House Call With Dr. Hyman

“No matter what I do, I can’t seem to lose weight,” writes this week’s house call, who is also an Eat Fat, Get Thin challenge participant. “I think I’m cursed with a slow metabolism.” I hear this often among patients, and the good news is that no, you’re not cursed and yes, you can fix your metabolism. It’s important to remember that you are unique: Everyone was born with a different biochemical make-up. You have trillions of little energy factories called mitochondria that provide the fuel to run everything in your body. If you can remember high school biochemistry class, you know mitochondria convert the oxygen you breathe and the food you eat into energy for your body to use. Think of mitochondria as little combustion engines. When scientists talk about metabolism, they often refer to mitochondria. Effective mitochondria mean your body efficiently burns calories and you have a fast metabolism. Ineffective mitochondria don’t burn calories and slow down your metabolism.

“Ever since I started using coconut oil, my cholesterol has spiked,” writes this week’s house call. “I’m afraid coconut oil with all that saturated fat is creating more harm than good. Should I continue to use it?” Since I expressed my love for medium-chain triglyceride oil or MCT oil, I’ve received this question several times. I call MCTs (found in coconut oil) a super fuel for your cells because your body uses this kind of fat very efficiently. Your cells burn MCTs for energy while storing very little as fat, boosting your metabolism and supporting your immune system. MCTs also help balance many hormones, including the ones that control your appetite. They keep you feeling full and satisfied. They actually improve your cholesterol profile. They also help your body burn fat. One study found that consuming MCT oils helped reduce body fat and triglycerides more than omega 6 vegetable oils. After eight weeks, the experiment showed the MCT oil group lost more weight, body fat and subcutaneous fat, all while experiencing a 15 percent drop in triglycerides and LDL. At the same time, as MCT-rich coconut oil becomes more popular, it also becomes a concern among some folks because of its high amounts of saturated fat and potential for raising cholesterol. The reality is, cholesterol is not black and white. Classifying it as “good” or “bad” vastly oversimplifies this molecule, which among its duties helps synthesize vitamin D and hormones while maintaining cell structure. Some fats do raise cholesterol, whereas others lower cholesterol. Even when saturated fat does raise your cholesterol, the type of cholesterol becomes more important than cholesterol itself.