FOCUS ON...MCT Oil for Runners

Can MCT OIL promote your running performance?You may have read a great deal in the media and in magazines about how MCT oil as a supplement could enhance your running performance. As a result, maybe you are considering using it to support YOUR training. If so, then this episode is for you. We outline exactly what MCT oil is and WHY it is thought to support endurance exercise….BUT….does it?...continue listening to find out.We will:Outline WHY we are talking about Coconut derived MCT oil today Explain WHAT MCT oil is and how it is thought to support a runner….or not! Give TIPS on how to introduce it into YOUR meal and supplement plan…if indeed it would be appropriate for YOUSHOW NOTES(08:01)Uncovering WHY we chose to speak about this subject. Runners, just like the general population, are often looking for the “magic bullet” to help improve their performance as well as their general health. But we know the magic bullet doesn’t exist…although food and nutrition is known to help support health and performance. BUT…could MCT oil support performance or not? This is the question we aim to answer from an evidence-based point of view beginning with some background information on MCTs and the evidence for their use in medical conditions including: liver dysfunction and malabsorption conditions including Coeliac and Crohn’s Disease. In the 1990s the world of Sports Nutrition then began to explore the use of MCT oil as an additional energy source to the well-established use of carbohydrates….and it continues to be researched today.  (16:47)Exploring WHAT Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) are; in short, they are a form of saturated fats, which are generally synthesized from coconut oil and get their name from the length of their chemical structure. Moving on to delve into HOW MCT oil may support a runner, if indeed it can!! A review paper written in 2022 suggests that, at present, the evidence for its use as an ergogenic aid is limited and not substantiated sufficiently for a nutritionist or other qualified practitioner to be recommending it. This review paper and other research papers suggest some of MCT oil’s limitations may be due to its tendency to cause digestive symptoms when taken orally in amounts greater than 30g per serving. Some digestive symptoms are severe including” vomiting and diarrhoea mostly occurring during or following exercise.  (28:03)Discussing MCT oil and its potential to support a healthy body composition. This is an area of research that has had more positive outcomes. An appropriate or optimal body composition would certainly help enhance a runner’s performance, therefore MCT oil may indirectly improve running performance. MCTs are thought to help maage body composition due to their ability to: Increase satiety at each mealReduce food intake overallBe burned as heat (thermogenesis) therefore very little deposited as body fat(38:41)FEMALE FACTORSThere is very limited information, however an older study (2003), having obese women as participants, concluded that MCTs (when compared to Long Chain Triglycerides) had more significant positive effects on:Energy expenditureBody composition Fat Oxidation (the use of fat as fuel) The same study also concluded that using MCTs instead of LCTs in a targeted energy balanced diet offered better protection from long-term weight gain and suggested this was due to MCTs effects on energy expenditure and fat-burning abilities. BUT…this is data from one paper only and it is quite an old paper, however more recent research does appear to support this theory.(41:20)Providing some TIPS on introducing MCT oil into a