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MCT
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:MCT - Medium Chain Triglycerides}}Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) are fats that are shorter in length than most normal dietary fats (Long Chain Triglycerides or LCTs). MCTs are found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil and butter, as well as being available in pure form. * MCT produces [[Ketones]] even without being part of a [[Low Carbohydrate Diets| Low Carbohydrate Diet]]. ** Ketone levels are higher when on a Low Carbohydrate Diet.** Carbohydrate consumption with the MCT will reduce ketone levels. ** Higher intake of MCT will produce higher ketone levels.** Fasting will increase ketone levels from MCT. * MCT can produce nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. Adaptation and mixing with other foods can reduce the problems. * There are initial indications that MCT will reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's and other memory problems.
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=MCT and the Ketogenic Diet=
Because MCT will increase [[Ketones|Ketone Levels]] without needing [[Low Carbohydrate Diets| Carbohydrate restriction]], they are often used for [[Ketogenic Diets for Epilepsy| epilepsy treatment]]. Small amounts of MCT can be used to increase the ketone levels, or to reduce elevated cholesterol levels while on the Ketogenic Diet<ref name="Kossoff-2011-1809"/>. Larger amounts of MCT are the basis of the [[MCT Diet]], which allow for a greater carbohydrate intake than the traditional [[Ketogenic Ratio Diet]] and therefore more food choices.
=MCT Cost=
MCT is expensive. I've used pure MCT products like [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GK11HK Premium MCT Gold] and [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019LWIOU Dr. Bernd Friedlander MCT Oil], and they are all around $1/oz. You can buy coconut oil, which is about 60% MCT (see below for details), but products like [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EO5Q64 Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil] are about $0.50/oz, which works out around the same price. (Note that products like [http://www.amazon.com/Twinlab-Fuel-Orange-Fluid-Ounce/dp/B001G7R6IU TwinLab Mct Fuel] contain only about 50% MCT.)
=MCT and Ketone Levels=
A 1969 study showed that giving 40ml of looked at how ketone levels changed with MCT<ref name="Freund-1966"/>. Subjects were non-obese healthy adults, mostly on a high carbohydrate diet who did not perform any exercise beyond slow walking after taking the MCT. Unless otherwise stated, the subjects consumed only water after taking the MCT raised . The study measured breath acetone, which is likely to peak sometime after blood AcAc or BOHB levels to 0.43-0.68 mM(Note that from another study<ref name="RegerHenderson2004Musa-Veloso-2006"/>, Acetone at 1.0 µg/100ml breath might indicate blood ketones of BOHB 1.5 mmol/L and AcAc of 0.7 mmol/L, 5.0 µg/100ml might be BOHB 2.7 mmol/L and AcAc of 1.4 mmol/L. Unfortunately there were no See below for details on how long .){| class="wikitable" |- valign="top"|[[File:Freund-1966-SingleDose.jpg|none|thumb|500px|This is the time course of a single 30ml dose of MCT. You can see the peak occurs after 6 hours, though the blood AcAc levels remained elevatedprobably peak sometime earlier.]]|[[File:Freund-1966-DoseResponse.jpg|none|thumb|500px|The effects of different doses of MCT on breath acetone. The 10, 30, 50, or how and 75ml doses produced a linear, proportional increase in Ketones, but the 100ml is disproportionately large. Also note that the peak occurs later for larger doses might further increase ketone levels. ]]|- valign="top"|[[File:Freund-1966-Sucrose.jpg|none|thumb|500px|Even though MCT and Weight Gain=An animal study has shown produces ketones without carbohydrate restriction, it is clear from this graph that overfeeding carbohydrate taken at the same time as the MCT will inhibit ketone production. Note that includes large quantities from a low carbohydrate perspective, this is quite a lot of MCT produced 20% less weight gain than sucrose that is ingested.]]