Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT oil)

[Strateg0s]

MCT oil is great for you. 8.3 calories per gram, and it gets used for energy instead of easily getting stored as fat.

Name brand MCT oil is expensive, something like $40 per liter. Fractionated coconut oil is essentially the same thing as MCT oil, but it costs about $30 per gallon if you know where to look. Fractionated coconut oil is about 2/3 capric acid (C8) and 1/3 caprylic acid (C10), which just happens to be the same, for example, as MCT gold, which costs 2-4x as much.

(here (http://www.health-n-sport.com/energy/mct_gold_medium_chain_triglyceride_oil_1_liter_33_ 8_fl_oz.htm)'s an example write up on MCT oil)

Note that MCT oil doesn't go rancid quickly like many oils, so you can buy a year's supply and not worry about it - less trips to the store or less shipping costs.


- If a post like this saves you money, time, or solves a problem for you, think about throwing a donation at the board: it's an honor system -
Or at least take a few minutes to make a thoughtful and helpful post yourself.

[Easterner]

I did a quick google search and everything that came up about Fractionated coconut oil was advertised as massage oil. Would it be fine to use? And cost $49.00 per gallon.
I love using coconut oil for extra cals and energy. But mct oils were to expencive to keep using and I have to spoon the coconut oil in and wash it down with my shake. I would love to get it in liquid form so it can just be mixed into my shakes. Want to share were you get yours?

[leeroy]

Curious. What exactly is a medium chain triglycerite? Is is just basically oil for cals?

[Strateg0s]

Basically MCT oil is just a way to get lots of calories (8.3cal/g) without worrying about it converting to fat. Medium chain triglycerides go straight to the liver to be burned for energy, whereas if you were getting the calories from normal fats, you'd be more likely to end up wearing it. This shouldn't be a huge deal for people living an active lifestyle, but bodybuilders who are trying to consume a lot of calories, getting extra calories from MCT oil is going to be better than getting it from unhealthy fats or carbs. You shouldn't go overboard on this stuff though, not more than a tablespoon at a time, and ramp up your dose to that, or your GI tract might disagree with you on it.

Here's one place (US) to get good quality fractionated coconut oil, $32/gal
http://www.essentialwholesale.com/product_p/533.htm
I'll have to dig around in my bookmarks to find others. In Canada Wellnaturally.ca has it, but that's $24/L, which defeats the purpose. Lynden House could probably supply it, but I don't see it there now.