Medium-chain triglycerides or popularly known as MCT oil is mainly used by people following the high-fat ketogenic diet. It’s the perfect source of fats that suit their energy needs because the human body can easily metabolize these kind of fats better than other foods, even those people with gastrointestinal issues. Coconut oil and palm oil have an abundance of MCTs, but they can also be made from dairy products like cheese, and yogurt.
Three types of saturated fats of intermediate carbon length make up MCT oil, which is then tied to a glycerol backbone. MCTs can be easily differentiated from other triacylglycerols by their 6–12 carbon chain lengths. Unlike LCTs, their molecules don’t need to be modified any further, nor do they need bile or pancreatic enzymes. They can easily promote ketone synthesis in the liver. How does it do this? For that, we need to first understand what triglyceride means.
Animals and plants store fatty acids in them in the form of triglycerides. Triglycerides are absorbed into your body when you eat fatty foods, and they break down and deliver the fats to various tissues through the blood circulatory system. When you eat a carb-intensive diet, the liver ends up generating too many triglycerides, which leads to fats being stored in the body. This is why when you do a blood test, it can show “high triglycerides” on your cholesterol report.
There are 3 types of fatty acids that make up triglycerides: Short-chain, medium-chain, and long-chain. The chain length is used to depict the number of carbon atoms present in the molecule.
Which MCT is good for Keto?
The building blocks of MCTs are the medium-chain fatty acids as already stated before. The number of carbon atoms in them ranges from six to twelve, which is how the four varieties are labeled: Caproic (C6), Caprylic (C8), Capric (C10), and lastly the Lauric acid (C12). Avoid the C6 because it has a terrible taste and the C12 as it does not have the ketogenic properties as the remaining two.
So now when you consume anything made with MCT oil, it rapidly goes into the liver to generate ketone bodies. It puts your body into ketosis easily, and whatever cognitive gains you start seeing, is likely because of the increase in ketones in your body. They are the alternative fuel source to glycogen after all.
Uses of MCT Oil-
MCT oil is a versatile form of fat that you can utilize in a variety of ways.
Some ways it can benefit you, when you are doing the keto diet:
- Easily reach your macro proportions: Ingesting MCT oil helps you feel fuller and cuts down your need to snack on fast foods or binge eating. It makes sure your body stays energetic with even just one tablespoon, as that has 14 grams of fat.
- As a Workout Supplement : If you use MCT oil as your workout supplement, then you provide for yourself a clean and powerful source of energy that boosts your performance. It should be an hour before, and if you take it after, it will stabilize your tiredness and keep you relaxed.
- Morning Coffee: Add one tablespoon of MCT oil to your morning cup of coffee. Yes it can be similar to making bulletproof coffee, if you also add some butter. This way you will enjoy having a creamy cup of deliciousness which has absolutely no carbs.
- As a salad dressing: In place of commercially advertised dressings, use MCT oil with apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice and of course, salt, and pepper to your taste. Mic them all together with your main ingredients and it will become all savory.
- In Baked Goods: If you fancy yourself as a patisserie and like to bake from time to time, you can substitute the oils for MCT. Note that the latter has a lower smoke point than coconut oil, at 302°F.
- Ingredient for Smoothie or Protein Shake : You can try adding MCT oil into your low-carb smoothie and protein shake before gyming on breakfast to build up satiety and make them more nutritious for your keto diet.
- Good for Intermittent fasting: You can take it before the fasting period begins, or after it ends, by adding it to your main meal. Remember however, that too much fat consumption in one go after the fast, can lead to diarrhea.
Benefits of MCT Oil:
Including MCT in your keto diet will contribute to reaching ketosis faster and help in enhancing your brain power and workout performance.
Some of the many advantages include:
- Reaching Ketosis Faster: According to a study, taking MCT leads to higher BHB levels than taking LCT supplements. MCT goes through a quicker metabolic process in the liver and this increases your fuel source- ketone production. It also reduces the symptoms you incur when you get the keto flu, like nausea, dizziness, and brain fog, as your body begins to go into ketosis. Beginners are almost always recommended to include this oil in their high-fat diet.
- Increased Loss of Weight: The way MCT oil impacts the human body is similar to how the keto diet functions; it oxidizes fats faster. You feel full and learn to eat only when your body needs to, not because you saw something delicious or hunger cues are telling you to. The way the liver breaks down MCT oil results in burning more calories as a result. This actually helps people lose weight faster.
- Type II Diabetes: You hear how keto has been recommended by doctors to follow for patients with high diabetes? This is why. The MCT oil you consume while on keto increases insulin sensitivity and slowly cures type II diabetes.
- Boosts Workout Performance: Exercise requires energy expenditure, and MCTs boost your performance because they bring about an improvement in the mass and functioning of the mitochondria.
- Better Cognitive Function: The primary fuel for the brain is glucose. When you start the keto diet, there is not enough of it, and the brain resorts to burning up fats and producing ketones in their place. This is actually how patients with neurological illnesses and suffering from an impaired glucose uptake benefit from an improved cognitive health by using McT oil in their diet.
- Stronger Immunity: The fact that MCTs strengthen your immune system is a very important benefit of this triglyceride. MCTs also enhance a person’s quality of life if they suffer from HIV or AIDS, but research is still being done on this.
- Better Gut Health: Diets made with MCT oil can be used to control metabolic disorders by altering the gut microbiota. It is utilized to treat metabolic problems in the stomach because the gut microbiome is essential for your gut health.
- Antimicrobial Powers: It has been proven that capric acid, caprylic acid, and lauric acid have high antibacterial properties against all kinds of yeast, bacteria and viruses. One common cause of intestinal and vaginal fungal infections is the Candida albicans, which is a yeast. This pathogen can’t develop when you use the MCT present in coconut oil. However it should be remembered that most of the studies on this subject has been conducted using test tubes or animals, and thus is not ready fully for humans, yet.
MCT Oil Dosage:
Track your consumption of MCT oil carefully. Start with the smallest dose of MCT oil if you are new to fasting or keto. The most typical dose of MCT oil that is recommended is 1 tablespoon or 15 ml once a day, although research suggests a wide range of MCT doses is helpful. You can even have up to 3 tablespoons if you’d like, like before breakfast, one before working out, and one after.
Just start out gently if you’re new to MCT oil, especially if your stomach is sensitive. You have no need to rush this. Starting with 1 teaspoon once per day is also fine, and you can gradually increase the amount you use over the course of 1 to 2 weeks.
Natural Sources of MCT:
MCTs are surprisingly present in a variety of sources, and do not always need to be store-bought. For example, you can use coconut oil or palm kernel oil, that has the highest amount of MCTs, or goat milk, ghee, butter and cheeses and full-fat yogurt.
Known Side Effects:
MCT oil is safe to consume for the most part, but if you start taking excessive amounts to speed up weight loss then it may cause negative effects like abdominal pain and bloating, diarrhea and nausea. So, digestion-related unpleasantness is the most common side effect of MCT oil.
As already stated, begin with small doses and gradually raise the amount until you can tolerate it enough to prevent these adverse effects. In addition, if you are interested in using MCT oil but are also on other health medications, get a consultation from your doctor or a nutritionist.