|[[File:Freund-1966-SucroseDoseResponse.jpg|none|thumb|500px|This shows the linear relationship between maximum breath acetone and the same level of overfeeding with LCT<ref namesucrose dose.]]|- valign="Geliebtertop"|[[File:Freund-1983"1966-MCTSucroseDoseResponse.jpg|none|thumb|500px|The effect of 78g of sucrose on the dose/>response of MCT on Ketones. The rats were fed a diet sucrose reduces ketone levels for all doses of 50% of calories as fatMCT, with but the effect is greater at higher MCT diet providing 45% levels.]]|[[File:Freund-1966-Fasting.jpg|none|thumb|500px|The effect of calories fasting on response to 30ml MCT. The dotted line and triangles show the ketone levels from MCTfasting alone. The rats had similar ketone levels of activity in response to MCT are larger after fasting, and insulinthe study noted that a low carbohydrate response resulted in a larger ketone response than a mixed diet. This may because MCTs are raise body temperature (thermogenesisThere was only one subject on a low carbohydrate diet, so no statistical inference can be drawn.)]]|}A study showed that giving 40ml of MCT raised blood BOHB levels to 0.43-0.68 mmol/L<ref name="Mascioli-1991RegerHenderson2004"/>. Another study showed that 1mg/Kg body weight of MCT has is often considered raised blood ketone levels to have a slightly lower calorie density of 0.4 mmol after 30 minutes and 0.8after 120 minutes, falling to 0.3 Calories7 after 300 minutes<ref name="Pi-Sunyer-1969"/>:[[File:MCTKetones1969.jpg|none|thumb|500px|The ketone levels after 1mg/gram compared with 9Kg body weight.1 CaloriesThe units are in mg/gram for LCTdl, so divide by 10 to get the more usual mmol (both BOHB and AcAc have similar conversion ratios).]]==Calculating Blood Ketone Levels from Breath Acetone==A study looked at the correlation between breath acetone and blood ketone levels<ref name="IngleDriedger1999Musa-Veloso-2006"/>. HoweverThe results indicated the following relationships between breath acetone in nmol/L and blood ketone levels in mmol/L.* Acetoacetate (AcAc): Y = AX<sup>B</sup> + C, where A = 3.4884, B = 0.0803, if thermogenesis is taken into accountC = -4.6065.* Hydroxybutyrate (BOHB): Y = AX<sup>B</sup> + C, where A = 5.1365, B = 0.0864, a value of C= -6.72 Calories5048. * Acetone: Y = AX<sup>B</sup> + C, where A = 2.2177, B = 0.1900, C = -5.6040.To convert from µg/100ml used above to nmol/L:* 1 ug/100 ml is 0.001 mg/dL.* 0.001 mg/dL is 0.000172 mmol/L.* 0.000172 mmol/gram would be more appropriate<ref nameL is 172 nmoml/L.Plugging this conversion into the above equations, we get:{| class="IngleDriedger1999wikitable"! ug/100 ml! mg/dL:! mmol/L:! nmoml/>L! BOHB! AcAc! Acetone! Total|-| 1.0| 0.001| 0.000172| 172| 1.5| 0.7| 0.3| 2.5|-| 2.0| 0.002| 0.000344| 344| 2.0| 1.0| 1.1| 4.1|-| 3.0| 0.003| 0.000516| 516| 2.3| 1.2| 1.7| 5.1|-| 4.0| 0.004| 0.000688| 688| 2.5| 1.3| 2.1| 5.9|-| 5.0| 0.005| 0.00086| 860| 2.7| 1.4| 2.4| 6.5|}
=MCT and digestive distress=
MCT frequently causes digestive problems, including nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. There may be several factors that influence the level of digestive distress<ref name="WolinskyDriskell2004"/>:
* '''Other Foods'''. Consuming MCT with other foods reduces the digestive distress.
Personally, I found that even after weeks of taking MCT, I could not consume it on its own without incurring dramatic digestive problems. Mixing MCT with other foods greatly reduced, but did not completely remove, the issues.
=MCT and Athletic Performance=
To follow.
=MCT and Hypoglycemia=
To Follow.
