MCT Oil
| Ⓒ By Jonathan Roseland |
I'm not a doctor, medical professional, or trained therapist. I'm a researcher and pragmatic biohacking practitioner exercising free speech to share evidence as I find it. I make no claims. Please practice skepticism and rational critical thinking. You should consult a professional about any serious decisions that you might make about your health. Affiliate links in this article support Limitless Mindset - spend over $300 and you'll be eligible to join the Limitless Mindset Secret Society.
Medium-chain triglycerides are 1/3rd of the ketogenic breakfast of champions!
This article is mostly going to focus on decoding what the human studies are saying about MCT and how this squares up with the anecdotal experiences of Biohackers online. For more of my own personal experiences, thoughts, and comparisons, please see the written and video reviews in the sidebar.
Summary of recent MCT science
You've probably heard before about all the fantastic health benefits of MCT oil, as there are a million podcasts and articles about them, so here I summarize some recent MCT findings. There are over 40 items of human research published in the past five years alone...
A 2021 British study confirmed other research on the satiating properties of medium-chain triglycerides - it reduces "energy intake" needs in both healthy and overweight people. You'll feel full and pleasantly free of food cravings.
A 2019 American clinical trial published in the esteemed journal PLoS One gave MCT oil to non-diabetic subjects for 6 weeks to measure the effect on insulin resistance and found that...
MCT were well tolerated and weight remained stable... Fasting REE, respiratory quotient, and body composition were stable during the intervention. There were no significant changes in mean fasting glucose, insulin, insulin resistance, fasting total ketones
So, at least according to this study, the MCT oil itself didn't have that much effect on insulin sensitivity - that's what you do the fasting for!
A 2021 Japanese paper suggests MCT oil as an alternative source of energy in the brain of [Alzheimer's Disease] patients.
Interestingly, a 2021 Chinese study used MCT oil as a massage oil, and they found that massaging it into the skin of preterm low-weight babies helped the babies to grow (a little). The study notes (importantly), No adverse events were noted in the massage groups, and concludes...
The results indicate that preterm infant daily massage with MCT oil is an effective intervention for weight gain that should be recognized as part of low-birth-weight infant developmental care.
Fasting vs MCTs?
A big question that biohackers have about fasting is...
Do I still get all the benefits from fasting if I'm drinking coffee with butter and taking supplements?
To simplify a bit, yes. It's not exactly the same as doing a 24-hour water (or dry) fast, where you get the full autophagy benefits, but it still does signal some scarcity to the body and will help you shed pounds (or should I say kilos - as I reside in Europe?).
Sources
Don't simply pick-up whatever MCT oil is on special on Amazon or at your local health food store (rookie mistake). Here are a few credible sources that meet my high standards...
I like PureBulk.com as they provide a clean certificate of analysis verifying the purity of their MCT oil. Bulletproof (the originators of Bulletproof Coffee - which they amazingly haven't raised the price on in over a decade) takes a lot of pride in their Keto products, so their (spendier) XCT MCT Oil is worth trying.
If you're a Biohacker ballin' on a budget, good news: a natural source of MCT is coconuts, my $1 diet-hack.
Downloadable MCT?
You may be interested in taking it as an infoceutical - a non-pharmacological, side-effect-free version of the supplement that takes advantage of the phenomenon of water memory, which is imprinted on water via quantum collocation and electromagnetism using this device...
Infocueticals typically have 1/3 or half the effect of the actual medicine being imprinted. If you're skeptical of Infopathy, that's understandable; it's a game-changing application of a little-known scientific phenomenon. But I'd urge you to evaluate the scientific evidence (presented in my biohacker review) that downloadable medicine is no longer science fiction...
Biohacker Review: MCT Oil Powder - 1/3rd of the breakfast of champions!
I've been starting my mornings with some extra Ketosis-powered pep in my step after sipping MCT-infused coffee. I dump about a half scoop of the powder into my coffee along with some Irish butter and cinnamon. On 24-hour fast days, I'll do a full scoop - this helps keep hunger cravings at bay. The Jucy Watermelon flavor I didn't love, but the coconut-flavored powder tastes great; that's what I'll be reordering! Bulletproof-style coffee is the way that many high-performance biohackers around the world choose to start their days; it provides many of the benefits of fasting without the arduous cravings. The butter and MCTs provide the fat and amino acids you need to absorb the Nootropics and supplements you take in the AM.
Stack it with Ketones?
Day 1 - Tastes heavenly!
I woke up very early, excited to try the Ultra Human's (since discontinued) Ketones+MCT supplement. It's a generic white powder that takes on a pinkish hue when mixed into a glass of cold water, and it tastes heavenly! The powder clumps a bit, so you'll need to stir a bit as you sip. I started with a low dose and dumped about a quarter of a scoop. As is keto practice, I did an intermittent fast, skipped breakfast, and waited till the early afternoon to have lunch.
- Subjectively, I'm not sure how much it affected my appetite or general state. I'm pretty accustomed to a caloric restriction, and the urge to eat in the morning is not overwhelming for me.
- I did combine it with a single capsule of Tao, which is a quintessentialNootropic; I was very focused and energetic for at least several hours.
- Interestingly, later that evening during my cardio workout I got an incredible oxygenated headrush. When I did pull-ups and leg exercises, the parts of my body being exerted tingled intensely. Usually, that doesn't happen to me while working out!
