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Today we are investigating MCT oils, said to be good for beauty, health, and nutrition. We know a lot of people are just itching to try these medium-chain triglyceride oils in their smoothies, coffee, or salad dressings, but with all the different brands out there, how do you know which ones are the best to try?
Luckily, our editors searched Japanese e-commerce sites like Amazon, Rakuten, and Yahoo! Shopping for the 14 most popular MCT oils. Then we put them to the test!
With the help of three oil sommeliers from the Japan Oil Beauty Association (JOBA), we examined each MCT oil for the following three criteria.
So just which MCT oil has the best balance of taste and aroma? Use this article as a reference to help you make your purchase!
She's an Oil and Clay Sommelier at JOBA, the chairman of an organic oil cosmetic school, and was the leader of a beauty workshop at the OIL in LIFE EXPO in 2018.
Chef and coordinator or events and seminars as a JOBA recognized oil sommelier. She has a reputation for making food good for both the mind and body throughout each season. She creates recipes, gives lectures on oil, and runs cooking classes focused on Japanese medicinal foods. http://instagram.com/LEBEAUCUISINE
She's a senior sommelier at Japan Oil Beauty Association (JOBA), and she also works as a ground employee at a foreign-owned airline company. She's also a recognized lecturer and leader at JOBA's head office.
mybest US' editing team consists of experienced members who have backgrounds in writing, editing, translation, and more. We are dedicated to researching what makes a product or service the best to users in the US in order to create top-quality articles. From skincare, to kitchen appliances, and to DIY supplies, our mission is to find the best ones for you.
The expert oversees the Buying Guide only, and does not determine the products and services featured.
A lot of people say that using MCT oil is a great way to maintain health and beauty, but what is it about it exactly?
Let's take a look at some of the characteristics of MCT oil.
MCT stands for medium chain triglyceride, which is a kind of fatty acid. It's usually made from coconuts. MCT oil is said to be good for maintaining health simply because it is rich in this fatty acid.
The difference between regular coconut oil and MCT oil is the amount of triglycerides contained in each. They make up about 60% of coconut oil (the remaining 40% being long chain triglycerides), but MCT oil contains 100%. Hearing that, it really raises your expectations of MCT oil, doesn't it?
The reason why so many people believe MCT is good for maintaining health is because it is absorbed more easily than normal oils.
Normal oils are known as long chain triglycerides, which get digested in the small intestine and pass through the lymphatic vessels as they're carried throughout the body. From there, they get carried to the liver and your muscles where they are broken down and stored.
On the other hand, medium chain triglycerides get absorbed in the small intestine, then get carried straight to your liver through the portal vein. Because of that, they get broken down 4-5 times faster than normal oils do. This makes them more difficult to accumulate in the body, so they're better for maintaining health.
Ketone bodies are known for helping reinforce nutrition and support eating habits. They are becoming popular as an alternate energy source to glucose. Lipids that produce ketone bodies efficiently are called medium chain fatty acids. MCT oil is rich in ketone bodies and medium chain fatty acids.
Before purchasing your MCT oil, consider the following 3 points.
MCT oils are mainly made from the fatty acids of coconuts or palms. We recommend choosing one made from 100% coconut.
Compared to palm oil, coconut oil is stronger against oxidation. Also, coconut oil can withstand temperatures of over 350°F.
Some MCT oils use both coconut oil and palm oil, so read the ingredient lists carefully and choose one that's 100% coconut.
MCT oils are strong against oxidation and deterioration, so they can be stored at room temperature if they're kept out of direct sunlight.
But some people out there might worry about the quality of their oil for long-term storage. That's why we recommend purchasing an opaque bottle that can block out sunlight.
Since most MCT oils are usually made from 100% coconut anyway, check to see which ones have the strongest coconut scent. Oils with a strong coconut scent are perfect for adding to salads or pastas since they won't clash with the flavors of the dish.
Also, the scent of the coconut mixes well with the scent of coffee, giving it that Hawaiian coffee feel. But since you won't be able to test the aromas of any MCT oil before you purchase it, use this article to get a better idea of which ones have the most invigorating aromas.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Price | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sendai Shozankan MCT Oil|8 bottles | $147.57 High | An MCT Oil with a Beautiful, Fresh, Cream-Like Taste and Aroma | ||
2 | Sahara International Group Vie Premium MCT Oil | $18.35 Mid | An MCT Oil with a Mildly Sweet Taste That's Perfect for Salads! | ||
3 | Natural Rainbow MCT Oil 100ex|3 bottles | $55.30 High Mid | A Light Coconut Scent That Pairs Well with Coffee | ||
4 | mom marche MCT Oil | $15.11 Low Mid | A Smooth Oil with Almost No Aroma at All! | ||
5 | Premium Marketing MCT Oil|3 bottles | $40.45 Mid | Perfect to Mix with Any Dish! | ||
6 | COCOLAB MCT Oil | $16.86 Mid | The Cream-Like MCT Oil You Can Eat by the Spoonful | ||
7 | Mochidome MCT Oil | $4.60 Low | A Mild Tasting MCT Oil Perfect for Coffee | ||
8 | CIVGIS Functia MCT Oil | $35.23 Mid | An MCT Oil with a Simple Taste |
Here we have an MCT oil made from 100% coconut and from a company with over 320 years of dedication and experience. We absolutely loved how it smelled more like fresh cream than coconut. This rich, sweet, and creamy flavor would go perfect with coffee!