=MCT and Alzheimer's=
There is evidence that MCT can help reduce peoples' memory impairment without carbohydrate restriction<ref name="RegerHenderson2004"/>. A study using elderly dogs showed a long lasting improvement in cognitive ability with MCT supplementation<ref name="PanLarson2010"/>. There are other anecdotal reports of MCT helping with Alzheimer's symptoms<ref name="www.tampabay.com"/>.
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=MCT, Calorific Value and Weight Gain=
An animal study has shown that overfeeding that includes large quantities of MCT produced 20% less weight gain than the same level of overfeeding with LCT<ref name="Geliebter-1983"/>. The rats were fed a diet of 50% of calories as fat, with the MCT diet providing 45% of calories from MCT. The rats had similar levels of activity and insulin. This may because MCTs are raise body temperature (thermogenesis)<ref name="Mascioli-1991"/>. MCT has is often considered to have a slightly lower calorie density of 8.3 Calories/gram compared with 9.1 Calories/gram for LCT<ref name="IngleDriedger1999"/>. However, if thermogenesis is taken into account, a value of 6.72 Calories/gram would be more appropriate<ref name="IngleDriedger1999"/>. This may be critical when using the [[MCT Diet]] if calorie intake is restricted. Given the density of MCT is 0.93 - 0.96 grams/ml<ref name="density"/>, 15ml of MCT would be
=MCT Safety=
MCT is considered safe at 1mg/Kg of body weight, and MCT has been shown as effectively non-toxic in high dose animal studies<ref name="TraulDriedger2000"/>.
=My Experiences with MCT=
* I've found that taking MCT on its own will often produce digestive problems, including nausea and apocalyptic diarrhea. Mixing MCT with other foods can reduce the problems, and I'll take MCT with cream or other foods.
* I found that MCT in larger doses (3+ tablespoons) can produce obvious thermogenesis, resulting in the perception that a cold room is actually overly warm. There is also a sensation of warmth radiating from my stomach, rather like I'd just consumed strong alcohol.
* There seem to be changes in mental functioning, especially with larger doses. MCT can alleviate some feelings of tiredness and improve mental acuity, but it can also result in an unpleasant feeling that is hard to describe. The sensation is a little like how I feel when a migraine is imminent.
{{KetoSeeAlso}}
=References=
<references>
<ref name="density">http://www.sternchemie.de/englisch/b02a1_mct_oil_analytik.html, http://www.sternchemie.de/englisch/b02a1_mct_oil_analytik.html, Accessed on 2 December 2013</ref>
<ref name="Musa-Veloso-2006"> K. Musa-Veloso, SS. Likhodii, E. Rarama, S. Benoit, YM. Liu, D. Chartrand, R. Curtis, L. Carmant, A. Lortie, Breath acetone predicts plasma ketone bodies in children with epilepsy on a ketogenic diet., Nutrition, volume 22, issue 1, pages 1-8, Jan 2006, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2005.04.008 10.1016/j.nut.2005.04.008], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16183255 16183255]</ref>
<ref name="Freund-1966">G. Freund, RL. Weinsier, Standardized ketosis in man following medium chain triglyceride ingestion., Metabolism, volume 15, issue 11, pages 980-91, Nov 1966, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5922367 5922367]</ref>
<ref name="Pi-Sunyer-1969">FX. Pi-Sunyer, SA. Hashim, TB. Van Itallie, Insulon and ketone responses to ingestion of medium and long-chain triglycerides in man., Diabetes, volume 18, issue 2, pages 96-100, Feb 1969, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5763665 5763665]</ref>
<ref name="TraulDriedger2000">K.A Traul, A Driedger, D.L Ingle, D Nakhasi, Review of the toxicologic properties of medium-chain triglycerides, Food and Chemical Toxicology, volume 38, issue 1, 2000, pages 79–98, ISSN [http://www.worldcat.org/issn/02786915 02786915], doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-6915(99)00106-4 10.1016/S0278-6915(99)00106-4]</ref>
<ref name="www.tampabay.com">Doctor says an oil lessened Alzheimer's effects on her husband, http://www.tampabay.com/news/aging/doctor-says-an-oil-lessened-alzheimers-effects-on-her-husband/879333, Accessed on 20 October 2013</ref>
