MCT oil- What's best?

(Texan ) #1

This may sound very ignorant, here I go anyway.
I am a newbie, 22 days under my belt. I’ve been reading in the forums about MCT oil or powder, are there cheaper quality oils/powders, organic v. non organic? Can anyone help. I wish there was like a KETO bible!

(G. Andrew Duthie) #2

I don’t have any advice to offer in terms of choosing the type of MCT oil, but I would tend towards organic, based on my personal preference.

One thing to be aware of if you have not used MCT oil is that many folks (myself included) find that it can cause lower GI symptoms, particularly in larger amounts. I would start with no more than a tablespoon at first, perhaps a half tablespoon, and see how you tolerate it. If you consume it on a regular basis, you can build up from there, but I would definitely avoid starting with more than a tablespoon.

Both MCT oil and coconut oil give me slight nausea if taken on their own, so I will usually mix them in with coffee or tea.

Last point…MCT oil is a good source of fats that are good for your brain, but it’s not a necessity for keto. Given that you’re only 3 weeks in, may be better to focus on good habits with real foods first. There’ll be plenty of time for body/brain hacking as you get settled into this WoE. :slight_smile:

(Texan ) #3

Thank you Andrew! I do appreciate your input.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #4

My pleasure. I hope I didn’t sound like I was trying to discourage MCT use…I’m just a big believer in keeping things simple, especially in the beginning.

I’m not always the best practitioner of that, but one of the things I picked up from this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160X/

is that it takes time to overcome a bad habit or settle into a new good one. Keeping the variables to a minimum will likely help with building those good habits. Once the basic keto habits are in place, trying new things to enhance or improve your keto experience will be easier, and less likely to confound the basics.

(Jake P) #5

I like to use MCT oil. Its like an additive that can help you hit your fat requirement.
I like the Leaft Coast MCT Oil

(Meeping up the Science!) #6

Duhigg’s book is great. I suggest it to clients all the time.

Keeping things simple always adds to any habit adherence. When we have too many choices we get overwhelmed. Children manifest this a lot; young children cannot developmentally handle multiple choices. Giving them one choice with only two options is dramatically easier for them - and their parents, usually :wink: We adults also do better with similar food and consistency on a daily basis.

(Texan ) #7

You haven’t discouraged it at all. You’ve made me stop and think. It wasn’t a bad thing. I really do appreciate your candidness.

#8

The powder is kind of hard to work with and is mostly for baking or shakes, where the oil is way more versatile for everyday use. Powder also has a lot of other ingredients in it where as the oil is just MCT oil.

I usually have 3 in the house. A cheaper one, Carrington Farms (you can get Walmart), a medium quality one and for my coffee, straight drizzling and higher end fatbombs i use Brain Octane or a similar C8 majority product.

The difference in them all are the composition of MCT Fatty Acid Oils. Carrington Farms has C6, C8, C10 maybe even C12’s I’ll have to look it up. The medium quality ones will have just C6-10 and the Brain Octane is only C8 (Caprylic Acid). C8 is the most ready available to be used as energy but i think it’s smart to use a bit of everything. Also never bring them over 350F as they oxide and will go rancid.

Added bonus, I get my grassfed Ghee from Walmart, Kelepo brand is only $8.99.

(Kerri Hines) #9

I always think the best way to choose an MCT oil is know your purpose for using it.
I personally use a specific one as part of my ADHD treatment. I seem to have the best days using it as opposed to just being keto alone. The boost of ketones in the morning does help me quite a bit. I have reduced my stimulant medication by half over the last year since adding it.
However, I don’t get the same benefits from just any MCT oil because different ones contain different concentrations of the various short chain fatty acids and I get the best result with the shortest ones.
For example, Brain Octane has 15g caprylic acid (C8) per tablespoon. But it’s a bit pricey for me. So I found another that has 13.8g C8 for less. It’s MicKeyT 8. It’s still pricey but I only need 1Tbs a day.
Other MCT and liquid coconut oils will either have a blend of caprylic and capric acid (C10) totaling about 14-15g together, but most of them have those two plus lauric acid (C12) at the greater concentration of around 7-8g of the total 15ish. That means that C8 and C10 together make up only about 6-7g per Tbs.

