Triglyceride Metabolism -- Short, Medium, and Long Chain Triglycerides

Triglyceride metabolism, and how the body deals with triglycerides, depends greatly upon the size of the triglyceride molecule, whether a short chain, medium chain, or long chain triglyceride. But before we get into all that, let's first talk a little bit about what a triglyceride is. Did you know that triglycerides are the body's preferred method for storing fat? As you can see from the picture to the right, the tri in triglyceride stands for three. A triglyceride comprises three molecules of fat that have been bound together by a glycerol molecule. A triglyceride is a very efficient fat storage method because it allows the body to combine three different fatty acid molecules together into one single molecule. They say that the average 170 pound adult male has around 35 pounds of stored triglycerides in his body. That's quite a bit of stored energy!

Triglyceride metabolism depends upon the type of triglyceride in question. Triglycerides are broken up into three distinctions. There are short chain triglycerides, medium chain, and long chain. The length of the chain helps to determine how the body treats them and how it metabolizes them. Short chain triglycerides are comprised of fatty acid molecules that are composed of less than 6 carbon atom chains. In the picture above, the carbon atoms are shown in grey, while the hydrogen atoms are light blue, and the oxygen atoms are red. Each molecule of fat is comprised of a chain of carbon atoms that's surrounded or saturated by hydrogen atoms. The amount of carbon atoms in the chain of each molecule determines if the triglyceride is a short chain, medium chain, or long chain triglyceride.

When the body digests a triglyceride molecule, the cells either store it or burn it immediately. Most triglycerides that are consumed through diet are long chain triglycerides. Medium chain triglycerides are somewhat uncommon in the average diet, while short chain triglycerides are almost absent. Traditionally, the body prefers to store long chain triglycerides because they take longer to break down and metabolize, but prefers to immediately burn medium chain triglycerides. Medium chain triglycerides have been shown to boost the metabolism and increase the thermogenic response in the body.

One of the best sources of medium chain triglycerides is coconut oil. Coconut oil is composed on average of 66% medium chain triglycerides. This is a huge source of medium chain triglycerides. Some people, myself included, eat a spoonful of coconut oil before a workout for a big boost in energy that's sustained throughout the workout. Because the body prefers to burn these medium chain triglycerides rather than store them, you get a huge boost of energy over the short term and experience the thermogenic response that literally heats up the body and helps to boost the metabolism over the longer term as well.

Triglycerides are one of the most efficient sources of fuel for the body, especially medium chain triglycerides. Because of the huge push toward nonfat foods in the 90s, fats have been demonized as horrible for you. But this just isn't the case sometimes. Fats can be the very best source of fuel that you can give to your body, and can actually prompt your body to boost your metabolism and to burn more fat. Many people don't realize that by cutting out almost all fat from their diet, what they're really doing is starving their metabolisms and not giving their body the fuel it really needs. Don't get me wrong, a person can definitely lose weight by cutting out fat and calorie counting. But I prefer boosting my metabolism with good quality medium chain triglycerides as fuel.