#3 Gut health and Nutrient Uptake
Medium chain triglycerides play an interesting role in the gut, considering their easy-to-digest and anti-bacterial qualities. Research suggests that MCT oil may be able to improve the intestinal ecosystem, as well as overall intestinal permeability.
What does that mean?
Intestinal ecosystem
Your intestinal ecosystem refers to the types of microbes that live in your gut. A healthy diet generally promotes a ‘good biome’ while a bad diet can create a ‘bad biome’.
The benefit of a good biome is: enhanced digestion, added immunity, and additional vitamins and fatty acids produced by your ‘good bacteria’.
The negatives to a bad biome include: gas, inflammation, diarrhea, infections, leaky gut, and incomplete digestion – caused by ‘bad bacteria’.
Since MCT oils have anti-microbial effects, researchers have found that adding MCTs may positively affect the gut through microbiome remodeling (balancing gut bacteria). In addition to bacteria, MCTs also appear to suppress harmful fungi like several species of Malassezia responsible for sepsis in infants.
Intestinal permeability
Intestinal permeability refers to how easily your gut lining allows nutrients in, while also keeping harmful toxins out. When severely inflamed, the intestinal tract can suffer from both of these problems at the same time.
It would appear that MCT oil can influence intestinal permeability in two ways:
- Provide critical calories held back by malabsorption in a damaged intestinal tract.
- Nourish the intestinal lining and reduce toxin induced damage.
This supports the supplemental use of MCT oil as a dietary addition or keystone component in wellness and longevity practices.
Gut and Nutrient Uptake Summary:
Medium chain triglyceride supplementation can improve intestinal health by influencing the quality of microbiome flora as well as nourishing and fortifying the intestinal lining itself. This effect paired with MCTs ability to provide nutrition despite intestinal malabsorption makes MCT oil a prime therapeutic aid for many digestive issues.
