# Coconut oil

Category: Foods & Substances

Also known as: medium-chain triglycerides, MCT

Coconut oil is a primarily saturated fat whose medium-chain fatty acids allow it to be metabolized as rapidly as glucose, giving it a unique capacity to heat up metabolism and oppose the anti-thyroid effects of polyunsaturated fats. Peat argued that its shorter carbon chains…

12 passages · 2 authors · 1997–2025 · Most-cited: [Ray Peat](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/voices/ray-peat/index.md)

Canonical page: https://bioenergeticoracle.com/concepts/coconut-oil

## Synthesis

**Coconut oil** is a primarily saturated fat whose medium-chain fatty acids allow it to be metabolized as rapidly as glucose, giving it a unique capacity to **heat up metabolism** and oppose the anti-thyroid effects of polyunsaturated fats. [Source 2, 3, 9] Peat argued that its shorter carbon chains (predominantly 14 and 16 carbons) make it exceptionally mobile in the system, and the very short chains can be oxidized in the mitochondria without relying on the *carnitine transport system*, effectively letting them "crowd in line" ahead of longer-chain fats. [Source 3, 11] This rapid oxidation means that, unlike longer saturated fats, coconut oil does not interfere with glucose metabolism but can actually activate it, allowing the mitochondria to run at full speed in a manner that mimics a thyroid supplement. [Source 3]

The oil's biological value is inseparable from its antagonism to the stored **polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs)**. Peat explained that when consumed, coconut oil quickly enters the bloodstream and goes to the same places as the toxic stored PUFAs, momentarily relieving the suppression of metabolism by physically getting in front of the suppressive molecule. [Source 11] This interference occurs at multiple points, from the gland secreting thyroid hormone to the mitochondrial response, but is especially potent inside the mitochondrion where the coconut oil itself is being very quickly burned for energy. [Source 3] By blocking the anti-metabolic effects of unsaturated fats, coconut oil helps prevent the uncoupling of respiration from energy production and the direction of carbohydrate into fat storage, thereby reducing the need for adrenal stress hormones and allowing for stable blood sugar without symptoms of hypoglycemia. [Source 7]

Peat drew a sharp distinction between natural coconut oil and manufactured **medium-chain triglycerides (MCT)**. He considered isolated MCT oil a "totally unnatural thing that never occurs in nature," where the components are arranged in a manufactured way that has "very powerful biological effects." [Source 1] He reported that after consuming a small amount of an MCT mixture, his skin emitted a rank, goaty smell for days, and he cautioned that these fractionated products have not been in use long enough to know if they are safe, comparing the drug-industry approach of fractionating natural products to the dangerous isolation of single amino acids. [Source 5] Dinkov has extended this warning practically, noting that true coconut oil should be **rock hard** at room temperature, and that liquid products sold as "coconut oil" are often pure MCT or *fractionated coconut oil* being marketed under relaxed labeling laws. [Source 4, 12]

While Peat championed the whole natural food, he also documented specific risks with the isolated MCT fractions. He cited a case where a person's severe neurological and other symptoms resolved completely upon stopping all supplements containing MCT, and referenced animal research showing that MCT can affect the immune system on the intestinal lining in a way that destroys the ability to resist antigens, creating susceptibility to food allergies. [Source 8] Dinkov has noted that MCTs, unlike longer saturated fats, do not trigger the *Randle cycle* and get oxidized similarly to sugar, meaning a diet could theoretically be higher in fat if it were mostly from medium-chain triglycerides without causing weight gain. [Source 6, 10] However, Peat maintained that the whole natural product, used as a regular food, is the best way to protect health, observing that consistent users of coconut oil typically have cholesterol levels around 160 while eating cholesterol-rich foods. [Source 5, 7]

## People also ask

### How does coconut oil increase metabolic rate?

Peat argued that its medium-chain fatty acids oxidize rapidly in mitochondria without needing the carnitine transport system, allowing them to be burned as quickly as glucose and activate metabolism in a manner that mimics thyroid hormone.

### Why does Peat consider coconut oil protective against stored PUFAs?

He explained that coconut oil enters the bloodstream and physically displaces suppressive polyunsaturated fats at multiple sites, especially inside the mitochondrion, momentarily relieving their anti-thyroid and anti-metabolic effects.

