Do some MCT oils not boost ketones for some people?

(Cristy Lucke) #1

I was testing which ingredient of my coffee concoction was the culprit for knocking me out of ketosis the other day. Today I tested 1 packet of Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee Mix, 2 tsp grass-fed ghee, and 1 Tbs MCT oil.

My ketones before were 1.1 and 60 minutes later were still 1.1. So it seems like the ingredients I put in this coffee weren’t the culprits. I think. However, I had MCT oil in that coffee and my ketones were unchanged after 60 minutes. Shouldn’t they go up?

This made me think: is my current brand of MCT oil a dud for my particular body? I used Viva Naturals, but now I’m wondering if I should use a different brand? How does MCT oil affect other people’s ketone 60 minutes out? Maybe I need to test 2 hours out to see any effect? I guess I thought the effect would be faster.

I’m just starting my journey of testing the affects of certain foods and maybe I need to work on my testing method too.

Thanks!

(Duncan Kerridge) #2

I used MCT oil in my coffee when I started out but when I came to the end of the bottle I didn’t bother to buy any more - figured that I would rather be eating my fats. In the following days I found my average blood ketone levels were higher than they had been when I was taking it. Whatever that means.

#3

my totally half baked hypothesis is this:

To some extent, your ketone levels are a supply based system.

However, to some extent, they are also a demand based system.

Remember how ketone pee strips stop working after you’re fat adapted (as in stop showing ketones in urine). I think once you’re in ketosis, and your body is good at making ketones, and your body is good at using ketones, if you add mct oil, your body just slows down internal ketone production for a bit, just as it would from exo ketone intake.

(Cristy Lucke) #4

Interesting!! Now that I see it isn’t helping any, I think I might just drop it and save my money. Now I’m curious to see if this improves my levels too…

(Allie) #5

I do actually notice an increase of about 0.5 in blood ketone levels an hour after my MCT oil containing coffee. But overall, I haven’t noticed any difference in fat loss or energy levels when I use MCT (always use coconut oil regardless which may be why).