Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Nutrition
    Button
    Nutrition
    Lauric acid

    Facts and Food Source of Lauric acid

    By EmilyJanuary 2, 2019Updated:May 3, 2019No Comments3 Mins Read

    Coconut oil is a must in natural beauty as well as health regimens. Natural health websites and countless blogs has claimed it as a miracle product which is able to soothe cracked skin and reverse cavities. Lauric acid is a medium length long chain fatty acid which makes about half of fatty acids in coconut oil. It is a powerful substance which is extracted from coconut for developing monolaurin (an antimicrobial agent that counteract viruses, bacteria, other pathogens and yeasts). As lauric acid could not be ingested alone, it could be obtained in form of coconut oil and fresh coconuts.

    Also known as dodecanoic acid, Lauric acid is a saturated fatty acid having 12 carbon atom chain with many properties of medium chain fatty acid. It is a bright white and powdery solid having faint odor of soap or bay oil. Esters and salts of lauric acid are called laurates. Lauric acid is used to manufacture soaps and other cosmetics. It is used to examine molar mass of unknown substances by freezing point depression. Lauric acid is used in manufacturing of soaps and other cosmetics. It is a white crystalline powder insoluble in water having melting point 44-44.2 °C and reported as 48 °C and boiling point at 225 °C.

    Food Sources of Lauric Acid

    Food name Weight (g) Lauric acid (g)
    Coconut milk 240 25.382
    Vegetable oil 13.6 6.392
    Babassu oil 13.6 5.916
    Coconut oil 13.6 5.690
    Sour cream 28.35 2.307
    Ucuhuba butter oil 13.6 1.659
    Feta cheese 150 1.602
    Swiss cheese 132 1.155
    Pina colada 32.6 1.105
    Fontina cheese 132 1.061
    Parmesan cheese 100 1.019
    Mozzarella cheese 112 0.773
    Ice creams 148 0.666
    Brick cgeese 132 0.636
    Sheep’s milk  245 0.588
    Colby cheese 132 0.557
    Monterey cheese 132 0.525
    Muenster cheese 132 0.484
    Nutmeg butter oil 13.6 0.422
    Goat cheese 28.35 0.374

     

    Health Benefits of Lauric acid

    Let’s discuss on health benefits of Lauric acid:

    1. Cardiovascular health

    Study was conducted on group consuming 63 percent and 34 percent of diet from coconut respectively. It refers that they are consuming lot of coconut and lots of saturated fats in form of lauric acid and other MCTs. Despite of high intake of saturated fats, heart disease is uncommon in both groups. The review shows that intake of coconut oil promotes high density lipoprotein and lowers total cholesterol ratio resulting in low chances of cardiovascular diseases. Evidence shows that saturated fats derived from foods containing lauric acid and MCT’s is a beneficial part of diets.

    1. Weight gain

    Research shows that lauric acid or medium chain fatty acids which are metabolized quickly by liver to make them less contribute to accumulation of fat than long chain fatty acids. Study was conducted on 40 women with abdominal obesity to intake low calorie diet with one ounce of soybean oil or one ounce of coconut oil per day for 12 weeks. Both groups lost similar amount of weight over 12 weeks. At the end of study, those who intake soybean oil has increase in waist circumference while those who intake coconut oil noticed decrease in waist circumference.

    1. Anti-microbial activity

    Lauric acid and its derivative monolaurin feature antimicrobial properties against gram-positive bacteria as well as some viruses and fungi. Basically this means, they are ace in hole when it comes to lowering the chances of contracting certain diseases including inflammatory acne, candida and MRSA.

     References:

    https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/what-is-lauric-acid#1

    https://thechemco.com/chemical/lauric-acid/

    https://draxe.com/lauric-acid/

    https://www.naturalpedia.com/lauric-acid-sources-health-benefits-and-uses.html

    https://www.onnit.com/academy/lauric-acid-benefits-why-medium-chain-fatty-acids-are-the-real-deal/

    Fat L Saturated Fat
    Emily

    Related Posts

    Sapienic acid facts and food sources

    March 25, 2019

    Facts and Food Sources of Oleic acid

    March 24, 2019

    Lutein and Zeaxanthin facts and food sources

    March 22, 2019

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Sapienic acid facts and food sources
    • Facts and Food Sources of Oleic acid
    • Lutein and Zeaxanthin facts and food sources
    • Folate facts and food sources
    • Cholecalciferol facts and food sources
    • Vitamin D2 food sources
    • Vitamin K2 food sources and health benefits
    • Myristoleic acid food sources
    • Stigmasterol food sources and health benefits
    • Eicosenoic acid food sources
    • Eicosadienoic acid food sources
    • Eicosatrienoic acid food sources
    • Heneicosapentaenoic acid Food Sources
    • Facts and Food Sources of Timnodonic acid
    • Adrenic acid Food Sources
    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.