Is MCT Oil Good for Health?
It’s popular among keto diet adherents, but is MCT oil worth the hype?
Anyone who has explored the science of ketogenic diets has probably run into MCT oil. It’s one of the highlighted ingredients in many popular keto products, including Bulletproof Coffee. And a lot of keto dieters add MCT oil to food in order to boost their meals’ fat-to-carb ratios.
For those unfamiliar with ketogenic diets, the goal is to switch the body’s fuel source from carbohydrate-derived glucose to fat-derived ketones. This switch is thought to promote weight loss, as well as improved energy and enhanced physical and cognitive performance. Some experts say MCT oil may help encourage this metabolic switch.
MCT stands for medium-chain triglycerides, which are a type of fatty acid, says Dominic D’Agostino, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.
“Medium-chain triglycerides are derived primarily from coconut oil and palm kernel oil, and they’re unique in that they have a carbohydrate chain length of six to 12 carbons, whereas the long-chain fatty acids in beef or olive oil are greater than 14 carbons,” he says. “This shorter chain length causes some really interesting changes in the body.”