### What is the difference between whole coconut oil and isolated MCT oil?

Peat considered isolated MCT oil an unnatural, manufactured fraction with potentially harmful biological effects, unlike whole coconut oil, and Dinkov noted that true coconut oil should be rock hard at room temperature while liquid products are often fractionated.

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## Cited passages

Passage numbers match the `[Source N]` markers in the synthesis above.

### Source 1 — Liver Health, Milk, Alcohol, and More Listener Q&A

Ray Peat · Interview · Jul 23, 2021 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTvB9lDk5PM

> good idea um as far as like that when you say not taking MCT oils though so people really just need to get it from when they're using coconut oil like you recommend just just [24:26] getting the natural medium chain triglycerides from that yeah I yeah many places call MCT a type of coconut oil but it's really a totally unnatural thing that never occurs in nature even though the the components do but they are arranged in a unique manufactured way that and the arrangement has very powerful biological effects okay very good le z asks is supplemental calcium carbonate from undisclosed sources dangerous due to potential heavy metals or do benefits outweigh the risk yeah it can come from a mine that contains very harmful amounts of heavy metals so eggshells and coral are are relatively clean [25:32] eggshells were the cleanest by analysis slightly better than coral calcium carbonate okay good to know Dave fit asks would like to know about calcium to phosphorus ratio and maybe magnesium too Dr.

### Source 2 — One Radio Network: Ray Peat with Patrick Timpone — October 18, 2021

Ray Peat · Interview · Oct 18, 2021

> **Ray Peat:** It's the saturated fat. It's shorter chains than in butter, and so it's easier to metabolize quickly, tends to heat up your metabolism, burn calories faster. You can get fat on butter, same number of grams of fat than on that amount of coconut oil, but they're both very safe for your health.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** So coconut oil heats up our metabolism, and Dr. Peat, we want to do that because?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Well, sugar is the other main thing that will heat up our metabolism just by burning the right kind of fuel. And the faster your metabolism runs, assuming you can back up the... by having the nutrients, everything you need to go ahead at that speed, then everything is easier to normalize the faster you run the machine. For example, if you slow down the rate of metabolism and oxidative respiration, you produce more free radical damage So the faster you oxidize, the less damage you get from oxidation.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** The faster we oxidize, the less damage we get from oxidative stress?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Yeah. That would
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** be we could deal more efficiently or better with poisons or chemicals or things that oxidize the biomolecules?

### Source 3 — Ray Peat Full Interview: Cholesterol, PUFA, Coconut Oil, Thyroid, and the Metabolic Truth

Ray Peat · Interview · Jul 12, 2025 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQB95tLW7eE

> **Ray Peat:** Any of the saturated fats... or have an anti-inflammatory protective effect. A group studying liver disease has found that the fish oils and shorter seed oil unsaturated forms increase liver inflammation and tendency to become fibrotic and cirrhosis. And that can be blocked by the saturated fats. I think it was an Indian that noticed that alcoholics in India who lived in the areas where they had ghee or butter as their main fat didn't develop liver cirrhosis despite being alcoholic. And they began testing that and saw that alcohol activates the unsaturated fats to react with iron to break down and produce the liver damage. And so all of these saturated fats are protective when you have an inflamed situation. And that goes all the way up to the waxes, such as extracted from beeswax and sugarcane and such. super long chain saturated fats. And coconut oil is in the medium chain length. It includes some of the very short chain saturated fats. Mostly it's 14 and 16 carbon chains. And the shortness of the chain means that it's very mobile in your system and the shorter saturated fats can be handled in the mitochondria without relying on the transport systems for handling 18 chain carbons, for example. The 10 carbon chains can be oxidized as easily as glucose and so the instead of interfering with glucose metabolism and switching the whole mitochondrial function they can participate and even activate the glucose oxidation and they interfere with the anti-metabolic effects of the unsaturated fats. By interfering with the anti-metabolites, they let the mitochondria run at full speed and that works as if you're giving a thyroid supplement. The unsaturated fats interfere with all of the effects of thyroid all the way from the gland secreting the hormone and the proteins transporting thyroid hormone and the cells responding to it.

