Would you like to lose weight more easily? Here's some healthy results:
- Increase the number of calories you burn
- Feel full for longer, so you eat less
- Decrease your body fat, both under your skin and around your organs
- Improve the health of your heart and blood vessels
Eating a
low fat diet for weight loss is NOT always successful and you may experience food cravings that sometimes cannot be ignored. Research has shown that there are
fats that will help you to burn more calories and decrease your appetite, helping you achieve your weight loss goals. These are called
Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s for short) and are found in Dairy Products, Palm Oil and Coconut Oil – the very things you’ve been told to avoid!
MCT's – the non-fattening fats
MCT’s do not contain Essential Fatty Acids, such as
Omega 3 found in Fish Oil, and Omega 6 found in vegetable oils. You will still need to ensure that you are getting enough of these. Animal fats contain saturated fat and vegetables, nuts and seeds contain unsaturated fat. You process both these in a way that can lead your body to store that fat, either under your skin or around your organs. MCT’s are different and follow a different digestive pathway in your body. This prevents them from being stored as fat and makes them available for you to use as energy! Not only that, MCT's actually seem to
help reduce body fat!
MCT's lessen appetite
Research trials show that eating MCTs actually increases the amount of energy your body burns. In trials where all other factors such as calorie intake and exercise were constant, those who consumed MCTs, as opposed unsaturated fats found in vegetable oils:
- Burnt more calories
- Had a reduction in body fat
- Experienced improved satiety, which meant they ate less at the following meal.
One trial found that when people were given 50% more calories than they needed on a daily basis, those who received MCT’s burnt more calories at each meal than those given unsaturated fats, who experienced no change at all.
MCT's and Cholesterol
You may believe that eating saturated fats raises your cholesterol, although there is evidence to support that this is not the case. However, MCT’s lower your cholesterol, reducing LDL’s (bad cholesterol) and increasing HDL’s (good cholesterol).
How many MCT's should I eat?
The ideal amount of MCT’s for you to eat each day varies according to your age, sex and lifestyle, but generally should be no more than 10% of your total calorie intake. The recommended proportion of total fats is 30%. Talk to any of our fully qualified Naturopath’s when you visit the Mr Vitamins store to find out more and what may be the ideal way for you to incorporate MCT’s into your weight loss plan.
