MCTs?

[Sassy69]

I recently sat in on a conversation w/ Mike Ashley, former Mr. Universe - he mentioned he uses medium chain triglycerides as fat source of choice, instead of, say, flax oil. Wondered if anyone has ever used MCTs? (Common sources are palm oil, butter, cocoanut oil, or suppliments).

 

[Daisy_Girl]

It's my understanding that the "tropical" oils (coconut, palm) aren't so hot for your arteries. Clogs them up pretty bad. Didn't the movie theaters used to pop their popcorn in coconut and changed to vegetable or peanut becasue it is healthier?

That is what I thought, but I could be wrong....

 

[wilson6]

MCTs are old news. One of the few fats you can consume in a fed state and have them turn up as ketone bodies in your urine because of how they are metabolized. They don't offer any benefits and don't spare muscle glycogen.

For most, the only reason you'd consume fat, is for the essential fatty acids.

W6

 

[MS]

"For most, the only reason you'd consume fat, is for the essential fatty acids. "

Yup, unless you're intentionally doing a keto diet, I can't think of any benefit to MCTs. Stick to EFAs if you feel a need to supplement fats.

 

[Sassy69]

Thx for the input guys! I'm just a simple computer geek - all this nutrio-bio-chem talk sorta blows me out of the water sometimes, so I just get a sanity check here

 

[fawnmarie]

Sassy,

On the advice of the Ray Peat protocol, I started adding coconut oil to my diet. I'm relatively low-carb, so cholesterol isn't an issue, and I've got a really nice lipid profile.

Not sure if MCT's in general are of any benefit, but I did find that coconut oil and reducing polyunsaturated oils elsewhere (switched to butter and olive oil), did improve my thyroid function and low body temp problems, although it's just a quick fix, and coconut oil has to be consumed regularly to maintain normal body temperatures.

The theory is that many enzymatic functions in the body require an adequate body temperature to occur (98) and hypothyroids who run low body temps would not be receiving these benefits.

So... draw whatever conclusions you will from that.



Fawn

 

[MS]

There are almost certainly some people that can benefit by increasing their MCT intake. Most of the human studies indicate that it has no effect on helathy, young, normal weight men or women, but studies with obese folks indicate it may increase energy expenditure (but not fat loss). This indicates to me that it may help stimulate thyroid/overall metabolism, but only if your metabolism is already low, as fawnmarie observed. The evidence suggests that this thermogenic effect of MCTs is generally short-lived and the body adapts after a few weeks. There is conflicting evidence as to whether MCTs are more satiating than other fats. Again it appears that in normal, young folks this satiating effect disappears after the first week of high MCT intake. Obese people may find them more satiating.

Now, if you are on a ketogenic VLCD, then it appears that MCT oil is da bomb for increasing fat loss and decreasing appetite while maintaining FFM.

 

[SteelWeaver]

"Now, if you are on a ketogenic VLCD, then it appears that MCT oil is da bomb for increasing fat loss and decreasing appetite while maintaining FFM."

That's interesting. Do you mean in obese people or lean bodybuilders? Why would they be more effective on a keto VLCD? Is that because of the lack of carbs or the low calories?

 

[fawnmarie]

Steel,

From my "know enough to be dangerous to myself" perspective, what I understand about MCT's is that they are constructed differently. Long-chain fatty acids must be reconstructed in the liver (?) to be metabolized, where as MCT's more closely mimic what will be produced and can be immediately used for fuel.

I'm sure someone else here can give you the scientific details, but that's my understanding of MCT's.

The debate about PUFA's over saturated fats is a little different - PUFA's have developed a reputation in some circles as being unwholesome because they rancify easily and oxidize at lower temperatures, and form free radicals at low temps (i.e. 98.6) and are said to cause cellular damage. Hence some guru's recommendations for the use of olive oil (monosaturated) and saturated fats (butter, coconut oil, palm oil).

Fawn

 

[SteelWeaver]

Great, so it's a toss-up over whether to go for the free radical killers in PUFA's or the artery clogging, adipose forming killers machine SFA's.



Thanks for the MCT info - I've read a bit about them here & there, and know they're readily used as fuel, more like carbs than fats, but I'm wondering if that's the mechanism whereby they would increase fat loss on a keto VLCD, and why they wouldn't have the same effect on a normal keto, or any old hypocaloric diet. Were ONLY MCT's used for the fats on that diet MS? Or a mixture of MCT's and other FA's?