### Source 4 — Georgi Dinkov, Tucker Goodrich on PUFA Obesity, Ray Peat's Bioenergetic Paradigm vs Ketogenic Paleo Solutions

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · Sep 28, 2022

> **Tucker Goodrich:** Well, it depends where you live, of course, but it should be rock hard.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** What about
>
> **David Gornoski:** refined coconut oil that stays liquid at room temperature?
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** I don't think that has to do with the refinement. It's more along the lines of the fatty acid composition. True, coconut oil should be hard.
>
> **Tucker Goodrich:** Yeah, the melting point of coconut oil, I think, is like 76 or 78 degrees. So if you live in Florida, it may be liquid, but if you stick it in the fridge, it should be like wax. It should be solid, rock hard.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** I go to the local Whole Foods here in DC and you can tell the good quality coconut oils because even in the jar, the cart, when you shake the jar, there's no movement inside. And then there's right next to them, I'm not going to mention the brands, but there's something that's maybe have a little bit of solid, like half the jar is solid, but the other half is liquid. And some of them are fully liquid. And those, I mean, because I've opened those liquid ones, it's MCT. They're selling it MCT as basically coconut oil.

### Source 5 — From PMS to Menopause: Female Hormones in Context

Ray Peat · Book · 1997

> **Ray Peat:** However, in 1980, experimenters demonstrated that young rats fed milk containing soy oil incorporated the oil directly into their brain cells, and had structurally abnormal brain cells as a result. Lipid peroxidation occurs during seizures, and antioxidants such as vitamin E have some anti-seizure activity. Currently, lipid peroxidation is being found to be involved in the nerve cell degeneration of Alzheimer's disease. Various fractions of coconut oil are coming into use as "drugs," meaning that they are advertised as treatments for diseases. Butyric acid is used to treat cancer, lauric and myristic acids to treat virus infections, and mixtures of medium-chain fats are sold for weight loss. Purification undoubtedly increases certain effects, and results in profitable products, but in the absence of more precise knowledge, I think the whole natural product, used as a regular food, is the best way to protect health. The shorter-chain fatty acids have strong, unpleasant odors; for a couple of days after I ate a small amount of a medium-chain triglyceride mixture, my skin oil emitted a rank, goaty smell. Some people don't seem to have that reaction, and the benefits might outweigh the stink, but these things just haven't been in use long enough to know whether they are safe. We have to remember that the arguments made for aspartame, monosodium glutamate, aspartic acid, and tryptophan--that they are like the amino acids that make up natural proteins--are dangerously false. In the case of amino acids, balance is everything. Aspartic and glutamic acids promote seizures and cause brain damage, and are intimately involved in the process of stress-induced brain aging, and tryptophan by itself is carcinogenic.

### Source 6 — Animal-based vs. Ray Peat diet, a conversation with Georgi Dinkov

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · Dec 20, 2022 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZM9sCfmAGc

> **Georgi Dinkov:** you know so in terms of micronutrients so let's say it also depends on the chain the carbon length of the chain of the carbons of the fat now if it's if these are medium chain triglycerides in other words medium chain fats actually you can eat a hundred percent fat and you will not get fat they actually get metabolized mostly like glucose they don't trigger the rental cycle right Yeah. If you mix, let's say, MCT oil with a decent amount of, I don't know, honey, you will probably be doing just fine. And you will not gain fat and you're probably very, very highly metabolic. In fact, I do it every once in a while. I mix it a tablespoon, basically like a tablespoon of coconut oil. um which is not entirely mct it has like some longer chain fats but you can buy mct which is entirely liquid right so you mix some mct with a little bit of honey stir it and then basically ingest it and i've never had this like sort of like uh like i i call it the the post the the post feeding response is like when i know that i've eaten something that doesn't sit well with me metabolically when i know that i've triggered either like a too much lipolysis or like too much fat fight from the actual diet i mean i get like i start sweating um you know basically i start i start getting shaky sort of like the the hyperinsulinia and then the the hypoglycemia response of when you're eating something that's not sitting well with you uh so if it ultimately goes down to triggering a stress reaction which is high cortisol adrenaline against the shaking right i don't shake right now so this should be okay uh but if you're eating yeah if you're eating that's actually a pretty good test maybe how well you're handling life in general like if after a stressful day you can raise your hand and it's not shaking Probably okay. Your reserves are fine. You have glycogen. You're not in an overly cortisolic state. You're not in a hyperadrenaline state, right?

