I love stories like this. I am going to explore this topic more to see if MCT will help my dad with his chemo brain which I've seen described as being similar to chronic fatigue brain fog.
I working on a follow-up on that article. Hopefully it will be out within the week. My family uses only small amounts of MCT (1/2 to 1 teaspoon 3x a day). Key to this strategy is spreading out the doses. Specifically in Alzheimers, the MCT is to support the mitochondria by providing substrate to form ketones which are easily metabolized and used by the brain.
A question for you: is it the additional supplementation of MCT or the reduction or elimination of LCT that is seen to be beneficial? Also, do you think that MCT are the driving force behind an anti-inflammatory diet?
Thanks I will research this further. I am a 57-year-old nerd woman who grew up before diagnoses for people like me for autism and ADHD. I was super smart, but still didn’t finish college and have the usual under-earner path of most previously undiagnosed autistics in my age. I did martial arts for years then came down with a virus about five years ago and was hit by what was eventually diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome after that and of course, every time I go to the doctor they test my blood and say everything is in range and then it’s thoughts and prayers, so I am on my own with my exhaustion. I found your stuff through the Visible app. I look forward to reading more of it. I did change to the Mediterranean diet fully a few months ago. I had already been eating quite healthily, but I keep tweaking it based on the best research I can find because I just feel like I’m dying from the exhaustion. Beyond frustrated.
Once again, I find your research and article fascinating and pertinent to what's going on with me in my recovery from Long Covid! Thanks! I have a practical question about MCT oil: What is it? Is it coconut oil? How do you incorporate it (and how much of it) into your diet? I'm unfamiliar with its qualities or uses. I've been zooming in with an integrative medicine and infectious diseases about my Long Covid at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Perlman, now at Mayo, then at Duke, had been instrumental in healing me from severe after-effects from a tick-borne illness called Erlichiosis in 2014. It is a bacterial infection caused by a Lone Star tick bite, and quite serious (sometimes fatal) if not treated right away. As I later was to do with COVID, I tested negative twice with Erlichiosis (related to Lyme which is caused by a 'cousin' tick, the deer tick), until finally testing positive on a third test. This was after several weeks of high fever, rash, joint pain, exhaustion. At that time, Dr. Perlman suggested that the Infectious disease specialists were beginning to speculate that these after-effects were likely caused by a sort of "cascading effect" of problems from the dysfunction of the mitochondria, ie., the "energy factories" as he described them of each cell in the body. This was in 2015! Fast forward to 2023, and I can't say enough positive about Dr. Perlman and his team, now at the Mayo Clinic! Just wanted you to know, from all of my experience with what is now called "Long Lyme" and with Long COVID (Sars CoV2 Post Acute infection Sequelae), that you are doing a fabulous job of research and dissemination! Thanks, Susan Ketchin
There are several sources of MCTs. Mother's milk is the first source we encounter. Commercially, goat's milk has a higher MCT level than cow's milk, thus goat milk products have some value. To support ongoing consumption of MCTs in our diets, we drink goat's milk and eat goat yogurts and cheese. The richest commercial source of MCTs is LIQUID (not solid) coconut cooking oil. (MCT are medium chain Fatty Acids, Solid coconut oil is made up of both long chain fatty acids, generally fats that should be avoided. I purchase my liquid cooking oil at the grocery store in the cooking oil section. MCTs are also available in a dry solid form but I suspect that in terms of getting an adequate amount that the liquid is more cost effective. Both the liquid and solid forms are manufactured by a company called Carrington Farms. I have seen their products also available on the web from companies like Amazon. I tend toward using small doses of MCT, especially in the beginning. I began by taking just 1 teaspoon full 2x/day. I also found during the early phase of recuperation, when fatigue was still an issue, that a teaspoon full would provide an energy boost for me within a few minutes. This is rarely necessary for me at this point in time. My mitochondria seem to have revitalized. Many days I have more energy and endurance than I have had for decades. This is however in the context of taking several months of care for myself. Heavy exertion or stress can still bring on fatigue.
If you should have the opportunity, please share this information.
I found Susan's response very interesting as the two people in our immediate family that have been hard hit by Long Covid have experienced a severe case of Lyme's Disease in decades past. I had come to the conclusion that Lyme had somehow permanently debilitated the usual healthy energy cycle by damaging mitochondrial function, and created an unusual sensitivity to the Covid virus whereby chronic fatigue became debilitating.
