[107barney]

I decided to ask a question about CO to Dr. Remillard, a board certified veterinary nutritionist. You can all see the question and her answer by clicking the link below. Seems to settle some of the issues I wondered about especially with regard to pancreatitis. PetDiets - Ask the Veterinary Nutritionist (DVM + PhD)

If the link cannot be accessed, here is a cut and paste.

QUESTION:
A constant source of debate on a yorkie forum involves coconut oil and I'm hoping you can shed some light on this hot topic. I searched your FAQs and have not seen any info on this topic. Thank you in advance.

It is alleged that since coconut oil is a mostly a medium chain triglyceride, it does not require pancreatic enzymes for digestion and is therefore well tolerated by dogs with chronic pancreatitis, EPI and other fat malabsorption disorders. It is also alleged that MCTs can help absorb fat-solubme vitamins for dogs who can't tolerate other fat in their diets. Is this true, and if so, is it true for Coconut oil specificaly. If dogs with pancreatitis can eat coconut oil without the pancreatic enzymes secreted, is there any other potential problem with adding this to the dog's food?

Also, are you aware of any anti-oxidant effects of coconut oil with regard to canine eye health or any other disorder for that matter? As part of the almost unending list of reported miraculous effects, we have heard that there are dogs with better vision, better coats, better tolerance to allergies and inflammation, and even one person who swears it has dissolved bladder and kidney stones in dog with liver shunt. Clearly you can see why so many are jumping on the coconut oil bandwagon.

Finally, the dosage of coconut oil seems to vary. Generally, people are feeding up to 1 tsp per 10 lbs of body weight, added on top of regular dog kibble. Assuming the only down side of adding coconut oil is the addition of calories, what is the dose you would recommend being added to a dog's kibble diet per body weight?

ANSWER:
MCT are fatty acids with 8-12 carbons. LCT are 16-24 carbons. Hence MCT are digested and absorbed faster than LCT. MCT does require some lipases and bile acids for digestion just less than LCT because there are fewer carbon-carbon bonds that need be broken before gut absorption can occur.

Here is the most important difference: MCT are smaller more soluble in water hence they can be absorbed in the blood circulating around the gut. LCT are fat soluble and cannot be absorbed into the blood, they must be absorbed into the lymph circulating around the gut. Eventually, the both get to the liver (MCT much sooner than LCT).

Coconut oil is mostly C6 and C8 - about 70% of the fat in coconut oil is in the MCT form and about 20% is LCT but it is 100% fat. Fat is Fat and they all have the same caloric density (9 Kcal/g or 120 kcal/tbsp).

How much to give? There is no one dose for all cases - in each case someone should be calculating the dose based on the reason of giving the coconut oil and what effect you want in the dog. If you need to add fat for calories to the diet for weight gain, then figure out how many more calories you want to give in a day, divide by 9 and that is the dose.

What is the dose you would recommend being added to a dog's kibble diet per body weight? I would not be recommending coconut oil to normal healthy dogs … could give it but there is no specific reason or advantage to doing so …. Anyway 1 tsp per 10 lbs of body weight = 45 kcals to a dog needing 260 kcal/day is increasing the caloric intake by 17% - which should increase weight if that’s needed. But you could do this with any vegetable oil and save some $$.

Pancreatitis - the pancreas is stimulated by how much fat is in the stomach chime: less fat lower stimuli. The type of fat has little effect on whether the pancreatitis is stimulated or not. Hence most pancreatitic diets have low fat and the calories have to come from the “dreaded” carbs .... MCT or coconut oil still requires lipase and bile acids so there is some stimulus to the pancreas and liver.

EPI - the veterinary enzyme replacement products are so effective (and expensive) I have never had a case where I had to change the type of fat in a well management EPI case. Now there are enzyme replacement knock-offs and so if you go cheap on the meds, you might be able to make up for by paying $$ for an MCT oil – but why??

Anti-oxidant effects of coconut oil with regard to canine eye health? No not heard or read of it.
Anti-oxidant effects of coconut oil in anyway? That does not make any physiologic sense – in fact quite the opposite given it is a fat and contains double bonds. Fat with double bonds need protection from oxidation – do not provide protection.

Coconut oil dissolving stones – ??? No fat of any type has been implicated in any type urinary stone formation, dissolution or prevention. Acting as anti-inflammatory compound defies the mechanisms of action as we know them today – I think someone is confusing this with the effects of EPA and DHA.

Better coats – sure increasing the fat content of any diet makes the coat better…. Does not matter what type of fat is used.

Other fat malabsorption disorders – too vague ???
Lymphangectasia - YES here is where the carbon length matters. Feeding MCT gets more calories into the dog using the portal blood supply and lowers the stimulus to the lymphatics. Feeding LCT fat stimulates the lymph and makes protein losses into the gut worse. Always try to get MCT into a Lymphangectasia dog.

Fat soluble vitamins do need fat for absorption but they require micelle formation in the gut, and MCT being more water soluble than LCT, make very poor if any micelles. Fat soluble vitamins are better absorbed with LCT.

Downside to feeding MCT – nothing is perfect …..
Poor palatability – diet rejection
Vomiting
Osmotic diarrhea
Expensive
Coconut oil as a source of MCT – has had a better track record and is usually (not always) accepted by the dog.