By Greg Bastin • March 5, 2020
Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil is one of the hottest supplements out there. Discover its many benefits and how you can take full advantage.
For a good while, MCT oil has been the best friend of those who wanted to lose weight and improve their overall health. It’s mostly derived from coconut oil these days, but you can also find it in palm oil, dairy, and other foods. There’s a good reason behind the popularity.
The scientific community has uncovered many benefits of using MCT oil on a regular basis. Firstly, there’s a study showing that it enhances your body’s fat-burning abilities to possibly help you get rid of stubborn stores of fat.
Also, MCTs contain less carbon than LCTs (long-chain triglycerides).
As a result, your body absorbs them much faster, making MCTs an instant energy source. Aside from fueling your body with energy, these fatty substances also feed your brain. The results are higher and more balanced levels of physical and mental energy throughout the day. Moreover, MCT oil has potent antimicrobial effects.
These are only some of the many benefits that MCT oil can offer.
In this article, you’ll see how to use it to best take advantage of this powerful supplement. Before that, however, let’s take a look at a real-life example that shows what you can expect from adding MCTs to your diet.
Whitney’s Success Story
To reach her body goals and live a healthier life, Whitney shifted her focus to healthy fats in her diet. After discovering from a book the many benefits of a high-fat diet, she decided to make some lifestyle changes. Among them, a certain bulletproof coffee ended up the one that offered the best results. Whitney simply added some MCT oil to her morning coffee and didn’t have anything else for breakfast. It was almost as soon as she started that Whitney noticed the benefits of MCT oil. To begin with, she felt much less hungry. Whitney was on an intermittent fast, which meant eating for a period of 8 hours and fasting for the other 16.
Before adding MCT to her coffee, she routinely felt hungry when 10 am rolled around.
But not since she started her new MCT routine – she could go without food until 12 - 1 pm. with relative ease.
The bulletproof coffee curbed her appetite and reduced her food cravings.
Just like that, mornings became the most productive periods in Whitney’s day.
Prior to her MCT supplementation, she often felt drowsy in the morning and off in terms of her focus.
But Whitney noticed a major change soon after she started taking MCT oil with her coffee in the morning.
She’s managed to maintain her focus until lunchtime at 1 pm, which consists of healthy foods that replenish her energy levels.
Whitney doesn’t even think about food in the morning anymore as there are no cravings to disturb her focus.
Lastly, Whitney managed to lose 30lbs by adjusting her lifestyle.
After taking MCTs in the morning, her stomach and arms have gotten more toned and visibly so.
Of course, her intermittent fasting also played a part, but the fact is that MCT oil helped to speed up the process by a lot.
Whitney is one of the many people who have managed to reap many benefits that MCTs have to offer.
You may be thinking: How can I do the same?
Let’s have a look at some of the best tips for adding these healthy fatty acids to your diet.
Using MCT Oil
To experience the many health benefits of MCTs and reach your body goals, you need to use the supplement the right way.
This means you should start small and work your way up to the right dose.
For example, Whitney went overboard the first time without even knowing it.
Instead of building up to the right dose, she took two teaspoons each day from the start.
It may not happen to everybody but in Whitney’s case, her stomach became upset from taking too much without allowing her body to adjust.
To prevent this, you should start with one teaspoon of MCT oil.
And if you have a sensitive gut, you might want to go as low as ½ teaspoon per regular cup of coffee.
In addition, you should know the right time to take the supplement.
Whitney takes it in the morning, which you ought to do the same.
You’ll speed up your weight loss because you’ll be feeling more satiated throughout the day.
Plus, you get to feel energized as soon as your day starts.
You’ll have more energy and mental clarity to go about your day.
Speaking of energy, you should also take your MCT supplement before a workout.
The instant energy that you get can allow you to get the most out of your workouts.
Last but not least, it’s recommended to add some variety to your MCT oil use.
The bulletproof coffee is highly popular but it’s not the only delivery system.
There are just about hundreds of ways to add MCT supplements to your diet.
Many people don’t know that MCT oil is ideal to use as cooking oil for any low-heat cooking.
This is why they’re restricted to other healthy options like olive oil.
Some might add coconut and palm oil to their foods, both containing lots of saturated fats that offer plenty of benefits.
However, MCT oil is superior to all of the above.
Therefore, you can do better if you add a high-quality MCT oil to your salad dressings in place of other oils.
Many people find MCT oils to taste great, so much so that they can add some oomph to your foods.
You can also take MCT oil straight or add it to your smoothies and other food and drinks.
The sky is the limit here.
MCT Oil or MCT Oil Powder
MCT supplements also come in powder form.
Both liquid and powdered MCT oils work, but this doesn’t mean that they’re equally effective for all.
Here are the pros and cons of each.
MCT Oil
As mentioned, liquid MCT supplements are great for cooking.
However, it does have a low smoke point of 320oF so it’s only suitable for cooking on low heat.
You’ll lose a lot of the MCT oil if you use it on high heat or in the oven.
Also, you need to be careful with how much you take since oil can be quite greasy.
Whatever you’re making it with, it might end up too oily.
Of course, if you get the measurements right, this shouldn’t be a problem – follow the recipes and don’t add too much oil.
Other than this, liquid MCT oil can be hard to mix with other supplements, especially anything powdered.
You might end up with clumps that make it harder to digest the supplements.
Despite all of the above, MCT oil in liquid form is highly versatile and effective.
But there’s another popular variety.
MCT Oil Powder
In terms of the variety of uses, MCT oil powder exceeds liquid.
You can use it with any baked and mix it with just about any dishes or foods.
Of course, it’s also easier to mix with other powdered supplements like collagen protein and exogenous ketone base.
Also, many people find MCT powder to be easier to digest than the oil.
You’re less likely to develop an upset stomach, which means that you can increase the dosage more quickly.
In tandem with this, MCT powder gives your drinks and shakes a creamier texture.
If you don’t want them oily, you might want to go with the powder.
The biggest disadvantage of MCT powder is that it can often come with a host of fillers and additives.
Due to the production, the oil is going to be purer than the powder.
For example, MCT powder can contain sweeteners, which can be a problem if you’re on a ketogenic diet.
Because of this, you need to look at the fine print on the supplement label.
Give It a Try
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to add MCT oil to your everyday life.
From energy improvement to weight loss, there’s a lot that you can achieve with only a teaspoon or two per day.
One easy to use example is Opportuniteas MCT Oil Powder.