Now, all of those fatty acids are great for boosting ketones which is helpful for energy and brain health/focus but don’t hit the bloodstream at the same rate of speed.
None of this would have any weight loss benefit so I don’t see any reason to add MCT if that’s the main idea. But I do know that some people get a nice appetite reduction from it too so that may offer some benefit.
I did a bunch a digging for the specific breakdowns of fatty acid concentration in a few different brands quite a while back. At that time I couldn’t find info about the powder forms. I haven’t looked again since then since I’ve been happy with what I’ve been using.

(Jeff Ryan) #10

I use Melrose MTC oil. On the label its specifically made for athletes just before your workout. I’m not sure why it would be different to other MCT brands or if the ingredients make it better for athletes.

(Tom Seest) #11

Quest Powdered MCT and Powdered Coconut Oil are convenient when traveling

(Cliff Arnold) #12

+1 for Brain Octane. It is what I’ve used exclusively for over a year. I average 6 Tbsp/day. Has a flavor “enhancing” quality on certain foods.

I also Use Quest MCT powder for certain applications.

(Ross Daniel) #13

+1 for Brain Octane here too. I’ve found that the C8 oil doesn’t give me any stomach issues like a standard MCT oil did.

(Ann) #14

All this talk about MCT is a bit confusing to me. Why couldn’t we just use Avocado Oil for the same benefit. Sunny_Bunny mentions C8, C10, C12… is that the measure for short chains? I know Avocado Oil is medium chains. What would the difference be between the two to our bodies or health?

(jilliangordona) #15

I like Onnit, they have flavors too. No palm oil is very important for me!

#16

I’ve been talking to the husband and wife at KETOMCT via email and they are amazing. Their site has some of the best info on the net about MCT’s too. Definitely click around, the “Research” tab for info on the product and “About” tab for more info on them. You can also buy multiple bottles to save 10%. Hopefully this post doesn’t get banished to the SPAM section:( They are the only company that seems to be going about it the right way.

#17

Jimmy Moore recently had Dr. Berger on his podcast and I bought the KetoMCT product and I’ve been using it and like it.

There’s nothing wrong with getting MCTs from regular oils, but in the same way that some find grass-fed meat and eggs better than grain-fed, concentrated MCTs like this can be good. I for one notice the difference between eating grass-fed and grain-fed with increased pain, presumably from increased inflammation, when eating too much grain-fed.

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/the-llvlc-show-episode-1198-dr-alvin-berger-notes-that-not-all-mct-oils-are-created-equal/27181

(Kerri Hines) #18

The longer the chain the more breaking down is required to make the energy available. So the shorter the chain the faster the provided energy is available.
C8 is virtually immediate energy.

(mwall) #19

Why can’t I just use the coconut oil without the extra expense of the MCT oil? Does the expeller pressed, organic, unrefined coconut oil cover the mct benefit without buying MCT too? I know there’s “more” in the MCT but isn’t what I’m getting from my regular coconut oil use sufficient?

(Ross Daniel) #20

It depends on your personal goals. For me, C8 MCT has a noticeable effect on my mental acuity. Products like Bulletproof Brain Octane or KetoMCT that are purified C8 caprylic acid, have less disaster pants factor than the normal run-of-the-mill MCT oil. C8 is known as the most potent ketone producing MCT as well. A ketogenic diet itself has helped markedly with my ADHD and by adding in exogenous ketones by way of MCTs in my morning coffee, I notice even greater benefit. So I choose to spend the money.

If you are going for the fat intake specifically and don’t care for the added expense of the MCT oil and don’t notice or care about any perceived benefits from it, then I would continue to use coconut oil, there is nothing wrong with it. I just personally like and can feel the higher ketone levels. :slight_smile: