Ref By: - Bruce Fife's N.D., Cherie Calbom
      

MCFAs (medium chain fatty acids) or MCTS (medium Chain Triglycerides) present in the coconut oil offer wonderful health benefits. The MCTS speed up the body's sluggish metabolism and promote weight loss. It affects the energy level and with a slower metabolism and subsequent reduction in activity (and energy) there is often unwanted weight gain.
      

Several health problems such as obesity, heart disease, and osteoporosis are more prevalent in those people who have slow metabolism. Coconut oil is used in many hospital formulas to help the very old, the very young and the very ill to regain their strength and vitality. The medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil are easily absorbed and put to use nourishing the body. Less enzymes and less energy are required for coconut oil digestion.

Medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil are digested and absorbed quickly and with minimal effort. Once digested long chain fatty acids go on to be stored in depose tissue to be used later. Shorter fatty acids chains, is absorbed in to the blood stream and used by the body for energy. The medium chain fatty acids, travel to the liver where they are converted into energy. Medium chain fatty acids produce energy but other dietary fats produce fat. Medium chain fatty acids are unique in that they can easily permeate both membranes of the mitochondria without the need of enzymes and thus provide the cell with a quick and efficient source of energy.

Eating foods containing medium chain fatty acids is like putting high octane fuel into your car. The car will run smoother and get better gas mileage. In the same way the medium chain fatty acids, will perform better in the body and greater endurance. MCFA's are funneled directly to the liver and converted energy, the body gets a boost of energy.

The MCFA's provide other important benefits that result from boosting your metabolic rate. It helps protect you from illness and speeds healing. MCFA's fatty acids will help in digestion of the fat soluble vitamins and they will fight bacteria and viruses (lauric acid is known for dissolving the lipid envelope that protects many pathogenic viruses and bacteria) and in the end rather than adding to fat stores these fatty acid chains will be used up for energy by the body. Coconut oil has been a part of Asian diets for thousands of years, and has natural antioxidants that give it the longest shelf life of any plant oil. Asian diets have been typically free from most modern western diseases, such as obesity and heart disease.