Coconut Oil...just the thought of this or any oil for that matter used to put me in panic mode, fearful of the painful consequences they can have on our sensitive and slow moving stomachs. However, my good friend Kinsey and her mega-researching began to convince me otherwise when it came to this nutritional and medicinal fat.
If you can bare with me through a bit of science jib jab I can explain. Coconut oil is unique from all other fats and oils because of how it is digested and metabolized. All fats are broken down into fat molecules known as fatty acids which are further classified by their length. There are short-chain, medium-chain (MCFAs) and long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). When joined with another molecule called glycerol they form tryglycerides and MCFAs become MCTs, long-chain LCTs. Most fats in our diet include LCTs such as soybean, corn, canola and olive oils. Coconut oil is made up of MCTs which contain the caprylic, capric and lauric acids responsible for the antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial properties. Some of us with idiopathic gastroparesis are told it was possibly caused by a virus of some sort in which case coconut oil could be beneficial. For those with diabetic GP read further.
