As women we come across many interesting new ingredients, diets and supplements that claim to have life-changing benefits but don’t exactly live up to the hype that precedes them. Sometimes there is more to health trends than meets the eye and thanks to modern science and research into many of these ingredients we are beginning to understand which are just a “trend/hype” and which have real health benefits.
Today, I’m going to talk about what MCT oil is and show you some of the benefits based on scientific research!
What is MCT oil and what is it good for?
If you’ve looked into the Keto diet (high fat, low carb meals) or you are an athlete then there’s a good chance you may have already heard of MCT oil. MCT oil is a dietary supplement that is derived from coconut oil and is made up of Medium-chain triglycerides.
Without overcomplicating things or going into too much detail here, Medium chain triglycerides are a type of fatty acid that have between six and 12 carbon atoms and are very easily digestible.
In the supplement industry MCT is either supplied as a supplement in itself or used as a filler in for example CBD supplements such as Feminapause. With CBD now being such a strong contender for the natural management of the menopause, scientific research is showing that CBD is more easily absorbed when combined with MCT.
In addition to MCT helping us digest CBD better these are some of the other scientifically researched benefits:
Healthy Gut & Healthy Weight
Opinions on whether MCT oil can help promote a healthy weight are mixed. Research is ongoing but so far it is looking positive.
Research suggests that MCT oil increases the release of 2 hormones responsible for promoting the feeling of fullness: peptide YY and leptin (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition). The same study found that MCT oil lowers the rise in triglycerides and glucose. High triglycerides combined with high cholesterol raise your risk of heart attack & stroke.
Another important factor is the effect the University of Quebec at Montreal found that MCT has on gut microbiome. They found that MCT oil may help improve the growth of good bacteria and support gut lining which in turn supports a healthy weight and wellbeing.
Fitness & Energy-Release
When we exercise lactate levels rise which can cause a decrease in energy-levels. That burning sensation that we often experience towards the end of exercise is a sign of this phenomenon.
Interestingly, MCT may reduce the buildup of lactate which means less muscle soreness and potentially an increase in energy.
MCT oil is also more quickly digested tham LCT (long-chain triglycerides) commonly found in olive oil, soybean oil, fish, nuts. This means that it is made into energy first and not stored as fat in the body.
Another interesting energy-related MCT fact is that it may help your body make ketones as an energy source for the brain! Perhaps a good help for menopause brain fog?
Healthy Heart
The older we get the more important it gets to look after our heart. Our risk of cardiovascular disease increases significantly after the age of 65. Taking preventative measures through living a healthy lifestyle and making healthy choices can make a difference.
It’s important to mention that MCT is not a cure-all but combined with other life-style choices overall can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Things like inactivity, diet (cholesterol), smoking and family history play a role.
MCT oil was proven in a study to increase HDL (good cholesterol) and decrease LDL (bad cholesterol) better than olive oil. It also reduced inflammatory markers that we have linked to the risk of heart disease.
Final Word
We cannot advocate that simply supplementing with MCT oil during the menopause is your knight in shining armour when it comes to well-being. It does make a difference as a contributing factor to your overall health when every little counts.
Adding MCT oil as we mentioned previously enhances CBD absorption and that’s why we added 270mg of MCT to our Feminapause capsules and the Extra Strength Feminapause contains 440 mg of MCT per capsule.
Besides increasing the efficacy of a CBD supplement such as Feminapause, it happens to hit multiple birds with one stone: Cholesterol, heart health, improved gut health, brain energy and more.
