A surprising number of benefits associated with the use of MCT oil have been discovered by researchers. Not all of them have been definitively proven, but there’s plenty of evidence suggesting that moderate amounts of MCT oil are quite good for you.

Weight Loss

The most obvious benefit is the one we’ve been discussing in general terms: weight loss.

MCT oil appears to help keto dieters stay in ketosis, maximizing their reliance on ketones for energy and the fat burning it encourages. An entire industry has been built on the premise of selling MCT oil to people following the ketogenic diet.

However, that’s not the only way that MCT oil seems to encourage weight loss.

Studies have shown that consuming MCT oil makes you feel fuller, and when you’re not as hungry as usual, you’ll eat less. That happens because MCTs encourage the release of two hormones that promote satiety (feeling full), leptin and peptide YY. One study called the reduction in appetite after taking MCT oil “acute.”

There are other potential benefits related to weight loss, too. It appears that MCT oil helps support gut health, particularly in those who are obese but otherwise healthy. By encouraging the proliferation of “good” bacteria in the gut, MCT oil seems to increase the possibility of losing weight.

Here are two more apparent benefits. When we consume LCTs, excess triglycerides are stored in the body as fat. LCTs aren’t; they go straight to the liver where they are used as a source of energy. Finally, MCTs contain fewer calories than LCTs. That doesn’t make a huge overall impact on weight loss, but every little bit helps.

Some research supports the theory that consuming MCT oil, even when you’re not on a keto diet, helps with weight management. The study most often cited showed that the oil helped mice lose weight, but there is also research showing a positive association between medium-triglyceride consumption and lower body weight in humans.

Exercise Endurance

The extra energy boost and fat burning linked to MCTs might certainly help athletes and workout warriors. And there’s another apparent athletic benefit to the use of MCT oil: it apparently can lower lactate levels in the body.

Why is that important? The body’s muscles produce lactic acid during exercise, so lactate levels grow throughout a workout. High lactate levels are what lead to the cramps and aches commonly associated with lengthy exertion.

The seeming ability of MCTs to lower lactate levels lets people exercise for longer periods, theoretically burning more fat. Evidence on MCT oil’s potential to improve performance, however, is still being evaluated.

Diabetes

On a somewhat-related subject, MCT oil appears to help diabetics manage their disease. Much of that benefit seems to be due to MCT’s effects on fat burning and storage since both play a major role in the factors that affect the progression of diabetes.

One study reported that type 2 diabetics who took insulin and consumed MCTs needed considerably less sugar to keep their blood sugar levels in balance than those who consumed LCTs.

Other research found that regular use of MCT oil helped study participants lower their weight, while their insulin resistance (a key factor in the development and progression of diabetes) was lowered.

Heart Health Markers

MCT oil may help with a lot more than weight and related issues. Its benefits seem to cover much of the health and wellness spectrum.

For example, two of the risk factors for heart disease are obesity and high cholesterol levels. We’ve discussed the weight issue quite a bit, but MCT oil has also been shown to be able to improve lipid panels, increasing “good” cholesterol and overall cholesterol levels, and decreasing so-called “bad” cholesterol at the same time.

And a more extensive animal study reported improvements for a number of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease after administration of MCTs.

Cognitive Function

Proponents of MCT oil use have suggested for quite a while that it can help boost brain function and mental clarity.

Much of that belief stems from the use of ketogenic diets to successfully control certain types of epilepsy over the last century. There’s even evidence that MCTs may be even more effective than medication at reducing or preventing epileptic seizures in some patients.

However, research indicates that the effectiveness of MCT oil may go much further than that.

One study found that type 1 diabetics suffering acute cognitive problems during hypoglycemic incidents showed vastly improved brain function after being administered MCTs. Another reported that ingestion of MCT oil boosted memory function in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

And there’s even research showing that MCT oil combined with a gluten-free keto diet may help some children on the autism scale.

