From: unk...@googlegroups.com   
      
   MCT FATS FOUND IN COCONUT OIL BOOST BRAIN FUNCTION    
      
      
      
   Onnit Academy  September 19, 2013    
      
      
        
      
      
      
   Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), the primary type of fat found within   
   coconut oil, have been found to boost cognitive performance in older adults   
   suffering from memory disorders as serious as Alzheimer’s — and not after   
   months or even days of    
   treatment, but after a single 40 ml dose!    
      
   A groundbreaking 2004 study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging   
   found that the administration of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), the   
   primary fat type found in coconut oil, almost immediately improved cognitive   
   function in older adults with    
   memory disorders.    
      
   The study involved 20 subjects with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive   
   impairment who, on separate days, were given either emulsified MCTs or a   
   placebo.  The researchers observed a significant increase in blood plasma   
   levels of the ketone body beta-   
   hydroxylutyrate (beta-OHB) after only 90 minutes of treatment, and depending   
   on the apolipoprotein E genotype of the subject tested, beta-OHB levels either   
   continued to rise or held constant between the 90 and 120 minute blood draws   
   in the treatment    
   condition. Remarkably, cognitive testing revealed that this brief MCT   
   treatment facilitated improved performance on the Alzheimer’s Disease   
   Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog) in 4 subjects within the study   
   group. Moreover, “higher ketone    
   values were associated with greater improvement in paragraph recall with MCT   
   treatment relative to placebo across all subjects (P=0.02).”[i]    
      
   The details of the study procedure was described as follows:    
      
   The study was conducted with a double-blind placebo controlled design with two   
   study visits. During each visit, subjects received one of two isocaloric   
   conditions (690calories) in a randomized order: emulsified MCTs, or emulsified   
   long chain    
   triglycerides as a placebo. NeoBee 895 (Stepan, Inc.) was used for MCTs. To   
   increase palatability, heavy whipping cream was used as a source of long chain   
   triglycerides and as a source of long chain mono- and di-glycerides for   
   emulsification. MCTs (40ml)    
   were blended with 152ml heavy whipping cream to create the emulsified test   
   sample. Heavy whipping cream alone (232ml) was blended to create the placebo.    
      
   Subjects fasted from 8:00 p.m. on the night prior to the study visit. They   
   arrived in the morning and blood was drawn to determine plasma β-OHB levels   
   and APOE genotyping (first visit only). Subjects then consumed the test   
   beverage and rested quietly    
   for 90min, after which blood was drawn and a 30-min cognitive testing session   
   ensued. After testing, a final blood draw was taken.    
      
   How Medium Chain Triglycerides Work    
      
   How could a single dose of MCTs (40 ml or 2.7 tablespoons) cause an almost   
   immediate improvement in cognitive performance in those suffering from   
   cognitive impairments as serious as Alzheimer’s disease? The explanation is   
   found both in the unique    
   metabolic needs of the brain and in the configuration of MCTs themselves.   
   Whereas the primary fuel source for the energy-hungry brain is glucose, when   
   insulin resistance and suboptimal metabolism (hypometabolism) develops in the   
   brain, both the brain’s    
   structure and function are compromised. Ketone bodies provide a much needed   
   alternative fuel source to glucose that can recharge metabolic processes   
   within the brain, resulting in an almost immediate improvement in cognitive   
   function.    
      
   MCTs are not like most fats we consume. For instance, due to their smaller   
   size they do not form micelles and are not stored in adipose tissue. Whereas   
   up to 97% of the dietary fats we ingest are made up of long-chain   
   triglycerides (LCTs) which have been    
   14 and 18 carbons,[ii] MCTs have relatively shorter chain lengths of 5 to 12   
   carbons, making them easier to absorb and utilize. They are preferentially   
   oxidized by the liver, and when provided in large enough quantities, they give   
   rise to ketone bodies.[   
   iii]    
      
   What is the best way to take MCTs? As we are advocates of whole food   
   nutrition, coconut oil is our preferred source of these triglycerides,   
   containing approximately 2/3rds MCTs by volume. Coconut oil also has a broad   
   spectrum of other health benefits,    
   which we highlighted in our previous article “13 Evidence-Based Medicinal   
   Properties of Coconut Oil.”    
      
   Also, instead of treating coconut oil or MCTs as some new nutraceutical   
   “magic bullet,” almost as if we are just loading natural bullets into the   
   same old outdated allopathic gun, try incorporating it into your diet in a way   
   that displaces less    
   healthy fats. For instance, replace that rancid, pro-inflammatory ‘vegetable   
   oil’ (e.g. soy, grape seed, peanut, canola oil) you are using to fry an egg   
   or bake with, with sublimely saturated, rancidity-resistant coconut oil.    
      
   Or, enjoy a delicious curry with coconut milk as a base. Because 25% of   
   coconut milk is fat, and about 66% of that fat is MCT, you are still getting a   
   healthy dose. It is always better to eat smaller amounts of truly therapeutic   
   foods, enjoyed in the    
   context of sharing, preparing and enjoying good food, so that you will ideally   
   never have to use the heroic “food as medicine” approach after a serious   
   disease has had the opportunity to set in. Think: use food so that medicine   
   never becomes    
   necessary.    
      
      
   https://www.onnit.com/academy/mct-fats-found-in-coconut-oil-boos   
   -brain-function/   
      
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