Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Liquid coconut oil also labeled MCT oil, is not a legitimate healthy fat and why these expensive, highly processed lipids that occur nowhere in nature are best avoided by smart consumers.
If there is one truism in the world of food manufacturing, it is this. If a particular whole food becomes popular with consumers, food manufacturers will figure out a way to adulterate and cleverly market it.
The endgame is fooling the average consumer into erroneously believing that this new fractionated food is “better” than the original.
This adage very accurately applies to the much-hyped supplement MCT oil. Manufacturers also shrewdly market it as liquid coconut oil for cooking purposes.
Both of these impostors have been popping up on health food store shelves sometimes boldly and inaccurately marketed as “better than coconut oil”.
Why Coconut Oil is a Fat Superstar
Coconut oil in its unprocessed, unfractionated state is one of the healthiest fats on the planet. It has nourished degenerative disease-free traditional cultures in Asia for centuries.
What’s more, these cultures suffered from essentially no heart disease. Thus, misguided accusations that coconut oil isn’t “heart healthy” are clearly false and completely unsupportable with anthropological evidence.
Coconut oil is loaded with beneficial fatty acids called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). These MCTs or MCFAs (medium chain fatty acids) do not need to be digested by bile salts.
These digestive juices are secreted by the liver and stored by the gall bladder.
Hint: this is why coconut oil is good for those who’ve had gall bladder surgery.
What’s more, MCTs are not typically stored by the body as fat as longer chain fats are. Instead, they are quickly converted to energy which makes them particularly suitable for weight loss.
Consumers have caught onto the benefits of coconut oil for weight loss and overall wellness in recent years. Numerous companies now market virgin and expeller pressed versions for a variety of culinary uses.
MCT Oil is a Factory Food
Some companies are marketing impostor products trying to ride the wave of coconut oil popularity. Coconut oil processed into wannabes like MCT oil or liquid coconut oil becomes something else entirely, and for the consumer, it is definitely not for the better.
When I first saw liquid coconut oil on the shelf of my local health food store, I thought, “What in the world is this? A coconut oil that stays liquid in the refrigerator and is “excellent” for cooking?” I secretly wondered and knew that something fishy was going on.
Anyone familiar with coconut oil knows that it is a solid fat at temperatures below 76 F/ 24 C.
If the coconut oil stays liquid all the time, even in the refrigerator, that is your clue that it is fake.
Similarly, I was receiving emails from readers who were using MCT oil, the supplement version of liquid coconut oil, instead of actual coconut oil for weight loss and other health purposes.
Things just didn’t seem on the up and up to me, so I started to sniff around…
Dregs from Fractionated Coconut Oil
The dominant medium chain fatty acid in coconut oil is lauric acid, comprising 50% of the total fat content. It is no exaggeration to call lauric acid a superstar of fats, as it has scientifically proven antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Our human digestion converts lauric acid into monolaurin which defends us against viruses, bacteria, parasites and other pathogens. In short, lauric acid is a huge boon to the immune system.
Lauric acid is not only one of the healthiest fatty acids on the planet, it is highly elusive as well. Made only by the mammary gland in humans and available in small amounts in butterfat and significant amounts in palm kernel oil and coconut oil, this beneficial fat is not widely found in nature.
The trouble with MCT Oil
People want lauric acid for the health benefits, but personal care manufacturers want it too for enhancing the quality of their products.
Isolated lauric acid functions as a skin conditioning agent. It is an inert and stable emollient used in creams, ointments, lotions, and lipsticks. Lauric acid slows the loss of water from the skin by forming a barrier on the skin’s surface.
It also alters the thickness of liquids acting as a viscosity controlling agent and provides surface glide by promoting color dispersion in finished products.
This is why lauric acid is removed from coconut oil and sold off for manufacturing purposes to personal care companies.
What’s left when the highly saturated lauric acid (and potentially a few other highly saturated fatty acids too depending on the manufacturer) with a melting point of 110F/ 43C is removed from coconut oil?
You guessed it!
MCT oil, which is sold as a supplement, and liquid coconut oil, sold for cooking. They are both the same thing, in essence, the coconut oil “dregs”.
MCT Oil Manufacturing
Another problem with MCT oil and its cooking counterpart liquid coconut oil is the manufacturing.
The forcible removal of lauric acid from coconut oil is not an easy process. You could not do it yourself at home!
It typically requires chemical recombination of refined fatty acids in coconut oil with a synthetic vegetable-based ester.
Chemical residues in the resulting MCT oil would be a definite concern as a result.
A more natural process is molecular distillation of virgin coconut oil. This method involves no chemicals and is a physical process only.
While MCT oil manufactured in this manner would be nontoxic and safe to consume, it is important to note that MCT or liquid coconut oil is not found anywhere in nature.
As such, regular consumption would have unknown health consequences.
