Ketosis After Intake of Coconut Oil and Caprylic Acid—With and Without Glucose: A Cross-Over Study in Healthy Older AdultsShow others and affiliations
2020 (English)In: Frontiers in Nutrition, E-ISSN 2296-861X, Vol. 7, article id 40Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Sustainable development
Sustainable Development
Abstract [en]
Introduction: Medium-chain-triglycerides (MCT), formed by fatty acids with a length of 6–12 carbon atoms (C6–C12), constitute about two thirds of coconut oil (Coc). MCT have specific metabolic properties which has led them to be described as ketogenic even in the absence of carbohydrate restriction. This effect has mainly been demonstrated for caprylic acid (C8), which constitutes about 6–8% of coconut oil. Our aim was to quantify ketosis and blood glucose after intake of Coc and C8, with and without glucose intake. Sunflower oil (Suf) was used as control, expected to not break fasting ketosis, nor induce supply-driven ketosis. Method: In a 6-arm cross-over design, 15 healthy volunteers—age 65–73, 53% women—were tested once a week. After a 12-h fast, ketones were measured during 4 h after intake of coffee with cream, in combination with each of the intervention arms in a randomized order: 1. Suf (30 g); 2. C8 (20 g) + Suf (10 g); 3. C8 (20 g) + Suf (10 g) + Glucose (50 g); 4. Coc (30 g); 5. Coc (30 g) + Glucose (50 g); 6. C8 (20 g) + Coc (30 g). The primary outcome was absolute blood levels of the ketone β-hydroxybutyrate, area under the curve (AUC). ANOVA for repeated measures was performed to compare arms. Results: β-hydroxybutyrate, AUC/time (mean ± SD), for arms were 1: 0.18 ± 0.11; 2: 0.45 ± 0.19; 3: 0.28 ± 0.12; 4: 0.22 ± 0.12; 5: 0.08 ± 0.04; 6: 0.45 ± 0.20 (mmol/L). Differences were significant (all p ≤ 0.02), except for arm 2 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 1 & 3. Blood glucose was stable in arm 1, 2, 4, & 6, at levels slightly below baseline (p ≤ 0.05) at all timepoints hours 1–4 after intake. Conclusions: C8 had a higher ketogenic effect than the other components. Coc was not significantly different from Suf, or C8 with glucose. In addition, we report that a 16-h non-carbohydrate window contributed to a mild ketosis, while blood glucose remained stable. Our results suggest that time-restricted feeding regarding carbohydrates may optimize ketosis from intake of MCT. Clinical Trial Registration: The study was registered as a clinical trial on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03904433.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Frontiers Media S.A., 2020. Vol. 7, article id 40
Keywords [en]
aged, coconut oil, fasting, glucose, ketogenic diet, ketosis, medium-chain fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate
National Category
Gerontology, specialising in Medical and Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-48325DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2020.00040ISI: 000531198400001PubMedID: 32351966Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85083974390Local ID: GOA HHJ 2020;HHJARNISOAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-48325DiVA, id: diva2:1429493
Funder
Swedish Research CouncilKnut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationKing Gustaf V Jubilee FundThe Swedish Brain FoundationThe Dementia Association - The National Association for the Rights of the DementedThe Karolinska Institutet's Research Foundation2020-05-112020-05-112022-02-10Bibliographically approved