Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder Review

Why use Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder?

Many ketogenic dieters use MCT oil, both liquids and powders. When you first cut carbs from your diet, your body must make the transition from using carbs for energy to using fats. This can take several days to two weeks. It takes this long to fully deplete your onboard supplies of glycogen. Glycogen is stored glucose.

Once your glycogen stores are low enough, your body will start using more fat for fuel, except that it cannot use fat alone for energy. To replace the missing glycogen, your body starts converting fat into ketones – a type of fuel it can use.

Taking MCT oil speeds up and increases ketone production. This helps ease the transition from using carbs for fuel to using fat and can also alleviate many of the symptoms of the keto flu. Keto flu is the name given to how many people feel during the transition into ketosis.

Many keto dieters take exogenous ketones to artificially increase the number of ketones in their body. In contrast, MCTs increase ketone production naturally.

MCTs are present in a lot of foods but in relatively low amounts. Using MCT oil means you can add a lot of this special fat to your diet, and also carefully control the amount you consume.

Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder makes using MCT oil very easy. Simply add the powder to any meal or spoon it into smoothies, carb-free sports drinks, coconut water, or even coffee. Because it is a flavorless, odorless powder, you can add it to almost anything to increase the healthy fat content of your diet.

Because it’s a dry powder, Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder is very easy to transport, store, and use. This is especially good news if you are a frequent flyer and want to carry an MCT oil product on board with you. MCT oils over 100ml are not allowed, but there is no such restriction on dry MCT oil powder.

What are the ingredients

Many MCT oil products are pure medium-chain triglycerides. Quest Nutrition MCT Oil powder is not 100% pure, but that’s because certain ingredients must be added to create a useable, soluble, stable product.

According to Quest Nutrition, the ingredients in MCT oil powder are:

 Medium Chain Triglycerides, Soluble Corn Fiber, Sodium Caseinate, Sunflower Lecithin, Silicon Dioxide.

Ingredients are listed by order of weight, and it’s good to see that MCTs are at the top. However, it’s also worth noting that MCT oil powder also contains milk (in the form of sodium caseinate) and is processed in a facility that also processes eggs, peanuts, soy, wheat, fish, and tree nuts. This means, unlike most MCT oils, this product may not be suitable for people with food allergies.

Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder might not be entirely pure, and does contain a few innocuous additives, but, compared to most processed foods, this really isn’t a big deal. With the exceptions of the potential allergens, none of the ingredients in this MCT oil powder should be considered harmful.

How to use Quest Nutrition MCT Oil properly

The most significant advantage of MCT oil powder over regular MCT oil is that it is more versatile. According to Quest, you can use this product in a lot of different ways to boost your intake of MCTs and increase ketone production.

With regards serving size, one scoop (included) is equal to about 9 grams, and Quest recommends you take 1-4 servings per day. MCT oil powder can be added to warm and cold liquids to make keto-friendly drinks or mixed into food. You can also use it to make bulletproof coffee. Because it is a powder, it blends very easily and is less likely to rise to the top of liquids, as pure MCT oils are prone to do.

The benefits of Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder

Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder offers several benefits, including:

 Increased energy and endurance – in normal circumstances, your body uses glucose for fuel, and glucose comes from carbs. In the ketogenic diet, carbs are off the menu, and your body has to use fat and ketones for energy instead. Because MCTs bypass normal digestion, they are very quickly converted to ketones and provide a rapid-acting but sustainable source of energy. This can be very welcome if you are an exerciser, and MCTs can help you work out harder and for longer.

 Improved mental focus – MCTs increase ketone production and ketones can cross the blood-brain barrier. Your brain usually uses glucose for fuel, but it actually functions better on ketones. A ketone-fueled brain tends to focus and concentrate better, leading to greater productivity. In contrast, on carbs, your brain will probably experience energy ups and downs that could also include brain fog. MCTs are often described as rocket fuel for your brain.

 Weight management – MCTs can help you lose weight through several different pathways. MCTs contain fewer calories than regular fats and also boost your metabolism for a higher daily calorie expenditure. They also provide you with the energy you need to exercise, but any unused MCTs are unlikely to end up being stored as unwanted body fat. MCTs are also linked to increased satiety, less hunger, and fewer cravings, all of which can help you avoid breaking your diet.

 Better cardiovascular health – heart disease is one of the leading causes of premature death in the developed world, especially amongst older men. MCTs can help reduce cholesterol, inflammation, and body weight, three critical risk factors for developing heart disease.

 A pleasant texture for smoothies, coffee, and baked goods – MCT powder mixes more easily than MCT oil and gives your food and drinks a smooth, creamy texture. In contrast, MCT oils do not always mix very well, and may even end up floating on top of whatever you have added them too.

 Better digestive health – a healthy digestive system is crucial for a healthy body. Your digestive system is full of beneficial bacteria whose job it is to keep the lining of your gut in good working order. This, in turn, is important for proper immune system function and for preventing fat gain while speeding up fat loss.

MCTs have been shown to be very good for your good bacteria and can also help reduce harmful bacteria. This creates an ideal environment for a healthy digestive system.

 A smoother transition into ketosis – getting into ketosis can be challenging and is usually accompanied by the keto flu. While not contagious, the keto flu can be unpleasant and lasts for as long as it takes to make the shift from using carbs for fuel to using ketones. Symptoms include nausea, headaches, increased urination, brain fog, fatigue, and hunger. Taking MCTs increase ketone production, and more ketones mean fewer keto flu symptoms.

This is an important benefit because some people experience such unpleasant keto flu that they are unable to stick to their low-carb diet for long enough to reach the health and fat loss nirvana that is ketosis.