Hi everyone this is Monica Reinagel and you're listening to the nutrition

divas quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous today's show is about a special type of fat that's recently been touted as a weight loss aid.

Several nutrition diva fans have asked me to dedicate an episode to MCTs or medium chain

triglycerides.

MCTs have long been used as a nutrition therapy for certain medical conditions, but lately there's been a lot of interest in

MCTs as a weight loss supplement. Before you start popping pills, let's take a

look at the research. But first, what are medium chain triglycerides?

Well, triglyceride is just a fancy word for fat, and fat molecules come in a variety of sizes or chain lengths.

Most dietary fats and virtually all of the unsaturated fats are

long chain triglycerides with more than 12 carbon atoms in their molecular

skeleton but some saturated fats are shorter.

Fats with 6 to 10 carbon atoms in their skeleton are referred to as medium chain triglycerides

or MCTs.

Fats with fewer than six carbon atoms are short chain triglycerides.

So what do MCTs do?

Well, because of their shorter chain length,

MCTs sort of jump to the head of the line

and are absorbed and metabolized more quickly

than longer chain fats.

They're frequently used in medical nutrition formulas

for people who, for whatever reason, can't digest

and absorb fats.

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