Holland and Baratt

#1

Hi Uk-ketoers, I just noticed a new MCT Oil product in my local Holland and Baratt store - it seemed quite pricey at 19£ for a small bottle - has anyone tried it and is it any good ? Cheers.

(Allie) #2

H&B are always very expensive but they often have half price offers and similar so worth asking.

(Rob) #3

If it’s the 500ml one, that seems a bit pricey to me.

For that sort of thing, I would normally buy online these days. I can recommend Dolphin Fitness as being reliable, good quality stuff and cheaper than other sites.

(bulkbiker) #4

What were you thinking of using it for? not that I have tried it…
I often wonder why people buy this stuff… if that sounds rude (probably) it isn’t meant in that way just genuine curiosity.

#5

Thanks Rob, Its the same price in Dolphin as well but I had never heard of Dolphin before ; so will give them a try sometime .

#6

Ha ha, not rude at all Mark ! I am trying to improve my 5k time ( parkrun every Sat’day) and since going LCHF my times have slipped. Last 2 weeks , I have been cheating and taking a banana and a date before the run which seems to help a bit but I would like to get a good time without cheating ! I am not sure if MCT would help but you are right - I am spending a lot of money in Holland and Baratt recently ( Ca, Mg, Pottassium, Vitamin D supplements, Biotin ( for hair loss ) ) - not sure if any of them are making any difference !!!

(Allie) #7

I have bought a few bottles in the past and found Amazon the best source.

Now Foods Now Foods Mct 100% Oil, 32 Fl oz (Ffp) 32oz https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KPZXER6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uEBKAbG7J5NWD

(bulkbiker) #8

Have you tried running fasted? Not that I do as I’m an exercise phobe… but just wondered if that might help?

(Rob) #9

I can not vouch for the relative benefits of taking a branded MCT oil over an alternative “generic” Medium Chained Triglyceride oil such as coconut oil, but I would be interested if you could get a “good enough” benefit from just using a good organic coconut oil.

I always have some on hand at home and the office and when I notice that little dip in energy coming, I take a spoon of that and it picks me up very quickly.

As for your current level of performance, I would say to try and keep your intake as free from carbs as possible and stick with it, so that your body has a clear signal (low insulin) to use your stored fat for energy. Teasing it with carbs before you run may knock you out of ketosis, spike your insulin and switch off access to your fat based energy. A banana is is 23g of carbs and along with your Date it might be enough to for your body to switch to carb mode.

Get hold of a copy of “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance” by Phinney & Volek (P&V). It’s a follow up on their definitive book on LC and addresses the particular challenges for sports performance. The good news is that you could expect a significant increase in performance with Keto. I got it because I surf and that needs both good strength and stamina. I’ve not tested in the water yet as I’m more of a warm weather surfer, but my strength maintainance workouts are improving significantly after 5 months of Keto. I generally train in the fasted state.

P&V do indicate that performance does dip during the transition from carb burning to fat burning, so that might be what you’re seeing in your run times. Trust the science and do a little N=1 experiment on yourself for a couple of months, by not having the banana and Date and see what the difference is at the end of that time.

(Duncan Kerridge) #10

How long have you been keto for? It’s quite normal to see a drop in performance for the first few months. Don’t waste your money in Holland and Barrett, you can get everything you’re getting in there from Amazon for much less money

#11

Thanks all , really appreciate the response and the experience from you.

After reading messages from @MarkGossage & @MmmBacon, I did my long-ish run ( 8 miles) in a fasted state . I was ok for 4 miles with a decent pace and then struggled to finish the last 4 miles. So I am guessing I am not fully keto yet as my body is still using leftover carbs and then bonking when it is depleted, @Duncan_K, I have been doing IF and HFLC since Jan this year - I am not sure if I am keto yet .

My score card so far since Jan is

Positives : 4 kg Weight loss, anti-inflammation effect, faster recovery ,improved blood pressure from 138/90 to 125/85 , deeper sleep.
Negatives : Running performance loss , big struggle going uphill compared to pre-keto , cold hands and legs all the time !

Cheer all , i know its early days and will let you know how I progress in the coming days and months.

(Allie) #12

Not something I’ve tried myself as I don’t do anything that requires endurance, but I’ve heard it discussed elsewhere and is apparently very good - Super Starch. Danny Vega (Ketogenic Athlete) was using it and have very good feedback. Don’t know if he still uses it though as he’s gone more carnivore recently. Another thing he mentioned in high regard was Vaspa (wasp venom if I remember rightly…). I don’t know how readily available these things will be here, but thought them worth a mention in case they suit you.

(Allie) #13

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(bulkbiker) #14

Well you have my admiration for trying it… 8 miles… wow

(Rob) #15

Yeah, I’ve seen VESPA referred to a lot in the low-carb athletes section the back of Phinney & Volek’s “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance”. I have no experience personally, and no idea where you’d source it from the UK, but certainly seems like a viable performance booster.

(Drew Says "Eat the Salt, you damned stinking Keto ape" Hardcore Label Licka ) #16

Sorry parkrunUK but why are you trying to run your petrol Ferrari on dirty old chicken shop oil?