Joshua Neufeld Writes:    

Are you looking to lose some fat? Add some lean muscle? Feel better? Perform better in your workouts, as well as everyday life? Well then have I got some important information for you! A lot of the time individuals are intimidated (and down-right scared) to eat fat! Now, there is some science to this fear, because eating the wrong fats (saturated and trans-fats) does have a very negative effect on the body in terms of the build-up of plaque in our systems (better known as atherosclerosis) as well as an increase in our bodies poor cholesterol (LDL and VLDL) levels. However, this topic is discussed more in a prior article I posted (check out it out –> HERE). What I want to cover is the science behind MCT fats, or rather, Medium-Chain Triglycerides.

Before I do that I want to go over Long-Chain Triglycerides, and without turning this article into too much of a biology lesson, I want to discuss what this particular form of fat is and how it will differ from Medium-Chain Triglycerides. Most Long-Chain Triglycerides are first hydrolyzed in the small intestine to long-chain fatty acids. These acids are then taken by cells from the small intestine and transported via the lymphatic system to the body. Our body then takes these long-chain fats and distributes them to various tissues, more specifically into our liver and our adipose tissue (fat tissue). When used effectively, these fats can be burned off and used as long-term energy sources for our body to store and use later. WHAT THAT ALL MEANS IS: Long-Chain Fats are for long-term energy, and because the process by which they break down is so long, our body takes time to efficiently use them and we generally will not store our fat intake as fat on our hips! Good news for us, but are these Long-Chain fats ideal for part of our pre-workout nutrition? The answer is: probably not!

Most people assume pre-workout nutrition is based solely on complex carbohydrates. Are these people wrong? Definitly not! BUT, we need to consider what types of exercise bouts we are partaking in. The issue with a dominantly carbohydrate-based pre-workout meal is our body tends to burn off these stores relatively quickly, so our body is forced to tap into a further form of energy, and if this form is not available we tend to suffer from low-blood sugar (whereby, one would suffer from a large headache and forced to stop exercise). This is where our Medium-Chain Triglycerides come in. Medium-Chain Trigylerides are considered ketogenic, or rather they produce “ketones” in our body more rapidly than LCT Fats because they are absorbed rapidly by our small intestine. The metabolism of MCT results in these ketones being carried by the bloodstream to other tissues of the body, where they are used for energy production and utilization at a much more efficient rate. One could almost consider an MCT fat the hybrid of a complex carbohydrate and a Long-Chain Fatty Acid, and thus they are perfect nutrition for exercise bouts lasting 30 to 75 minutes in duration.

 AND, a bonus benefit of MCT fats is that recent studies have found that these Medium-Chain Triglycerides increase the “thermogenic effect” of our bodies, and in turn they cause our bodies to burn more calories even when we are not exercising! One of the most abundant sources of MCT fats is actually found in coconut! Supplementing coconut-oil, as well as unsweetened coconut-meat into your pre-workout meals is a great way to insure that your insulin is stabilized and will set you up for a very effective, and very productive workout!

- Joshua Neufeld