What is MCT in CBD Oil?

It’s always a good idea to read the labels of products that you are going to consume. I mean who doesn’t want to know what they are putting into their body, right? If you are prone to reading the labels then you have most likely seen MCT Oil listed as an ingredient in your favourite CBD products.

You might be wondering what on earth this mysterious ingredient is. Is it a magic formula? Is it a synthetic carrier oil developed by mad-scientists? Will it give you superpowers? Ok, now we’ve gone a bit far but seriously, there’s always so much uncertainty that surrounds unheard of ingredients.

MCT Oil is a product that seems to be popping up more frequently as a significant ingredient that can be found in the best CBD Oils on the market. With a growing amount of interest in MCT Oil, the purpose of this article is to address the question of what exactly it is and to settle any concern you may have about what is going into your body. No doubt you will be pleasantly surprised when you learn more about this mystery ingredient.

CBD Oils are Increasingly Using it, But What is MCT Oil?

MCT is the abbreviation for “medium chain triglyceride” which are types of fats that can be found in certain oils and dairy products. MCT oil is a supplement made of these fats and is often found in coconut oil and palm kernel oil. In essence, medium chain triglycerides are the compounds that give the incredible therapeutic and cleansing properties to health and beauty products like coconut oil.

Coconut oil has long been considered to be a ‘miracle product’ that is great to take care of anything from inflammation to thinning hair and even damaged skin. But, it’s not actually the coconut that gives coconut oil all of these phenomenal properties. It’s the MCT Oil that holds the key. It might be surprising to hear that studies have actually shown that pure coconut oil is not all that it seems to be in terms of health benefits.

You see, in addition to its medium-chain triglycerides (MCT’s) content, coconut oil is also full of “long-chain triglycerides,” or LCT’s. Unfortunately, LCT’s don’t offer the same health benefits as MCT’s do. LCT’s are a lot more difficult for the body to digest, metabolize and use as an energy source than MCT’s. Most naturally-existing fats that can be found in coconut oil (like LCT’s) are stored in the body, rather than burned as energy. This is not a good thing for the metabolism, cardiovascular health and a range of other potential health problems.

MCT’s however, have proven to be easily metabolised and used as energy by the digestive system. You could say that they have the opposite effect of LCT’s and other fats found in coconut oil. They become available almost immediately to be used as natural fuel and rather than being stored as saturated fat in tissue, they are absorbed by cells and used to give the body a clean, ultra-efficient supply of energy. Yes, MCT oil is the good stuff!

So you probably thinking by now, this all sounds great, but where does MCT oil come from? Well, “real” MCT oil is a laboratory-produced, synthetic oil, that is a combination of medium chain triglycerides from both palm oil and coconut oil. In fact, “medical-grade” MCT oil that has been lab-produced, is not even available for commercial or retail supply.

There is, of course, a downside to this which is that consumers have no way of knowing what they are buying when they purchase a product that has been labeled as MCT oil. Jessica Crandall is a registered dietician, and she claims that there is no way of telling how legitimate these oils are, especially in terms of verifying that they contain medium-chain triglycerides rather than long-chain ones. The technology that is used to separate these two kinds of fats is not an easy process which means that mistakes can easily be made. Health stores will sell MCT oil for between $15-$20. If you come across an inexpensive product labeled as MCT oil from a random and generic brand that you have never heard of, it’s most likely a fake. If lab-grade MCT oil were made 100% legitimate and available for retail purchase, experts estimate that a tiny 8 oz jar would cost anything from $200. Shocking, we know.

Is CBD Oil with Coconut Oil Bad for You?

All this talk about MCT Oil and MCTs and LCTs, along with the other not so good fats that are found in coconut oil, might now have you thinking that pure coconut oil is a “bad” thing to use in CBD. But rest assured, this is not the case. We can’t ignore the fact that there is bound to be a lot of “marketing buzz” surrounding MCT Oil. After all, it is the latest new trend, the hot new product on the market. Just like any popular product that takes the world by storm, manufacturers are now very eager to add “contains MCT oil” to the labels of their top-shelf CBD oils. After all, this is what sells, since MCT is the new hot topic.

To add to this debacle is the fact that because there are currently no real regulations or guidelines in place for MCT oil, businesses can pretty much market and sell these products however they please, with no implications. In other words, legally speaking, they can get away with labeling a product as “MCT,” so long as it contains a combination of palm oil and coconut oil, which is the official MCT oil recipe. Since these two oils provide a great source of medium-chain triglycerides, you can have an MCT certified oil regardless of whether you first extracted the more harmful long-chain triglycerides (LCTs).

This makes things very difficult for the consumer. How are you supposed to know whether CBD oil that claims to contain MCT oil is legit or not? Unfortunately, there is no quick solution. Often companies will display third-party lab testing results for you to see on their website and online store. However, it's very unlikely that they would let you know whether the carrier oil contains “medium-chain triglycerides” as opposed to “long-chain” ones.

If it’s something this is of a big concern to you, you could always try getting in touch with the manufacturer or company directly. This is probably your best option for finding out if the MCT oil is legit or not. You can contact them and ask what MCT oil is. If they go into in-depth detail explaining how they separate the medium chain fats from the long chain fats by combining coconut oil and palm oil, it sounds as though they know what they are talking about and you can probably assume that they are a legit brand. But if they seem to be caught off guard by your question and don’t quite know what to say, then you should probably find a different manufacturer.

Last but not least, although we don’t like to believe it, there is a lot of truth in the age old saying “you get what you pay for.” If you want a top quality CBD product, containing legit MCT oil, you need to be prepared to pay top dollar for it.

Final Thoughts on MCT Oil and CBD

MCT Oil is a combination of coconut oil and palm oil and is believed to be a more superior version of each oil. This is because long-chain triglycerides, which are difficult to metabolise and often end up as stored fat has been extracted from the MCT oil. MCTs are the goodness found in coconut oil and palm oil, and therefore, MCT Oil is thought to be an incredible product.

As with just about any cannabis products on the market, always keep your wits about you when purchasing MCT Oil. With no real regulations surrounding this product, it’s very easy for manufacturers to produce ‘fakes’ and sell them off as the real deal. Having said that, if you lucky enough to find a high-quality CBD product that contains MCT oil, the results are wonderful. You will probably never switch back from using products that contain MCT oil.

SOURCE
https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/what-mct-oil-superfood-ingredient
https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/coconut-oil-might-not-be-healthy-you-think

Thank you for reading! Follow us and leave a comment with what topic you want covered in the next post!

Read more:

What is Inflammation and How CBD Can Help Combat It
Top 10 Cannabinoids and What They Do)
THC vs CBD- The Major Differences (Infographic)