I love stories like this. I am going to explore this topic more to see if MCT will help my dad with his chemo brain which I've seen described as being similar to chronic fatigue brain fog.
Hi Stephanie,
I working on a follow-up on that article. Hopefully it will be out within the week. My family uses only small amounts of MCT (1/2 to 1 teaspoon 3x a day). Key to this strategy is spreading out the doses. Specifically in Alzheimers, the MCT is to support the mitochondria by providing substrate to form ketones which are easily metabolized and used by the brain.
A question for you: is it the additional supplementation of MCT or the reduction or elimination of LCT that is seen to be beneficial? Also, do you think that MCT are the driving force behind an anti-inflammatory diet?
Thanks I will research this further. I am a 57-year-old nerd woman who grew up before diagnoses for people like me for autism and ADHD. I was super smart, but still didn’t finish college and have the usual under-earner path of most previously undiagnosed autistics in my age. I did martial arts for years then came down with a virus about five years ago and was hit by what was eventually diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome after that and of course, every time I go to the doctor they test my blood and say everything is in range and then it’s thoughts and prayers, so I am on my own with my exhaustion. I found your stuff through the Visible app. I look forward to reading more of it. I did change to the Mediterranean diet fully a few months ago. I had already been eating quite healthily, but I keep tweaking it based on the best research I can find because I just feel like I’m dying from the exhaustion. Beyond frustrated.
Hello, Mardi,
Once again, I find your research and article fascinating and pertinent to what's going on with me in my recovery from Long Covid! Thanks! I have a practical question about MCT oil: What is it? Is it coconut oil? How do you incorporate it (and how much of it) into your diet? I'm unfamiliar with its qualities or uses. I've been zooming in with an integrative medicine and infectious diseases about my Long Covid at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Perlman, now at Mayo, then at Duke, had been instrumental in healing me from severe after-effects from a tick-borne illness called Erlichiosis in 2014. It is a bacterial infection caused by a Lone Star tick bite, and quite serious (sometimes fatal) if not treated right away. As I later was to do with COVID, I tested negative twice with Erlichiosis (related to Lyme which is caused by a 'cousin' tick, the deer tick), until finally testing positive on a third test. This was after several weeks of high fever, rash, joint pain, exhaustion. At that time, Dr. Perlman suggested that the Infectious disease specialists were beginning to speculate that these after-effects were likely caused by a sort of "cascading effect" of problems from the dysfunction of the mitochondria, ie., the "energy factories" as he described them of each cell in the body. This was in 2015! Fast forward to 2023, and I can't say enough positive about Dr. Perlman and his team, now at the Mayo Clinic! Just wanted you to know, from all of my experience with what is now called "Long Lyme" and with Long COVID (Sars CoV2 Post Acute infection Sequelae), that you are doing a fabulous job of research and dissemination! Thanks, Susan Ketchin
Hi Susan,
Many thanks for your enthusiastic support!
There are several sources of MCTs. Mother's milk is the first source we encounter. Commercially, goat's milk has a higher MCT level than cow's milk, thus goat milk products have some value. To support ongoing consumption of MCTs in our diets, we drink goat's milk and eat goat yogurts and cheese. The richest commercial source of MCTs is LIQUID (not solid) coconut cooking oil. (MCT are medium chain Fatty Acids, Solid coconut oil is made up of both long chain fatty acids, generally fats that should be avoided. I purchase my liquid cooking oil at the grocery store in the cooking oil section. MCTs are also available in a dry solid form but I suspect that in terms of getting an adequate amount that the liquid is more cost effective. Both the liquid and solid forms are manufactured by a company called Carrington Farms. I have seen their products also available on the web from companies like Amazon. I tend toward using small doses of MCT, especially in the beginning. I began by taking just 1 teaspoon full 2x/day. I also found during the early phase of recuperation, when fatigue was still an issue, that a teaspoon full would provide an energy boost for me within a few minutes. This is rarely necessary for me at this point in time. My mitochondria seem to have revitalized. Many days I have more energy and endurance than I have had for decades. This is however in the context of taking several months of care for myself. Heavy exertion or stress can still bring on fatigue.
If you should have the opportunity, please share this information.
Thanks again for your support.
I found Susan's response very interesting as the two people in our immediate family that have been hard hit by Long Covid have experienced a severe case of Lyme's Disease in decades past. I had come to the conclusion that Lyme had somehow permanently debilitated the usual healthy energy cycle by damaging mitochondrial function, and created an unusual sensitivity to the Covid virus whereby chronic fatigue became debilitating.