MCT oil or powder in the bottle

Nutrition
1

Whats everyones take on MCTs, so called medium chain triglycerides?

I bought some powder and I was thinking it could be a good way to get more calories into a bottle, for example when starting at a grand fondo or long ride. I don’t think they make me faster, but maybe a nutrious addition to just increased sugar content.

Besides, I caught a fresh bottle at the Tour de Suisse this tear and I could swear there was some kind of “fat” in there…but well…maybe me just imagining things…

Anyones else has been experimenting with those?

2

My thoughts are

  1. Won’t it slow down gastric emptying?
  2. If 1 then it will slow down carbohydrate digestion and use
  3. Carbohydrates are the limited resource during endurance exercise not fats
  4. Will it mean you are able to burn more fat per minute than if you hadn’t ingested them?
  5. If 4, and 2 then won’t it hamper the CHO with not as much gain from fatox?
1 Like
3

well how many calories do you expect from fat? One thing to remember is water and fat don’t mix and therefore any real fat unless it has been micro-encapsulated will not stay in solution. At 9 cal/g vs 4 cal/g the math does not show benefit per bottle. The other point is there is another discussion on here about fat oxidation and how it only happens at low efforts and that once carbo oxidation starts fat oxidation seems to take a back seat. that topic is When going over zone 2.

4

Got a little busy.

From my experiment, solution is not a problem, I can add 20g to a 750 mL botte and goes into solution fine. Its drinkable and tastes good, however my stomach did feel funny. Calories worked in a way that I was not hungry at all after a Z2 ride, such that I didn‘t even want dinner. Frankly, though, the feeling in stomach was not great.

Having said all that, recent review suggests as someone pointed out, if there is glucose the fat isn‘t touched that much and in a amateur race, probably its easier just have a bar instead.

Review:
The Effects of Medium-Chain Triglyceride Oil Supplementation on Endurance Performance and Substrate Utilization in Healthy Populations:
A Systematic Review
https://doi.org/10.7570/jomes22028

Well thats that for me.

5

If you’re going full keto, MCT is great especially when you need a mental boost. If you’re not keto, I never noticed the same benefits… And if you’re not keto, then what’s your goal in these races? If it’s to maximize performance, simple carbs are the way to go. If it’s just to have good general fitness, then I always prefer real food (I always liked the options in feed zone cookbooks, rice bars, nut balls, waffles)

1 Like
6

Thanks everyone, I didnt pursue these any further.