Some of the most convincing evidence, though, involves patients with cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease. Administration of MCTs was followed by significant improvement in brain function among patients suffering from mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties

It seems that almost every “good for your health” supplement that you read or hear about is supposed to have powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties. Add MCT oil to that list. MCTs have been shown to possess the ability to help the body fight some of the most stubborn bacteria and fungi around.

OK, so you’re convinced – MCT oil is one of those “good for your health” supplements worth trying.

How do you use it?

The most common way that people consume MCT oil is the one we mentioned at the start of this discussion: they put it into their coffee.

Bulletproof Coffee

“Bulletproof coffee” is the name that’s commonly used to describe the keto concoction that combines black coffee, MCT oil, and either grass-fed butter or ghee (a type of clarified butter). It’s also often called keto coffee.

The Bulletproof name was invented by a businessman and internet marketer who turned keto-friendly coffee into an international craze; he owns several companies selling “Bulletproof” products. The idea, however, is based on the “butter coffee” that’s been drunk in nations like Ethiopia and Nepal for many centuries.

Why put butter and MCT oil into coffee? Because they each provide benefits for keto dieters. We’ve talked at length about the reasons to supplement a ketogenic diet with MCT oil; butter or ghee, however, are there for different reasons. They’re high-quality healthy fats, the macronutrient used to replace carbs in the keto diet.

Keto coffee is easy to make by blending black coffee, 1-2 tablespoons of butter or ghee, and 1-2 teaspoons of MCT oil until they’re the consistency of a latte. Most people drink it to start their day – and that can cause an unforeseen problem for those trying to lose weight.

Bulletproof coffee is filling, so filling that many dieters end up just drinking a cup of keto coffee instead of eating a real breakfast. Any dietitian will tell you that by doing that, they miss out on the important nutrients they’d get from a healthy meal consisting of protein, fruits and veggies.

They also consume the recommended daily maximum of saturated fat (yes, MCTs are saturated fats) in just one cup of bulletproof coffee.

If they have more than one keto coffee per day? That’s not only unhealthy, but it might end up sabotaging their weight loss efforts. Moral of the story: if you’re going to go the bulletproof route, stick with one per day. And remember, you can still add MCT oil to coffee without the extra fat.

Other Ways to Use MCT Oil

The benefits of MCT oil can be realized without drinking coffee at all.

• Try a ready-to-drink beverage that already contains it: A tasty keto coffee substitute like Super Coffee already contains MCT oil along with zero-carb monk fruit sweetener. It has drastically lower levels of saturated fat and calories than bulletproof coffee.
• Add it to other beverages: Smoothies are a popular “delivery mechanism” for MCT oil, and it can be added to virtually any other beverage, including tea. If you’re on keto, be careful what you use to make smoothie bases since most fruits are off-limits or strictly limited. There are lots of great recipes for keto smoothies online, using ingredients like avocado, peanut butter, cocoa powder, coconut milk, and small amounts of berries.
• Use it to make “fat bombs”: Fat bombs are small, tasty snacks made with keto-friendly ingredients, designed to provide quick energy, satisfy a sweet tooth, and deliver a shot of healthy fat at the same time. Again, there are lots of recipes online.
• Use it to make salad dressings or sauces: MCT oil is virtually tasteless, so it won’t ruin the flavor of your favorite dressing. It will just add health benefits to the mix.
• Take it straight: A tablespoon or two of MCT oil will provide all of the oil’s benefits. Start slow, with a teaspoon, and increase from there. One warning: taking MCT oil on an empty stomach can lead to a tummyache.

While we’re on the subject of warnings, we should mention two other potential drawbacks of using too much MCT oil.

Consuming more than 4-5 tablespoons per day can cause liver issues (a backlog of fat in the liver could eventually cause damage). And going over 2-3 tablespoons per day can cause the release of hormones that make you feel hungry – never a good thing when you’re trying to lose weight with the help of MCT oil.