Short Chain Fatty Acids: The Preferred Food of Your Colon

Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) are the preferred food of your large intestines. They are also very similar to Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA) abundantly found in coconut oil.

SCFAs are fatty acids that are synthesized by intestinal bacteria from dietary fiber. These fats are crucial to the health of your colon, and in more ways than one, behave like MCFA-packed coconut oil.

Like Coconut Oil

Like MCFAs, SCFAs kills harmful microorganisms. They are not as strong as MCFAs, but good enough to keep menacing bacteria and fungi under control. The cells in your colon thrive on a diet of SCFAs.

Studies have shown that an extraordinarily low level of SCFAs in the colon can trigger nutritional deficiencies which can result to bleeding and inflammation. Coconut recipes rich in coconut meat are a wonderful source of dietary fiber, a vital nutrient that causes intestinal bacteria to create SCFAs.

Unlike “big” Long Chain Fatty Acids (LCFA), “smaller” SCFAs and MCFAs can pass through cell membranes and into their energy producing organ called mitochondria, even without the aid of insulin. Simply put, SCFAs and MCFAs can easily feed your cells, even if you’re diabetic.

Need More SCFAs & MCFAs?

Fiber provides nourishment for gut flora, allowing them to multiply and produce short chain fatty acids, as well as vitamins and other substances essential in making your body as healthy as possible.

Coconut flour is an excellent source of dietary fiber. At 61 percent fiber, coconut flour has more fiber than wheat bran, oat bran, rye flour, and enriched white flour combined.

While your body can also synthesize MCFAs, the best source is coconut oil. There are very few sources of MCFAs. Coconut oil is 67 percent MCFAs, making it nature’s richest source of these special fatty acids.

Taking 4 tablespoons of coconut oil supplies my daily MCFA needs. But my wife makes sure I get more with her excellent coconut recipes.

Plus, my nightly coconut oil skin care regimen. Because what you put on your skin will eventually end up in your bloodstream.

Coconut oil is also the best cooking oil known to man. At 92 percent saturated, it’s extremely resistant to oxidation (spoilage) and free-radical generation. All truly good news for your colon.

It is a fact that SCFAs are the favorite sustenance of colonic cells. But equally important are MCFAs that are mostly present in coconut oil. Together, they nourish the cells in your gut and serve as fuel to power metabolism.

If you want more information about short-, medium-, and long-chain fatty acids, please visit kinds of fats based on carbon chain length.

Coconut Oil › Short Chain Fatty Acids