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Old January 26th, 2014, 10:33 AM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
W
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Default Anyone Sell Short Chained Fatty Acids?

"Robert Miles" wrote in message
...
On Saturday, January 25, 2014 5:02:42 PM UTC-6, W wrote:
[snip]

Which short chain fatty acids?

Acetic acid (sold as vinegar)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid


Just to clarify, I am interested in short chain fatty acids that are
ingestible foods. Medium chain fatty acids like MCT oil do well as a food
source, and I assume short chain fatty acids would also be benign when
ingested.

So I'm looking for foods. As the article you quote on acetic acid says
"Unlike longer-chain carboxylic acids (the fatty acids), acetic acid does
not occur in natural triglycerides." So it's not a short chained fatty
acid of the type associated with food digestion.


Formic acid (stings enough few people want any)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formic_acid

Propanoic acid (sometimes used as a preservative in food)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propanoic_acid

Butyric acid (found naturally in milk)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butyric_acid

And so as the chains extend. The bacteria in your large intestine tend to

produce these.

Butryic acid is certainly one of the ones I have read about.

The amounts in butter are fairly trivial, about 3% or 4%, so that's not a
major caloric source of that fat. (Of course dairy may be the only natural
source in any whole food, but I was asking has anyone created a processed
food that concentrates ingestible short chain fatty acids, such as butryic.)

I also realize this can be created as a fermentation product of starchy
fibers in the large intestine. Unfortunately, homo sapiens have lost about
80% of their large intestine through evolution, and the actual remaining
large intestine area is insufficient to create large quantities of short
chain fatty acids. This is in contrast to an animal like a gorilla, who
still has massively more long intestine and is able to ferment large amounts
of fiber into very significant caloric intake of short chain fatty acids.

So in the same way that manufacturers have started to create processed
medium chain fatty acids in the form of MCT Oil (derived primarily from the
Lauric acid in coconuts and palm kernel oil), I was wondering if anyone has
concentrated the short chain fatty acids in any natural source and started
to sell a concentrated food oil that contains those fatty acids.

Why bother with such things? Short and medium chain fatty acids have a
different fat metabolism and are extremely easy to digest, particularly for
people who have compromised food metabolism. They go straight to the liver
and create ketones, thus nourishing the brain and reducing somewhat the
body's need for glucose.

--
W