### Source 7 — From PMS to Menopause: Female Hormones in Context

Ray Peat · Book · 1997

> **Ray Peat:** The image of "hard, white saturated coconut oil" isn't relevant to the oil's biological action, but the image of "sticky varnishlike easily oxidized unsaturated seed oils" is highly relevant to their toxicity. The ability of some of the medium chain saturated fatty acids to inhibit the liver's formation of fat very likely synergizes with the prothyroid effect, in allowing energy to be used, rather than stored. When fat isn't formed from carbohydrate, the sugar is available for use, or for storage as glycogen. Therefore, shifting from unsaturated fats in foods to coconut oil involves several anti-stress processes, reducing our need for the adrenal hormones. Decreased blood sugar is a basic signal for the release of adrenal hormones. Unsaturated oil tends to lower the blood sugar in at least three basic ways. It damages mitochondria, causing respiration to be uncoupled from energy production, meaning that fuel is burned without useful effect. It suppresses the activity of the respiratory enzyme (directly, and through its anti-thyroid actions), decreasing the respiratory production of energy. And it tends to direct carbohydrate into fat production, making both stress and obesity more probable. For those of us who use coconut oil consistently, one of the most noticeable changes is the ability to go for several hours without eating, and to feel hungry without having symptoms of hypoglycemia.

### Source 8 — Vitamin D, Calcium and Mineral Metabolism with Dr. Ray Peat and Kate Deering

Ray Peat · Interview · Aug 11, 2021 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur9F7THGBLg

> **Ray Peat:** I've been hearing from a few people who were deteriorating rapidly. One thought she was approaching death with neurological and all kinds of other symptoms. And I looked at her diet and supplements, and she was supplementing things in a base of medium chain triglycerides. And when she stopped everything containing MCT, all of her symptoms went away. And there's one study in which in animals, they've found that a peanut allergy, for example, was created. In the presence of MCT, it affects the immune system on the lining of the intestine in a way that destroys our ability to resist antigens and allergens and makes us susceptible to food allergy symptoms.
>
> **Kate Deering:** That's interesting. I mean, the one supplement I usually recommend is Carlson's, and that is in MCT oil. So you were saying to avoid the ones in MCT oil. Or if it is creating an irritation, it could be the oil. It might be OK. Are they OK to have in MCT oil? Is there one that you know of that is good that is not in those things?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Lots of people get benefit from them, but I think some of the intense bad reactions stop happening when they use olive oil at base vitamin D. There are several companies that make a pure olive oil and vitamin D product, either in drops or capsules.

### Source 9 — One Radio Network: Ray Peat with Patrick Timpone — October 18, 2021

Ray Peat · Interview · Oct 18, 2021

> **Patrick Timpone:** And it's October 18th, 2021. And we were just with you about 15 minutes ago. And we're back with one of our favorite guys and really just such an honor to have him on. It's Dr. Ray Peat. And Dr. Peat started long ago, really working with progesterone hormones in 68. He wrote papers, physiological chemistry and physics in 71 and 72. His dissertation, University of Oregon in 72, he outlined his ideas regarding progesterone and the hormones closely related to it as protectors of the body's structure. Wow. And energy against the harmful effects of estrogen, radiation stress, and the lack of oxygen. And he's been working with practical therapeutic effects. and the various life-supporting substances, pregnenolone, progesterone, thyroid hormone, and coconut oil. Man, see, I'm going to be buying some coconut oil now because I had no idea there was such a coconut oil guy. Dr. Peat, good morning.
>
> **Ray Peat:** Good morning.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** So coconut oil is good stuff, huh?
>
> **Ray Peat:** And butter.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** And butter. Oh, man, yeah. Well, I love butter. Coconut oil. What's in coconut oil that we like? Why do we like that?