Taking the oil by itself was also very delicious, but adding it to your cooking would really bring out the umami flavor in your ingredients. It's also perfect to add to hot chocolate or other sweet drinks.
We didn't feel like there was much of an aroma to this oil, but the mildly sweet taste got rid of the bitterness and acidity of our coffee.
This oil has a refreshing texture to it, making it perfect to dress a salad. And the stylish bottle will freshen up the look of your kitchen!
This MCT oil leaves a faint hint of coconut but was comparatively easy to take. The oil brought out the flavor of our coffee with a high-quality flavor.
Since the bottle is clear, we recommend storing it in a place that's out of direct sunlight.
Here we have a nice, refreshing MCT oil with almost no aroma at all.
Also, it didn't feel like this particular product was even an oil! That's probably why the sourness and bitterness of the coffee beat out the taste of the oil. Recommended for those of you who like the strong, bitter taste of coffee.
This MCT oil isn't too strong or sweet. When adding it to coffee, the sweetness overpowers the bitterness of the coffee, making it even more delicious. The bottle tends to drip easily, so be careful when opening, tipping or closing.
Although the oil tastes a lot like cream and has a bit of sweetness to it, it doesn't suppress the bitter taste of coffee as you might imagine.
We recommend eating it straight or using as dressing on a salad. It is also manufactured in Japanese factories certified with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), which indicates that a manufacturer conforms to the guidelines established by agencies that oversee the licensing of manufactured goods.
Although made from 100% coconut, there's no strong smell to this MCT oil and it has a sweet taste, making it easy to take.
We weren't too impressed with it by itself, but it goes great with coffee because of its mildly sweet taste. Also it's made from a trusted company that uses natural formulas without the use of chemicals.
This oil's coconut aroma and sweet, elegant taste make it easy to take.
However, we felt like it was missing something. We don't recommend adding it to your coffee. It could be good to add it to a strong-flavored dish, like an arugula salad.
We purchased the top best-selling Japanese MCT Oils from Japanese websites like Amazon and Rakuten and put them to the test!
We tested each product for the following three criteria.
① Aroma
② Taste
③ Compatibility with coffee
Before tasting any of the oils, we had our experts check each one's aroma. We rated the strongest coconut scent with an A+ and the rest comparatively.
Oils with the strongest coconut scent rated the highest.
But there were some oils that smelled rather acidic and sour. We felt that the more acidic they smelled, the more they didn't seem like an MCT oil at all. Using it to cook would leave you with a quite undesirable taste.
"Mixing sour and acidic MCT oils with your coffee would clash with the bitterness of the coffee itself. As expected, the best aroma to have with an MCT oil is an elegant coconut one."
Next, our experts tasted each MCT oil unmixed. Those that proved the best-tasting received a rating of A+.
We found that the oils that tasted the best were the ones that tasted the most like real coconut. Even oils that lacked a strong coconut smell could be sweet.
We feel that the sweeter an oil is, the better suited it is for cooking.
"The sweeter MCT oils tended to be milder on the tongue. And the stronger the sweetness was at first taste, the longer the aftertaste would last."
Next, we added each oil to a cup of coffee, since it's said to make it taste better and make it easier to drink. We stirred one spoonful of oil into our coffee and checked to see how compatible they were.
The oils that we found to be the most compatible received a rating of A+.
The oils that turned out to go best with coffee were the ones that tasted like coconut and had a moderate sweetness. The coconut scent made it seem like we were drinking Hawaiian coffee!
Since the sweetness of the oil cuts down the acidity and bitterness of the coffee, we recommend it for people who don't normally enjoy the taste of regular coffee.
"During our examination, we found a number of elegant oils that proved not too sweet in both aroma and taste. Those oils that left a sweet aftertaste were the best for mixing with coffee. You could drink it every day without getting tired of it."
If you take too much MCT oil, you might start experiencing an upset stomach, diarrhea, or nausea. So make sure the first time you take it isn't on a day too important or hectic, and only take a small teaspoon.
There have also been studies that show an accumulation of fat in the liver if MCT oil is taken every day for an extended period of time. Even though it's made up of 100% medium-chain fatty acids, it's still an oil. One gram of fat is equal to nine calories, so keep that in mind when regimenting use.
There are more ways to use MCT oil besides adding it to coffee.
We recommend adding MCT oil to some hot water while you relax before going to sleep.
However, there's one thing you should be careful about. If you do decide to take some before bed, be careful about what you have for dinner that night. If you take in too much sugar during dinner or after, you'll digest the MCT oil first while you sleep, leaving the rest to be turned into body fat.
In today's examination, we tested how each MCT oil paired with a cup of coffee, but there are a variety of other uses for it.
If you're on the lookout for an MCT oil, why not also check out some coffee while you're at it? You might just be able to find the perfect match of oil and coffee to enhance your morning routine! Or maybe you want some other supplements to help you stay healthy? Whatever your needs, we've got you covered.
No. 1: Sendai Shozankan|MCT Oil|8 bottles
No. 2: Sahara International Group|Vie Premium MCT Oil
No. 3: Natural Rainbow|MCT Oil 100ex|3 bottles
No. 4: mom marche|MCT Oil
No. 5: Premium Marketing|MCT Oil|3 bottles
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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