fast rate of absorption, ketones from the MCTs within coconut oil can be used as an alternative to carbohydrates in supplying the body with ATP.. The use of MCTs are commonly used within ketogenic diets (a fat dominate diet with minimal or no carbohydrates), as ketones have the advantage of having the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier countering the effects of fatigue and prolonging levels of alertness.

Enhancing Fat Loss

Another advantage of MCTs compared to long chain fatty acids is that they don’t travel through the lymph system. Moreover, if the cells in your body don’t require the energy from MCTs at the moment close to consumption, the energy won’t be stored within fat tissue unlike the unused energy from long chain fatty acids. The non-fat storing properties of MCTs have been shown to limit potential accumulation of additional body fat when compared to other fat sources. This makes it a suitable alternative for those seeking a healthy body composition, with consumption of coconut oil being advised for obese individuals from many health professional.  

Along with this, many studies have indicated that pre-exercise fat feeding can lead to an elevated level of energy expenditure and fat oxidation. It’s believed the consumption of fat prior to exercise spares muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrates within muscle tissues) as greater levels of free fatty acids within the blood help supply energy. The sparing of muscle glycogen can prolong muscular fatigue and thus the negative effects upon performance.

Chronic use of MCTs also showed to improve energy expenditure and fat oxidation in both obese men and women when compared to long chain fatty acids. It is suggested that long term use of MCTs reduces insulin resistance and is a beneficial tool in preventing obesity. Individuals with a lower body weight seem to benefit from greater levels of fat oxidation when taking MCTs whilst men with larger body weight respond less to the oxidation of fat. those who are considered to have lower levels of body fat will maximise fat oxidation at a greater level offering additional benefits to sustaining such body compositions.

Possible Benefits Towards Performance

Ingesting MCTs along with carbohydrates prior to exercise has been shown to enhance time trial performance in cyclists, even more so than carboxylates alone. These results could be a product of the sparing of muscle glycogen along with better fat oxidation and heightened mental performance. Although, many studies have not yet found a significant improvement in performance with the ingestion of MCTs before exercise, they do support their abilities to elevate fat oxidation and energy expenditure during exercise.  

Dosage

To improve your energy levels, its suggested 1-3 teaspoons of coconut oil a day will give you a noticeable boost. Those wishing to enhance fat oxidation during exercise may want to use dosages towards the higher end, in order to sustain the physiological demand of exercise. It should be noted that more is not always better when it comes to consumption of coconut oil with research founding that gastrointestinal tolerance of coconut or MCT oil is roughly 30g. Symptoms of consuming too much including gastrointestinal upset and diarrhoea.

Energy boosting effects have been recorded to start from around 90 minutes after consumption. For fat exiting and energy expenditure benefits, results have been shown to occur when consumed 3-4 hours prior to exercise. Individuals consuming carbohydrates prior to exercise should also consume coconut oil at the same time to optimise positive performance outcomes.