Weekly Research Discussion: MCTs - Page 2

**MikeMartial** · 11-05-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monger

What's that?

24h mountain bike race.

24 Hours of Adrenalin?

Steakeater · 11-05-2009, 03:14 PM

Does anybody know the energy cost of metabolizing MCT? Supposedly high thermic effect, like protein, not sure how much though

Vedic · 11-05-2009, 07:19 PM

BTW Mike, quite a bit of your diet will change. Although not as much as most would think. Also depends on the altitude you are competing as to what you want to intake during a race like that.

Steakeater · 11-05-2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeMartial

Awesome stuff, Romi. Consuming MCTs is one way to put yourself into ketosis WHILE still consuming carbs. The rapid shift in substrate utilization makes it a great preWO supplement. My own use of MCTs, in the form of coconut oil, has creeped up every month. Seems I'm putting it in everything these days.

Dr. BG has some great thoughts on MCTs, although specific to body comp and not athletic performance:
Animal Pharm: Body Fat Loss: Saturated Fat Kicks the Cr*pola Out Of Olive Oil

the main basis for using MCT as superior for fatloss and body comp compard to other oil is for the thermic effect

Physiological Effects of Medium-Chain Triglycerides: Potential Agents in the Prevention of Obesity -- St-Onge and Jones 132 (3): 329 -- Journal of Nutrition

gram for gram, you are using more energies and calories to digest mcts, much like protein. Research says about 8%, compared to 2% of other fats I think

MCTs also beat out olive oil in satiety

Vedic · 11-05-2009, 07:37 PM

The thermic effect is nill. I mean it is there. However will it last as long as the effect of a metcon or sprint session? No. Don't get me wrong in foods such as cocunut milk etc, I see no problem with it. But to take MCT oil as a supplement for performance for body comp, is just futile when so many options work better.

Monger · 11-06-2009, 08:28 AM

Research as a whole doesn't support MCT's for increased performance anyway. Even the study in question references 7-8 other studies that all show MCT's don't do shit for performance.

And I agree with Vedic on the thermic effect, I mean, unless you're directly replacing a lot of other dietary fat with a lot of MCT's chronically... it's just not going to have any significant impact. And by a lot, I'm thinking probably beyond practicality. I mean, you'd be talking about only a ~50 calorie difference per 100g of fat. You'll never notice jack shit from it.

MuyThaiFighter · 11-06-2009, 10:52 AM

Increased performance vs. what though? MCTs vs. taking nothing would certainly provide increased performance. 15 grams MCTs vs. 15 grams of sugar would probably be an improvement. Are they better than the perfectly concocted preWO formula? Probably not, but I don't think you can say a decent source of energy doesn't increase performance.

Monger · 11-06-2009, 11:33 AM

MCT vs. CHO
MCT vs. CHO + MCT
MCT vs. CHO + LCT

And maybe more, I don't know. Research on MCT’s effect on performance is not new. I'm not even sure why the authors of this study cared enough to do it. Like I said before, they themselves discuss and reference at least 9 other studies that showed MCT's had no significant effect on performance compared to the above.

**Sinister** · 11-06-2009, 11:40 AM

If you ask me, "effect on performance" is a relative term. If a person doing a very strict ketogenic (or very low-carb) eating regimen is using MCT's as a source of fat, or for it's ability to accelerate reaching ketosis, in which case it has to be used properly, not gratuitously, which most people do, then their performance is going to be most significant of the big picture of what they're doing, not simply the use of MCT's. I don't know why anyone would have studied the effects of MCT's on performance ever, in reality, because it's just a source of fat. This may be one of those places where the lines between "performance enhancing supplement" and simplified food sources may have been too far blurred.

If I'm using a nutritional regimen where fat is my primary source of fuel, then most fat is fair game and efficient. But I would never eat cheese thinking "man, am I going to run faster and punch harder!"...just because of the fat content.

Bulletproof · 11-06-2009, 11:42 AM

I believe Muscle Milk claims the fat in their whey are MCT. Olive Oil is high quality source of monounsaturated fat and good for controlling LDL cholesterol.