I'll report back on the subjective effects of taking it when I work out in the morning, and taking it alone without any Nootropics.
1 Month
I've been starting my mornings with this delicious stuff for about a month now.
- It has nicely complemented my morning fasting.
- I find that it makes me more energetic, wakes me up, and relieves a bit of the impulse to eat or snack while fasting.
- I combined it with Amino Code by Ultra Human. I can't tell a big difference in taste between the two, nor is there a big experiential difference.
A keto-powered vacation
I took the two products with me on an 8-day vacation to the Black Sea coast. People tend to totally cheat on their diets while on vacation because they booze at night and then wake up hungover and binge on pizza, junk food, or snacks.
- We did a bit of cheating on our diet and drinking, BUT not every day, and taking the Keto boosters in the mornings, we managed to resist the temptation to splurge on junk food in the morning.
- We stayed pretty active the whole time and did activities every day.
- I managed to read most of the book I brought.
- On vacation, we had quite vigorous sex at least twice a day - for 8 days! This was a pretty good male performance for me. This probably has more to do with my liberal usage of Horny Goat Weed, though, than the Keto boosters.
- A girl who is a kickboxing instructor issued me a bit of a video challenge. In response, one morning, I created this silly video of me practicing martial arts on the beach.
What is Beta-Hydroxybutrate (BHB)?
From Dr. Lee Know's recent book...
In particular , researchers have identified the beneficial role of beta - hydroxybutyric acid ( the one ketone body that’s not actually a ketone ) . It is produced by a low - calorie diet and might be the key to the reduced risk of age - related diseases seen with calorie restriction . Over the years , studies have found that restricting calories slows aging and increases longevity , but the mechanism behind this remained elusive . New studies are showing that beta - hydroxybutyric acid can block a class of enzymes , called histone deacetylases , which would otherwise promote free - radical damage . (2844-2849)
Intermittent Daily Fasting
Five days a week, try to practice what the world's leading anti-aging researchers and biohackers recommend enthusiastically: a daily fast of about 16 hours. Do all your eating and snacking within an 8-hour window; for most people, this means eating a large, filling dinner around 9 PM, going to bed, skipping breakfast, and eating a substantial lunch with lots of healthy fats around 1 PM. This puts your body into a ketogenic state, burning fat instead of glucose.
- At first, it may be excruciating to fast for 16 hours, but quickly you get used to it and it doesn't really bother you.
- Skipping breakfast and snacks ends up saving you quite a bit of time and money.
- Avoid eating carbs, sugar, or bread, especially when you're fasting, as your body will switch back over to glutamate.
- As long as you're feeding your brain lots of the healthy fats it needs, you'll have plenty of energy.
If you're a performance enhancement junkie, you'll want to consume some high-quality MCTs while in a fasted state. Many do this by starting their morning with a Bulletproof-style coffee mixed with butter and MCT oil.
But if you want to experience all the cognitive and longevity benefits of Ketosis that you hear everyone online ranting and raving about, you don't want to consume just any old MCTs; you're going to have to be very discriminating!
- You're going to want to avoid the useless and harmful MCTs: lauric acid, C6, and C12.
- Be wary of impure MCT products; a certified organic stamp is not enough. Ideally, you want to see the manufacturer's certificate of third-party analysis with a spectroscopy report evidencing above 97% purity, which is considered pharmaceutical grade.
- Of course, you'll want to avoid anything containing artificial sweeteners, coloring, or weird chemicals with names you can't pronounce!
If you can't afford or can't get your hands on high-quality MCTs, try intermittent fasting anyway; it's still a smart lifehack for health and productivity!
A performance enhancer featured in fiction
I included a brief mention of it in my Cyberpunk novel about Biohacking, Hourglass...
These games were incredibly focus-intensive; they employed a gamified working memory task so that the game’s challenges took up more of the RAM-like working memory of the conscious mind. Many players consume absurd amounts of caffeine to push the envelope…
Amateurs! I dabble with the Modafinil molecule to augment my gaming skills. It’s like being on three strong cups of coffee for nine hours - minus the twitchiness. If I’m competing and need to bring next-level game, I stack it with a tablespoon or two of MCT oil, which switches your brain to burning ketones instead of carbohydrates. It is tantamount to putting Super Unleaded gasoline instead of dirty cooking oil in the fuel tank of a V8 Mustang before a day at the track. Together, they make you a scary-smart, focused gamer with the reflexes of a cat.
Take MCT is my plea...
Yeah, it's pretty awesome. If you haven't tried it in Bulletproof-style coffee (it lives up to the hype!), what are you waiting for? I'll leave you with the rousing chorus of the dumb/awesome AI song I made about MCT oil...
One third of the breakfast of champions!
Blend it in smooth — feel the fire within!
From sunrise hustle to the zen-work spin,
Medium-chain triglycerides keep the wheels turning again.
It’s a bright-day brew for the sharpened few,
Coffee, courage, and something new.
Nootropic Ingredients
Photos
Videos
-
{{#owner}}
-
{{#url}}
{{#avatarSrc}}
{{name}} {{/url}} {{^url}} {{#avatar}} {{& avatar}} {{/avatar}} {{name}} {{/url}} - {{/owner}} {{#created}}
- {{created}} {{/created}}
