Saturated Fatty Acid:
The Building Block of
Many Health Benefits

Coconut Oil: The Unique and Special Saturated Fat

A saturated fatty acid (SaFA) is the foundation of a highly stable dietary fat or oil. Without enough of it, you're missing out on crucial health benefits and opening yourself up to disease and illness.

SaFAs promote healthy bones, protect the liver, enhance the immune system, and are the preferred foods for your heart.

But what does "saturated" mean here? What is a fatty acid saturated with that has everything to do with your health?

Fat molecules called fatty acids make up all fats and oils. Each fatty acid consists of a chain of carbon atoms with differing numbers of hydrogen atoms annexed to them. The maximum number of hydrogen atoms a single carbon atom can carry is two.

If two (maximum) hydrogen atoms are annexed to each carbon atom in its chain, the fatty acid is called "saturated." The fatty acid is said to be "loaded" or saturated with hydrogen and is called a saturated fat.

Because they have no missing hydrogen atoms, saturated fats are chemically very stable. Unlike unsaturated fats, they are highly resistant to oxidation (get rancid) and free-radical formation. And of all saturated fats, none is more stable than the mighty coconut oil.

You can heat and reheat coconut oil several times without producing harmful free radicals and trans fats. That's why coconut oil is the ideal cooking oil.

Very few people know that there is more than one type of saturated fatty acid. Unlike animal fats composed of 100 percent long-chain fatty acids (LCFA), coconut oil is predominately (two-thirds) medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA).

MCFAs do not circulate your body like LCFAs do. They go straight to your liver to immediately help power metabolism. MCFA-loaded coconut oil is Pro-Energy, not Pro-Fat!

Thanks to MCFAs, coconut oil also destroys bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, etc, including the deadly AIDS virus.

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Nanji, A. A., et al. Gastroenterology 109(2) (August 1995):547-554; Cha, Y. S. and Sachan, D. S., Journal American College Nutrition 13(4) (August 1994): 338-343; Hargrove, H. L., et al., FASEB Journal, Meeting Abstracts 204.1 (March 1999):A222.

Isaacs, C. E., et al. Antiviral and antibacterial lipids in human milk and infant formula feeds. Archives Disease Childhood 1990;65:861-864.

PLEASE SEE REFERENCE NUMBERS 2-6, 13-22, 25-30, 32, 35, 36, 80, 105 FOR MORE.