To obtain the full health and weight loss benefits of MCTs in the proper proportions as found in nature, you need to consume virgin coconut oil, and if you need one with no taste, expeller-pressed coconut oil.
Don’t fall for the MCT oil scam! It is a manmade product found nowhere in nature.
Liquid Coconut Oil Scam
The reason I suspect that liquid coconut oil is marketed as “better than coconut oil for cooking” is that it stays liquid even when refrigerated.
However, while this is better for convenience, it is not better from a health perspective especially considering that coconut oil itself doesn’t need to be refrigerated due to high resistance to rancidity even in very hot climes.
For example, I keep large buckets of coconut oil in my garage which regularly gets over 100 F/28 C during summer days, and it keeps perfectly for months on end.
Note also that the most beneficial and elusive fat of all in coconut oil, lauric acid, is completely absent from liquid coconut oil.
Two saturated fatty acids primarily remain…caprylic acid and capric acid.
Dairy foods, particularly goat milk and cheese, contain these fats naturally.
The other fats remaining in MCT oil/liquid coconut oil are oleic acid (the primary fat in olive oil) and linoleic acid found in vegetable oils.
Higher Percentage of Heat Unstable Fats
While oleic acid is heat stable and fine for cooking, linoleic acid definitely is not!
Removing lauric acid and other high melting point saturated fats from coconut oil results in a lipid that is no longer ideal for cooking.
It is a far worse choice than virgin or expeller-pressed coconut oil.
The reason is because it contains a much larger percentage of heat unstable fats. What’s more, the longer-chain vegetable fats encourage weight gain, not weight loss.
Would liquid coconut oil be a better choice than vegetable oils? In that case, I would agree. Vegetable oils like soy, corn and even canola would be far worse choices for cooking than liquid coconut oil. But when compared with true blue coconut oil, the scammy “liquid” versions pale by comparison.
Do yourself a favor, if you want to experience the benefits of coconut oil for cooking or weight loss, use the real thing. Skip the cleverly marketed liquid coconut oil versions.
MCT Oil and Liquid Coconut Oil Aren’t Cheap!
As if not being as good as real coconut oil isn’t enough, food manufacturers have the gall to charge a fortune for MCT oil and liquid coconut oil.
Sometimes the price tag is higher than a quality jar of virgin coconut oil itself!
This is one trick that manufacturers use to make you “believe” that their factory foods are better than the real thing.
MCT Oil is similarly priced, at or higher than the same amount of real, authentic virgin coconut oil.
You get the dregs and pay more for the “privilege”. Nice huh?
What about MCT Oil with Lauric Acid?
While most MCT oil on the market has no lauric acid whatsoever, I have seen some brands of MCT oil recently where there is some lauric acid present.
This means that manufacturers removed only some of the lauric acid (and sold it off for industrialized purposes).
The lauric acid amount present is not at the same high percentage as in unadulterated coconut oil, however.
If you remember the discussion from above, virgin and expeller pressed coconut oil are approximately 50% lauric acid. MCT oil with lauric acid contains far less.
The highest I’ve seen to date is 30%. Some brands do not list how much lauric acid is present at all!
One thing is for sure. If the MCT oil or liquid coconut oil stays fluid in the refrigerator, it doesn’t have much lauric acid in it.
Also, remember the problem with chemical residues in MCT oil if it wasn’t extracted using a physical process only.
The bottom line is that MCT oil is a manmade factory fat. It occurs nowhere in nature.
It doesn’t occur naturally in nature and using it regularly won’t produce the health benefits and weight loss results of using the real thing: coconut oil.
Isn’t MCT Oil Best for Alzheimer’s?
There’s been quite a bit of buzz in recent years surrounding MCT oil and its application in Alzheimer’s reversal using lipids.
It is true that MCTs are the active ingredient in Axona, a popular drug for those with Alzheimer’s Disease.
It is highly doubtful that MCTs are better than virgin coconut oil (VCO) for this purpose, however!
Dr. Bruce Fife, author of Stop Alzheimer’s Now, recommends VCO instead of MCT oil or MCT drugs such as Axona because the drugs become ineffective over time, wear off quickly, have side effects, and cause free radical damage to the cells. And, MCT oil on its own is an adulterated, inferior form of coconut oil.
When the MCTs in virgin coconut oil are converted into ketones they act as a super fuel for the brain. This super fuel provides energy to the brain as well as stimulates healing and repair. Hence, these fatty acids are very important for those who espouse the keto diet.
And, don’t forget. Lauric acid is the most beneficial MCT of all and yet is absent in most MCT oil brands on the market or in significantly reduced amounts.
Go for the real thing and you won’t ever be disappointed down the road that clever marketing has somehow cost you your health or failed to produce the wellness results you seek.
References
(1) MCT Oil Manufacture
(2) Eat Fat Lose Fat
(3) Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
(4) Stop Alzheimer’s Now
More Information
Coconut Oil Capsules: As Effective as Straight Up?
