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Originally Posted by Ladymom  Just a heads up if you are thinking of adding coconut oil to her food....
A little Maltese on another forum developed really high triglycerides after her mom started giving her coconut oil. They went up to a scary 2604 (normal is 29-291)!
Her vet had her bring in all the foods and supplements she uses and told her that coconut oil was the culprit. It is very high in fat. The one I have here has 14 grams of fat (12 grams of saturated fat) per tablespoon.
Cocotherapy for dogs seem to be the latest fad, but please discuss it with your vet first. |
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LadyMom, unfortunately coconut oil being a saturated fat is often mis-understood. Although it is a saturated fat, coconut oil is comprised of Medium-Chain Fatty Acids (not long-chain as the saturated fat found in animal fats).
Coconut oil is unique as a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) in that it is synthesized in the body differently from other fats. The smaller medium chain triglyceride molecules are easily digestible and absorbable. They do not need bile to be assimilated, nor do they need pancreatic lipase to be digested. Typically the blood has triglycerides as well as cholesterol. These triglycerides are long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) being transported from the liver to the peripheral tissues and cells. LCTs are long chain fatty oils from saturated animal fats or from unsaturated fats from vegetable oils.
The medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) from coconut oil are
not found in the systemic blood; they go straight to the liver and they are rapidly metabolized to liberate energy. So in short, coconut oil will not elevate triglycerides in human or animals with long term use.
Numerous studies have shown that coconut oil: prevents ischemic heart disease, lowers elevated total serum cholesterol levels, stimulates the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone, increases HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels, lowers LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, lowers VLDL (Very-low-density lipoprotein – “bad”) cholesterol levels, lowers elevated serum triglycerides levels.
Also, well-known holistic vet,
Dr. Karen Becker states that coconut oil does not elevate triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood and does not cause hyperlipidemia when given long term. It is a very healthy oil when given long-term.