What Is MCT Powder?
To fully understand what MCT powder is, we first must define the acronym MCT.
MCT stands for medium-chain triglycerides.
Triglycerides, in general, make up the majority of the fats we consume. Within these fats, all triglycerides contain fatty acids, of which there are three main types: long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The chain length refers to how many carbon atoms are in each of the fatty acids.
Most of the oils and oil products you use to make things like stir fry and salad dressings (olive oil, for example) are longer-chain triglycerides, which means they have the highest number of carbon atoms in their fatty acids. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), on the other hand, have (you guessed it) a medium number of carbon atoms — between six and 12, to be exact.
What Does MCT Powder Have to Do With the Keto Diet?
The keto (or ketogenic) diet is one that emphasizes eating more protein and healthy fats and fewer carbs. This high-protein, high-fat, low-carb diet essentially forces the body to go into ketosis, which in turn, helps you reduce body fat over time.
What are the Benefits of Medium-Chain Triglycerides?
The MCTs in MCT powder contains medium-chain fatty acids, and when it comes to your health, this is good. Why? The short answer is that medium-chain fatty acids metabolize faster in the body.
In particular, medium-chain triglycerides do not need to go through the additional digestive steps that long-chain triglycerides do. Instead, they go directly to the liver and are metabolized rapidly there. Because of this, they are less likely to turn into body fat. If you’re hoping to drop body weight or are looking to help your body produce more ketones, this is good news, and it means you’ll want to incorporate more medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs into your diet on a regular basis. Using MCT powder is a great way to do this. MCT powder contains all or some of the four types of MCTs:
Lauric acid (12 atoms of carbon)
Capric acid (10 atoms of carbon)
Caprylic acid (8 atoms of carbon)
Caproic acid (6 atoms of carbon)
Are there other benefits? Yes! In addition to promoting the process of ketosis and being an excellent component of the ketogenic diet, MCT oil powder has additional benefits as well..
How Is MCT Powder Made?
We know what MCT powder contains those healthy, medium-chain triglycerides, but how exactly is the powder form made?
MCT powder is made from MCT oil, which is why it’s sometimes called “MCT oil powder.” Most of the time, MCT oil is made from a combination of coconut oil and palm kernel oil. Both of these oils contain both medium-chain triglycerides and longer-chain triglycerides. A process called fractionation removes only the medium-chain triglycerides from coconut and palm kernel oil and creates the new MCT oil. Then, other ingredients are added to make the oil a powder. For example, maltodextrin is often used to create the starchy powder consistency.
How Can You Incorporate More MCT Powder Into Your Diet?
There are many ways to incorporate MCT powder into your diet — whether you’re following the keto diet or you’re simply looking to improve your overall health with the help of MCTs.
Smoothies
Mix your favorite veggies and keto-friendly fruits with ice, almond milk, and a few scoops of MCT powder for a delicious and nutritious, keto-friendly smoothie.
Nut Butters
Because nuts are so packed with healthy protein and fat, nut butters are the perfect addition to the keto diet in most any form. When they’re also packed with MCT powder like SuperFat’s Macadamia MCT + Probiotics Nut Butter, however, nut butters become an amazing super food that certainly shouldn’t be missed when going keto.
Coffee
One of the best ways to use MCT powder is to add it to your coffee as creamer. It is possible to purchase MCT powder that’s been made specifically into a creamer for coffee, but remember you can also just put a few teaspoons of standard MCT powder into your coffee along with any other desired ingredients.
Do’s and Don’ts with MCT Powder & MCT Oil
- Do not overheat the MCT oil in a frying pan, as it may start to burn. No oil should be heated past its burning point!
- Do not fry with MCT Powder! Although it’s an oil powder, it’s not designed to withstand high heat frying.
- The recommended daily consumption limit for adults of our MCT powder is 30g – no more!
- Do keep your MCT oil or MCT powder in a cool, dry place and avoid direct heat and light exposure.
XI’AN AOGU BIOTECH CO.,LTD is devoted into the research and innovation in natural nutritional supplements ingredients. Our own factory and lab with the strict quality control system to ensure quality stability and real price of MCT powder. At the same time, we have our own source for the raw material to make sure the production ability.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact XI’AN AOGU BIOTECH !