### Source 10 — Should you fear cholesterol & sugar? Ray Peat Criticisms Part 1 with Georgi Dinkov

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · May 24, 2021 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_IOfM5emro

> **Strong Sistas:** So I, I would say that like, this is the biggest place where I differ from a lot of the repeat nutrition strategy, because I'm coming from many years of amenorrhea and hormone issues. And you can't deny that there's issues when one limits their fat consumption with hormones. And then I really feel like you're also limiting your nutrient intake on really important vitamins and minerals such as like the fat soluble vitamins and so that's my biggest um not criticism it's just that's my biggest difference i still consume a good amount of fats but i think that i still maintain a relatively like normal amount of calories for my body i'm not like consuming a ton of calories i think consuming 3 000 calories of really high fat and really high carbs is not a good idea but i still like i i don't i'm not strict about it at all but i still consume a good amount of fat i would say um i'm drastically reduced from when i was zero carb obviously um but i just think that there's some hormone problems that one can get um but i and then another point i come from someone who's been aggressively lean my whole life always showing my six pack and and like having this focus on being lean and then finally getting to this place of like, it's okay to have fat. It's not the worst thing. Ray Peat talks about how female hormones are optimal at a certain body fat percentage for females. So I think that this conversation changes a little bit when we talk about optimal hormones. So what are your thoughts there? I guess that's another criticism of Ray Peat is if we limit, if we do low fat, I don't like the word low anymore. It's not low fat.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** Maybe I misspoke. It shouldn't be higher than 30%, because then it's high fat, and you're causing a lipidic response, and you're activating the Randall cycle, right? But if you're consuming, let's say, if those 30%, you can probably do them higher. If they're mostly in the form of medium chain triglycerides, which is coming from coconut oil, those get almost immediately oxidized, similarly to sugar. They don't require the so-called L-carnitine shuttle. to basically shuttle them into the mitochondria they can diffuse freely through the cell and they get because they're of medium chain length they get oxidized very similarly to sugar with about the same speed so so when we talk about high fat we mean eating more than 30 fat of fats with chain length of let's say 12 or longer. So we're talking about myelistic, which is 14 carbon chain length. Then you have pentadecanoic, then you have the palmitic acid, and then you have like heptadecanoic, then you have stearic acid, so on and so on. So those are the fats that actually tend to get sore because they get metabolized much more slowly.

### Source 11 — Good Fats Eluv Radio 2008

Ray Peat · Interview · 2008 · http://l-i-g-h-t.com/files/eluv-good-fats.mp4

> **Eluv:** So we really have a food that's so suitable for the thyroid in taking in our saturated fats through coconut oil.
>
> **Ray Peat:** Ya, the main value is that they will go to the same places that the toxic stored polyunsaturated fats go, and so they interrupt the anti-thyroid effect momentarily like when you eat a tablespoon full of coconut oil it quickly gets into your blood stream, and while it's circulating, it's relieving the suppression of your metabolism by simply getting in front of the suppressive molecule. The shorter chain saturated fats in coconut oil, the carbon molecules that contain 6, 8 and 10 carbon molecules are very active metabolically and they literally will get ahead of the other long chain fat molecules, and they can be taken up and metabolized by the mitochondria without using the transport system that involves carnitine that is used to treat heart disease and such. Coconut oil bypasses that system and lets the fat get metabolized immediately, so it's really like little kids crowding in line ahead of the big, fat people.
>
> **Eluv:** And it sounds like it's acting more like a carbohydrate in terms of that...

### Source 12 — Georgi Dinkov, Tucker Goodrich on PUFA Obesity, Ray Peat's Bioenergetic Paradigm vs Ketogenic Paleo Solutions

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · Sep 28, 2022

> **Tucker Goodrich:** Yeah, yeah.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** And they're supposed to say, sometimes they do these marketing terms. They say fractionated coconut oil, which is another name for the MCT, right? Because they've extracted only some of the fats, right? But now the pandemic apparently removed a lot of the requirements for labeling. So they can sell you pure MCT and still call it coconut oil as long as it was derived from coconut oil.
>
> **Tucker Goodrich:** Yeah.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** They are solid. It should be solid at room temperature. And I think that's saturated enough to give you a good prometabolic benefit. So, yeah, I wouldn't go zero fat.
>
> **David Gornoski:** So both agree that zero fats out of the picture. And you would say, Tucker, that zero carb is probably best out of the picture as well. Would you say?

_Generated 2026-07-20 from the Bioenergetic Oracle corpus._