2676: MCT Oil and Cholesterol

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep?

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_00]: That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily,

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_00]: is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations.

[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep. So, press play on Good Sleep Tonight

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast

[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. It's another Q&A edition of Optimal

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Health Daily, and I'm Dr. Neal Malik. Hey there, happy Friday and welcome to another Q&A edition

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: of Optimal Health Daily where I answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: nutrition, and more. You send in the questions and I answer them for you. And if you do

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: send one in and you're in the U.S., we'll mail you a copy of our hardcover workbook.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're outside of the U.S., we'll email you a PDF version. What's the easiest way to send

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: in a question, you ask? Just email it to health at oldpodcast.com. Alright, with that,

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_00]: let's get to today's question as we optimize your life. Today's question came via email.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Tammy writes, I have high cholesterol. It's over 200. I'm not on medication and I'm wondering if

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: MCT oil raises cholesterol. A while ago, I was drinking coffee with coconut milk

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: and my number increased and I'm wondering if MCT has that effect.

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for taking the time to send in your question, Tammy. Let's start with what MCTs

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_00]: are. MCT is an acronym for medium chain triglycerides. That's a mouthful, I know, so let's make sense of

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: this. The word triglyceride or triglycerides is a fancy way of saying fat. So medium chain

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_00]: triglycerides are a type of fat. The medium chain part refers to the chemical properties of the

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: fat specifically. So if we were to look at medium chain triglycerides or medium chain fats

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: under a microscope, we'd find that they are smaller than their cousins. Long chain triglycerides or

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00]: long chain fats. A lot of the fats we consume each day are actually long chain triglycerides,

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: not so much medium chain triglycerides or MCTs. So examples of long chain triglycerides would be

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: your omega-3 fats like the fats found in fish, the ones we say are healthy and they certainly

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: are. These long chain triglycerides like omega-3 fats take some time for the body to break down.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_00]: This is again because they're such large compounds. Medium chain triglycerides or MCTs,

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: because they're smaller, don't take as long to get absorbed by the body. They tend to enter

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: the bloodstream pretty quickly. That means they may be more readily available to use

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: as fuel for the body or as energy. Okay, so now we know where long chain triglycerides come from.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Omega-3s are just an example and we consume mostly long chain triglycerides in our diets.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Where do medium chain triglycerides or MCTs come from? They're actually created by processing

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: certain oils specifically palm oil or coconut oil. So when we buy MCT oil as a supplement,

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: we're usually buying processed palm oil or coconut oil. So do these MCTs have any effect on our health?

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And to your question, Tammy, does consuming them increase our blood cholesterol levels?

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: There are published meta-analyses that ask this very question. Remember a meta-analysis is basically

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: a type of large study. Researchers conducting a meta-analysis carefully review the results

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: of already published studies, but only those studies that looked at the very same topic.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: This is what makes meta-analysis such a great resource. Anywho, here's what one meta-analysis

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: found. Consuming MCT oils as a supplement does not seem to raise our blood cholesterol levels.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, what about regular unprocessed coconut or unprocessed palm oil? Remember,

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I said that MCTs are a form of processed coconut or palm oil. If we were to instead buy a jar of

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_00]: unprocessed coconut oil or unprocessed palm oil from the grocery store, this would be very different.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Now we're talking about oils that again have not been processed. That means they are still

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: long chain triglycerides, not medium chain triglycerides or MCTs. In fact, they're specifically

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: a long chain saturated fat. Saturated fat, like coconut and palm oil,

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_00]: do tend to increase blood cholesterol levels. Specifically, they tend to increase the bad

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: type of cholesterol or LDL cholesterol in our bloodstream. So back to your question, Tammy.

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Could the coconut milk you're consuming increase your blood cholesterol levels?

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. Why? This is because you're not consuming a medium chain triglyceride,

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_00]: you're actually consuming the full long chain triglyceride saturated fat. If you want to add

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_00]: a medium chain triglyceride to your coffee, you have to buy an MCT oil supplement specifically.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, it's likely these MCT oil supplements will be made from coconut oil,

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: but now it's a processed version that the body treats differently. And if you choose to buy

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: an MCT oil supplement, as with any supplement, we have to be careful about buying one that meets

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: quality and purity standards. So look for some type of seal on the packaging that mentions

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: that the product was tested for quality and purity by an independent third party.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Examples of these independent third party seals would be NSF, USP, Labdoor or Consumer Lab. And

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: of course, let your doctor know that you plan on adding MCT oil to your cup of coffee just so

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: they're aware if you haven't already. And thank you again for taking the time to send in your

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: question, Tammy. Now, if you want to send in a question to be answered right here on the show

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: and get a copy of our workbook, you can email one to health at oldpodcast.com. Or if you want to hear

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: your own voice on the podcast, just come by oldpodcast.com slash ask right on that page,

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: you can record straight from your computer's microphone. It's really easy. And you could

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: even play back your message and do retakes before sending it in. Or you can do it

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: old fashioned way and call in your question. The number is 1-61-ILOV-OHD. That's 1-614-568-3643.

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you again so much for doing that. Answering your questions is my favorite part of the show.

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_00]: But that'll do it for another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening every day and all the way through. I hope you have a great

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_00]: start to your weekend and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.