How to Use Coconut Oil for Weight Loss
When Coconut Oil May Not Be Right for You
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for a great post on MCT oil. I thought it was same as coconut oil but without the coconutty taste and bought it. What do you recommend I can use it for? Will it work in skin creams and lip balms?
Double check that the MCT oil you bought was not manufactured using chemicals. If it was not (using molecular distillation instead which is ok), then use it for whatever you like … just don’t be fooled that it is better than VCO. If you want VCO without the taste, buy expeller pressed coconut oil, not MCT oil.
I don’t know if I missed something in your article above or not, or if the picture is unfortunate, but I emailed the NOW company (which the container on the right looks like it is from) and this is the response I received: I reviewed the flow chart for MCT oil production. There is no indication of chemicals used in production. It is the highest quality USP grade derived from coconut or palm kernel oil. Regards,
Jim Golick CCN, LDN
Oh my! Even if molecular distillation was used, the MCT oil is still the dregs! Please read the article for the many ways MCT oil falls short, not just in manufacturing.
What are your thoughts on fractionated coconut oil that I see so many essential oil companies selling to use as a carrier oil?
That’s probably fine if you want to buy it, just double check that the fractionated coconut oil was not manufactured with chemicals. It should be manufactured using molecular distillation. I personally would just use virgin coconut oil instead. Why even bother buying it and spending the money when you probably already have VCO sitting in your pantry?
Very different metabolic responses and uses for the two separate products. Whole coconut oil as a whole food is wonderful and exactly that, a food. Comparing the two is like comparing willow bark to aspirin. One is vaguely useful and healthful in its whole form, but much more useful in direct ways via concentration of key elements. While some may market it as a broad improvement over coconut oil, the two are as similar as comparing 87 pump gas with jet fuel. It’s health benefits are numerous and proven, it just needs to be used with purpose and intelligence.
Coconut oil “vaguely useful and healthful in its whole form” Is this a serious comment? And “much more useful via concentration of its key elements”. How can a whole food like coconut oil be “more useful” when the BEST and MOST HEALTH ENHANCING part of it (lauric acid) has been stripped away? I think its sad when folks put their faith in factory processing over Mother Nature.
I have to agree: I prefer virgin coconut oil but MCT has some specific usage and not because it is a by-product of extracting lauric fatty acids. The term liquid coconut oil is a marketing term and MCT should not be used for cooking. There are several types/class of MCTS for different purposes. Also the term “molecular distillation” is not actually a term in production and processing but maybe started by marketing/communication departments of the MCT companies. They do that for easier understanding of the media and the public.
Thank you Sarah for putting so much work into an informative well researched article like this with all those references. I know how much time it takes. This is pure gold. I can speak for everyone, your work IS very much appreciated. 🙂
Thank you! I’ve been wondering about MCT oil and if its truly superior to coconut. Had a hunch it wasn’t, like most things processed.
Thanks for a great read, I’ve never understood the craze of MCT oil when coconut oil is already wholesome and fabulous in it’s myriad of uses. You cleared up a lot of questions I had 🙂
I had the same suspicions when I saw liquid coconut oil in my market. But I had not included MCT oil in those suspicions because of all the positive things I had read about it.Thank you for doing the research and revealing what’s really going on with the product.
Thanks for this reminder on whole foods being the best, Sarah. I had gotten into the MCT thing recently and will return to real coconut oil again. I should have known that it was a marketing ploy to use up the waste from cosmetic industry use of lauric acid. For those who can’t tolerate real coconut oil, it does take time but you’ll adjust; in the meantime use a lipase supplement or, as Sarah suggests, bitters.
Whole foods are low key and nondescript … and hard to make huge profits on because you can’t patent the processing or the product itself … fractionated foods are a profit gold mine which makes them prime for advertising dollars and sexy marketing. Easy to fall for those tactics if you’re not careful.
David Aubrey, the Bullet Proof Coffee guy says MCT oil is more potent than regular coconut oil. He has done his own research. While I don’t always agree with him, I’d like to hear his response to your stand against it. Usually I’m in your court, however, my 84 yr-old mother started drinking MCT oil with her caffeinated coffee, as did I and both of us commented on how it improved our memory. We both tried high quality coconut oil and couldn’t tolerate it. When my Mom went to visit my brother out of state, she didn’t take her MCT oil and noticed a major deterioration in her cognitive process after a week. She returned home, started with the MCT oil and she is back to her sassy self. While I like the whole and natural, I’m on the fence with this.
If it’s working for you, stay with it then! But, I would check on how that MCT oil is manufactured .. hopefully not with chemicals.
I would try virgin coconut oil again though, instead of a factory fat like MCT oil. Many people have to start slow and work up to a full amount desired due to its higher potency with the full 50% lauric acid and nutritional cofactors still present. You’ll adjust, go slow and be patient.