Medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs (MCTs) to release energy

In our time, most athletes are familiar with the basic principles of sports nutrition and energy, at least in broad outline. While from a scientific point of view, the biochemical principles that generate cellular energy are complex, some broad rules stand out, allowing us to stay in a popular science that explains sufficiently without losing you. As you know, glucose, and carbohydrates in general, play a major role in the synthesis of energy . muscular. In fact, the progressive transformation of glucose allows the generation of ATP , One of the body's main energy molecules, although other principles can also be used. However, in sports, carbohydrate intake is particularly important in terms of energy, endurance, and muscle strength. This is especially true since even proteins and the amino acids they contain end up generating glucose, as fats are also transformed in a similar way. However, lipids are a more complex class of macronutrients than they appear; this is the subject of this article.

Macronutrients, including fats, generate energy during physical exercise

Contrary to what many athletes believe, fats are used for energy more often than we think, even during relatively short workouts. Your cells use all the energy sources at their disposal while the body can count on a very large energy reserve in the form of fats stored in adipocytes. These are essentially triglycerides. But then, what are the different types of dietary fats? How will our body use them and under what conditions?

First of all, let us remember that lipids are essential to our health because they participate not only in energy synthesis but also in the maintenance of nervous tissue (and the brain in particular). They are part of the composition of cell membranes, the nuclei of these same cells and the synthesis of androgen hormones from cholesterol. Apart from food, humans can synthesize fatty acids from carbohydrates, except for polyunsaturated fats. There are many different dietary fats and they differ according to the length of their carbon chain and their degree of saturation. fatty acids are composed of a central chain of carbon atoms terminated by an acid function. The length of the carbon chain allows us to distinguish them and give them a name. Similarly, a second criterion concerning the type of bonds, single or double, found between the carbon atoms allows us to characterize them. It is from this criterion that we determine saturated, unsaturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Dietary fats are composed of glycerides, sterols or phospholipids

As for the molecular form of the fats themselves, we find sterols, such as cholesterol, glycerol and glycerides. Phospholipids are a very small minority. Triglycerides are the most common glycerides in humans. They are composed of three groups of glycerides, which are esterified hydroxyls of glycerol. Just remember that these are fats composed of 3 groups of glycerides. Our body stores them in adipocytes, our fat storage cells. These 3 groups of fatty acids can each have between 4 and 22 carbon atoms. The most common have between 16 and 18 atoms. Triglycerides can be hydrolyzed by enzymes, lipases, so that they release their energy from the fatty acids. Then, to determine if they are Omega 3 , 5, Omega 6, Omega 7 or 9, you just need to determine the position of the unsaturated carbon on the carbon chain of the fatty acids. If it is in the third position, it is an Omega 3, in the sixth position, it is an Omega 6, etc.

Medium-chain triglycerides have some energy advantage

MCTs (in English Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) is already well known in the world of dietary supplements. While several supplement brands have already offered it as energy source Since the 1980s, this has been for several good reasons. This is because medium-chain triglycerides can be quickly broken down into fatty acids by lipases and pass directly into the bloodstream.

These MCTs thus avoid digestion by pancreatic juice and bile. MCTs (or MCTs) contain 8 carbon atoms (octanoic acid) or 10 carbon atoms (capric acid) or 12 carbon atoms (lauric acid). They therefore pass more easily into the bloodstream to bring energy to your cells by being oxidized more quickly than fats with longer carbon chains. Indeed, from an energetic point of view, they are very interesting because they also allow you to save glucose. Indeed, MCTs in capsule or liquid form were very popular with bodybuilders in the 1990s. Glycogen savings, as well as increased fat oxidation, have been observed in several scientific studies carried out with athletes.

Medium-chain triglycerides are relatively rare but are most commonly found in coconut oil.

From a dietary perspective, these famous medium-chain triglycerides are found in butter in a fairly modest way (less than 10% of the total fats), but it is in coconut oil that they are most numerous and account for approximately 60% of the fats present. From a sports perspective, MCTs are interesting because they provide energy quickly while saving glycogen, without causing insulin release. MCTs are also an ideal source of ketone bodies for ketogenic diets because they produce more than long-chain triglycerides. Transported directly to the liver, they provide rapidly available energy. If, for example, you are in a cutting period and are looking to improve your muscle definition, TCMs will give you energy during training while saving your glycogen, thus reducing catabolism linked to a drop in blood glucose levels. Medium-chain triglycerides also have the advantage of containing slightly less energy than long-chain triglycerides. They provide 7 calories/gram compared to 9 for other types of fat.