Mct Oil for Exercise Performance

Research suggests that MCT oil provides little to no meaningful benefit for exercise performance in healthy individuals, with a 2022 systematic review finding no significant effects on endurance performance, blood glucose, lactate, or fat and carbohydrate oxidation during acute exercise, despite raising ketone levels that the body appeared unable to efficiently utilize as fuel. A separate 2022 systematic review examining ketogenic therapies in Parkinson's disease similarly found no exercise performance benefits in human trials, though animal studies showed more promising results, highlighting a recurring gap between preclinical and human findings in this area. The available evidence includes systematic reviews and a small randomized controlled trial, and while the overall direction of the research is neutral to negative regarding exercise performance outcomes, authors have noted that long-term MCT use in combination with specific dietary strategies, such as a ketogenic diet, remains underexplored. Readers should also be aware that study heterogeneity and relatively small sample sizes limit the strength of conclusions that can be drawn from the current body of evidence.