Medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs, have become especially popular as the word spreads about the many benefits of nutritional ketosis. This burning of high-quality fats as your primary fuel instead of glucose from carbohydrates produces ketones.
Ketones are the ideal fuel for your mitochondria because they burn cleanly and produce far fewer damaging free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS), compared to glucose from carbohydrates.
MCT oil is particularly valuable for creating ketones and maintaining nutritional ketosis.
- MCTs bypass normal digestive processes, diffuse across your intestinal membrane and go directly to your liver to be used as a clean-burning fuel for your entire body and brain.
- MCT oil is a great way to get extra fat, and because it is completely odorless and tasteless, and actually enhances flavor, you can add it to foods and beverages for extra healthy fat calories.
- Because of their rapid conversion to energy, MCTs are an ideal way to help squelch hunger pangs and boost satiety and satisfaction on a ketogenic diet.
Something many people don’t realize about MCTs is the fact that there are many different kinds, depending on their chemical structure or carbon length. Shorter-chained MCTs are more readily converted into ketones.
Most commercial brands of MCT oil are usually 50/50 combinations of C8 and C10 fats. Some contain very little C8 as it is the most expensive MCT fat and is relatively hard to find. Our preference is straight C8 (Caprylic acid), as it converts to ketones far more rapidly than do C10 fats and may be easier on your digestion.
The other thing we like about C8 fats is that unlike other types of fats, C8 fats are water soluble and cross your blood-brain barrier to provide your brain tissue with fuel. Unlike other fats that must go through normal digestive processes, this type of fuel goes directly to your liver where it’s converted into ketones for quick energy, rather than stored in your fat cells. That’s terrific news if you want to reach and maintain ketosis, speed up the burning of fat stores, optimize your cognitive function or simply desire more clean energy.
Our Ketone Energy MCT Oil is 95% Caprylic Acid (C8) MCT Oil (the other 5% is C10) and:
- Contains NO trans fatty acids.
- Contains NO genetically engineered ingredients.
You may start with one teaspoon of Ketone Energy, and work up to one or two tablespoons a day. Or add to food or beverages. Many people enjoy adding it to pasta or salads or blending it into their coffee with a pat of raw grass-fed butter.
Find out for yourself why C8 MCT oil is becoming one the fastest growing trends for health and well-being, and order your supply today.
When you use the right kind of MCT oil, I’m convinced that you can reap profound benefits. I’m living proof as I use it daily.
Making Sense of Medium-Chain Triglycerides
The source for MCTs is coconut oil.
Medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs, are a special type of fat that get their name from their chemical structure, or their length or chain of carbon molecules.
They’re mostly extracted from coconuts, coconut oil and palm kernel oil, but small amounts of MCTs can be found in grass-fed butter and other dairy products.
There are four types of MCTs ranging from 6 to 12 carbons long:
- C6: Caproic acid – Converts to ketones, or fuel, quickly but tends to cause digestive issues and smells and tastes unpleasant, even after processing.
- C8: Caprylic acid – The most ideal MCT as it converts to ketones within minutes and is odorless, flavorless and may be easier on your digestive tract. C8 is the most valued and most expensive MCT. It’s also the rarest type.
- C10: Capric acid – Less efficient than C8 in converting to ketones in your liver, and because it is much more common than C8, it is less expensive to produce. This is the type of MCT found in most commercial brands.
- C12: Lauric acid – Very abundant in coconut oil, but lauric acid doesn’t really function as a true MCT. Behaving more like a long-chain fatty acid, C12 is more difficult for your liver to absorb and break down into ketones.
As a general rule, shorter-chained MCTs are more readily converted into ketones, which are energy molecules that are created by your liver from fats.
Ketones are the ideal fuel for your cells’ mitochondria because they burn cleanly and produce far less reactive oxygen species (ROS) that damage your cells and promote aging.
Ketones are also your best friend when it comes to cravings and unwanted hunger pangs…
They help suppress ghrelin – or your “hunger hormone” – and enhance another hormone that signals your brain when you’re full.
Why Coconut Oil Isn’t the Same Thing as MCT Oil
Some people believe that coconut oil and MCT oil are interchangeable.
They’re not – they’re very different.
While MCT oil is derived from coconuts, it’s not the same thing as coconut oil.
MCT oil is far more concentrated in medium-chain fatty acids. Coconut oil contains only about 14 percent MCTs.
While we don’t typically rely on coconut oil just for its MCT content, there are plenty of other very good reasons to add coconut oil to your diet.
Coconut oil is a terrific source of high-quality fat, especially lauric acid. Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin that offers many protective and health-promoting properties.
I encourage the regular use of coconut oil, especially for high fat and low carbohydrate diets. While it may not be as effective as MCT oil for an energy boost, it is a great hunger-buster and a quick and easy way to get fat calories.
Plus, coconut oil is one of the most resistant oils to high-temperature stir-frying, unlike olive and some other popular oils.
Because coconut oil is so versatile with over a hundred different uses, I encourage you to learn more about it on my site.
You’ll find two exceptional coconut oil products in my online store: Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for cooking, eating and beauty use, and my Coconut Oil Oral Rinse (with MCTs!) for your oral care.
What Else Makes C8 MCT Oil so Special?
Even though it costs more and is relatively hard to find, my personal preference is C8 or caprylic acid as it converts to ketones far more rapidly than the others, is flavorless and odorless, and may be easier on your digestion.
Here’s what’s unique about our Ketone Energy, as compared to other types of fats and even some other so-called MCTs:
- Bypasses normal digestive processes and crosses your intestinal membrane directly to your liver to be used as a clean-burning fuel for your entire body and brain*
- Because of its water-solubility, it crosses your blood-brain barrier to provide your brain tissue with fuel, unlike other types of fat*
- Is a great way to get extra fat, and because it is completely odorless and flavorless, and actually enhances flavor, you can add it to foods and beverages for extra fat calories
- Because of its rapid conversion to energy, it helps squelch hunger pangs, and boosts satiety and satisfaction when following a ketogenic diet.
Most commercial brands of MCT oil are usually 50/50 combinations of C8 and C10 fats. Some contain very little C8 as it is the most expensive MCT fat.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19436137
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19437058
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26839375
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938418300507