MCT Gold and coconut oil are highly recommended for health
After sharing my podcast interview with Dr. Mary Newport earlier this week, I received a large amount of feedback from my listeners about coconut oil and the primary health ingredient found in coconut oil–namely medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. The dramatic turnaround in the Alzheimer’s disease that Dr. Newport’s husband has experienced is motivating a lot of people to try this for themselves.
I first became aware of MCTs when I did a blog interview in 2007 with Dr. Larry McCleary, a neurosurgeon who understands the positive impact of ketone bodies on brain health. He expanded upon this during my podcast interview with him earlier this year and convinced me to give MCT oil a try.
Coconut oil has already been a part of my low-carb lifestyle for the past couple of years and my favorite brand is Nutiva. As I explained to Dr. Newport during our interview this week, most coconut oils that you buy in stores are pretty nasty, look disgustingly yellowish, and smell like a wax candle. The Nutiva brand gives you a delicious, bright white, lightly coconut smell that is the perfect addition to any hot beverage like coffee or tea or to use in cooking foods like chicken and vegetables. You can get a big gallon bucket of coconut oil and it will last you a LONG time.
During the summer months, this white thick oil will become a liquid, so you might want to store it in the refrigerator if you like to scoop it. Conversely, in the winter, the coconut oil becomes hardened when the temperatures dip below 76 degrees inside your house. Finding new ways to incorporate this healthy oil into your diet is half the fun of using it, too! But, if you’re looking for a way to get MCTs into your body, the best way is to use MCT oil directly.
Dr. McCleary noted in my podcast interview with him that you get a potent punch of MCTs when you take several tablespoons MCT Gold daily. As he says, this will “make your body spill lots of ketones” for use as energy for your brain and body. I’ve been taking this for about a month now and I’m anxious to see what impact it will have on my health. But what is this stuff and why is it so important when you are livin’ la vida low-carb?
Many people think that well-developed muscles are evidence of physical fitness. Firm, toned muscles are considered esthetically pleasing and hundreds of thousands of people spend untold hours to appear “muscular.” Their appearance notwithstanding, muscles are specialized tissues that contract to produce body movement.
Muscle cells require great energy to contract, especially during intense exercise and endurance training. Nature has evolved a sophisticated system to produce energy that the body needs. Energy is released when muscle cells break down carbohydrate, fat and protein. The body utilizes these nutrients in rather specific amounts during physical activity. Excess glucose that is not used directly to yield energy is transported via the bloodstream to liver and muscle tissue, where it is stored in the form of
glycogen.
Fat is the body’s most rich source of food energy. Unlike glycogen, fat is stored in the fat cells and, therefore, is less readily available for energy production. In order for fat to be used as an energy source, it must first be broken down into fatty acids, which are then transported by the blood to the muscle to be burned. Protein is required for the repair and recovery of the muscle tissue.
Carbohydrates, especially refined sugars as you well know, are not ideal sources of immediate energy needed to maintain an exercise regimen. That is where MCTs can help the athlete develop stamina and endurance. Medium chain triglycerides are actually not carbohydrates. Rather, MCTs are important fatty acids that provide energy exactly like carbohydrates.
Also known as caprylic and capric acids, MCTs function differently from conventional fats. That means that less fat is absorbed in the body. During intense exercise, MCTs prevent the breakdown of the muscle tissue, since they produce the ketones, which are used directly by the muscle to produce energy and reduce muscle loss. Conventional fats do not produce many ketones. In addition, the MCTs are quickly absorbed and circulate in the bloodstream, and they do not produce fatigue as is common with the consumption of simple sugars.
The MCTs are unique in that they can be turned into energy inside the mitochondria–the powerhouses of energy production in the cell. Conventional fats can be burned only any excess carbs have been burned first. This has important implication in that the burning of MCTs produces more ketones and extends glycogen for prolonging endurance for training and stamina.
Medium chain triglycerides also improve the absorption of amino acids, which are critical for muscle tissue repair. Furthermore, MCTS also improve the absorption of calcium and magnesium. These minerals are needed for amino acid metabolism to improve muscle contraction response time.
The MCTs have been shown to lower cholesterol, and its deposition in various body tissues. In fact, MCTs are digested immediately after ingestion as they are hydrolyzed by the enzyme lipase present in the saliva. Additionally, energy released by the digestion and metabolism of MCTs is converted in the body heat by a process called thermogenesis, which favorably affects the basal rate of metabolism. When the body converts energy into heat, the metabolism increases that, in turn, leads to fat loss.
In short, MCTs are known as “carbo-lipid” for good reason, since they not only prevent muscle loss and increase lean body mass but also lower cholesterol deposition. The MCTs, therefore are a nutrient that has great value for those in endurance training and the “body culture.” And you can say they’re PERFECT for anyone who is livin’ la vida low-carb!
