Everything You Should Know About MCT Oil: Palm Vs Coconut!
There are two types of oils present in nature, one is saturated oil and the second is unsaturated oil. The fats from unsaturated oil MUFA & PUFA are good for heart and skin, they are for internal purposes. While the saturated oil is used for better brain functioning and lowering cholesterol.
Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) are one form of fats that are usually found in palm and coconut oils. This oil is in fashion for years, and dieticians are advising to include it in your salad dressings or light stir fry veggies.
Another name of fats is Triglycerides, it is either used to burn energy during your workout or stored as body fat that is healthy in any form. The name is termed after its chemical formula which is a chain of large fatty acids.
MCT has various benefits, like:
- Boost brain memory
2. Helps in brain functioning
3. Increases your endurance
4. Helps in weight management
5. Aids weight loss
6. Lower bad cholesterol
7. Maintain good cholesterol
Recommendation: 1–2 spoons of MCTs oil a day.
Coconut oil contains 80% of MCTs fats & Palm oil contains 54% of MCTs fats.
MCTs has four important fatty-acids including:
C6, caproic acid,
C8, caprylic acid,
C10, capric acid, &
C12, lauric acid
“Note: The organic form of coconut oil contains all four MCTs fatty-acids.”
MCTs Made From Palm Oil Vs Coconut Oil:
- Palm oil contains C8, C10 & C12 fatty acids, while the coconut oil contains all four fatty acids C6, C8, C10, & C12 fatty acids.
2. Coconut oil is mostly used for skin and hair growth, while the palm oil is used as raw material for salad dressings etc.
3. Palm oil is available in the market between (0.2–0.5)USD/kg, while the coconut oil ranges from (1–2)USD/kg in the market.
4. Philipines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanks are major producers of coconut oil. Thailand and Malasia produce palm oil in major quantities.
5. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the palm fruit, while the coconut oil is extracted from the coconut water.
6. Coconut oil has 117 calories in one tablespoon, while palm oil has 120 calories in one tablespoon.
7. Palm oil contains 2.7 milligrams of vitamin E in one tablespoon, while one tablespoon is coconut oil contains 0.01 milligrams of vitamin E.
It is fine to use tropical oil for cooking and external use, though these oils are not available everywhere easily. One can go for oils like sunflower, soybean, and corn as they contain polyunsaturated fats that are also healthy for your heart.
