MCT Oil – What is it? What makes it so great?
MCT (Medium-Length Chains) oil is a supplement often added to smoothies, bulletproof coffee, and salad dressings. As the name suggests, medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil contains medium-length chains of fats called triglycerides. Due to their shorter length, MCTs are easily digested and many health benefits are linked to the way your body processes these fats.
I have been adding MCT Oil to my Power Coffee, smoothies and salad dressings. I really like it – it is super slippery, doesn’t have a strong coconut scent and overall I like it.
Where Does it Come From?
MCT oil is most commonly extracted from coconut oil, as more than 50% of the fat in coconut oil comes from MCTs. These fats are also found in many other foods, such as palm oil and dairy products.
MCT oil has been shown to increase the release of two hormones that promote the feeling of fullness in the body: peptide YY and leptin. For this reason they are beneficial in weight loss.
MCT oil can help optimize the growth of good bacteria and support the gut lining, which could also help you lose weight.
The Healthful Fatty Acids Found in Tropical Oils
Virgin coconut oil is roughly 65 percent MCTs but the pharmaceutical-grade MCT oil we’re talking about here is 100 percent medium-chain triglycerides. It is carefully extracted from coconut and palm oils.
There are so many AMAZING benefits MCT oil has for your health that I would love to share with you but we will try to get to several of the basics here.
Before we get to all its health benefits, there’s something else you will love most about it. It is the reason we use it in many of our drinks: It does not clump into tiny balls when mixed with cold liquid like coconut oil does, and it does not give a coconut-y taste to your coffee.
Remember, we don’t want you to replace coconut oil with MCT oil; you can use coconut oil in your drinks, you just have to mix it with a little hot water to dissolve first. But do try to save your pennies so you can give MCT oil a chance at some point on your “Get Healthy Then Trim” journey.
The Health Benefits of MCT Oil
Here is a very incomplete list and really only introduces you to this very talented and capable dietary friend:
- MCTs burn three times more calories for six hours after a meal than other fats do
- These fatty acids get metabolized more like a carbohydrate but without involving insulin. It provides INSTANT yet SUSTAINED ENERGY— woot!
- MCT oil converts into energy faster than glucose itself…but with no sugar rush and subsequent lull
- It helps counteract the decreased energy production that results from aging
- It lowers blood glucose and insulin levels and is an aid to diabetics or those in the category of having a tendency for prediabetes (which includes most of us over age thirty-five)
- It helps suppress appetite
- It is the LOWEST-CALORIE oil
- It helps decrease body fat while at the same time increasing lean muscle mass
A study released in March 2008 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , Volume 87, followed forty-nine overweight men and women (between the ages of nineteen and fifty). The participants who consumed a middle-chain triglyceride oil as part of their sixteen-week weight-loss program lost more weight and fat mass than the group that consumed olive oil.
It is very difficult for MCTs to be stored as fat by the body because of the way it accelerates your metabolism and are so quickly and efficiently converted into fuel for immediate use by the organs and muscles in your body.
After our mid-thirties, we lose muscle every year and replace it with adipose (fat) tissue. MCT and resistance exercise can powerfully reverse this sign of aging.
MCT Oil Also…
- Acts as a powerful antioxidant and reduces tissue requirements for vitamin E
- It helps optimize the production of thyroid hormones
- It helps prevent atherosclerosis (a high risk for stroke) as MCTs have an anticoagulation effect
- It has a positive effect on autoimmune reactions
- It is used for malabsorption in neonates (newborn babies) and for those recovering from serious burns, major surgeries, and serious infections
- MCT oil fights against brain deterioration
The middle-chain fatty acids produce ketones to provide fuel for your brain without having to stick to an extreme and dangerous ketogenic diet. These ketones repair, renew, and revive the brain. Some recent research on MCT oil shows its incredible ability to reverse Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Dr. Mary Newport, a neonatalist and author of the book Alzheimer’s Disease: What If There Was a Cure, treated her husband (who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s) with 20 grams of MCT oil per day. He quickly began recovering his memory and cognitive function.
MCT oil is used to treat seizures in children because of its ability to increase ketone production.
Note: Start slowly with MCT oil, as adding too much too quickly can cause diarrhea for some people. Enjoy it in your Trimming shakes and smoothies as well as in hot coffee and tea. It remains very stable. Use it as a salad dressing. Change up between MCT oil and extra-virgin olive oil on your salad to receive the benefits both provide.
Power Coffee Recipe:
– 2 cups of coffee brewed
– 1 TBSP MCT Oil
– 1 tsp Sunflower Lecithin
– 1 Scoop Collagen Powder
– Stevia To taste
Place all ingredients in a Magic Bullet or Blender. The Sunflower Lecithin makes it frothy on top just like those fancy coffee’s only without the sugars!
I have found it is also good with a darkly brewed tea or chicory coffee.
I hope this info has been helpful in your day – on your journey to better health. We will put a link below this article of a few of our favorite products. We don’t currently carry MCT Oil at PowerlineHealth.com but feel it is a great product to add to a healthy lifestyle.
Resources:
Product Affiliate links:
Until Next time – This is Nurse Mary signing off – Be Well!