MCT - Medium-Chain Triglycerides
MCT oil is used by athletes as a source of energy for workouts. I was wondering if MCT is really needed when you keep a sugar free diet. So I consulted the one and only, the man who knows all about Fats: Udo Erasmus. In his book “Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill” is a chapter on MCT which enlightened me and I want to share (quote) this knowledge below.
Definition
MCT’s are made by removing fatty acids from tropical oils, separating the fatty acids into glycerol and short-, medium-, and long-chain fatty acid fractions, and reesterfying the medium-chain fatty acids to glycerol, using sodium anhydride. MCT’s are an industrial invention, they do not exist in nature in the concentrated form in which we obtain them from bottles.
Digestions
Instead of having to be transported by chylomicrons in our lympatics, MCT’s fatty acids are absorbed directly into veins, and are transported to all parts of our body by albumin proteins.
Benefits
They do not produce body fat.
In medicine, MCT’s are useful in conditions where fat malabsorption is a problem, or in conditions where liver function is impaired.
Limits of Usefulness
Weight loss: MCT’s are neither necessary nor more than minimally helpful. A natural nutrition, increased activity and dealing with the underlie of the weight problem are more likely to benefit.
My conclusion
If you use MCT as your fat source you do not store fat and you have a quick energy boost. For me its kind of an artificial drug to enhance your performance quickly. Kind of cheating, isn’t it?
