One of the general questions people have concerning medium chain triglycerides (like CapTri) is whether they are stored as body fat. This simple question, however, has a very complex answer. Literally, the body stores fat in the form of long chain triglycerides (LCTs), which are made of fatty acid chains 14 carbons or longer. Most fatty acids in humans are 16-18 carbons long. So literally, medium chain triglycerides (8-12 carbons) cannot be directly stored by the body as fat. However, overeating MCTs, like any other food, can lead to it being converted to fat. However, some foods have less tendency to be converted to body fat. Studies have shown that if LCTs are replaced by MCTs, this results in the diminution of fat stores. MCTs are extremely thermogenic. All foods release heat when burned, some more than others. MCTs are profoundly thermogenic, meaning they release a lot of heat. This is a result of rapid metabolism and conversion of dietary energy to heat within the liver. This happens without increasing body temperature as the heat is liberated into the environment. There is also a question of MCT being converted to ketones. Conventional fat, as well as body fat, are not converted to ketones appreciably as long as carbohydrate fuel is available. This is because regular fats require the carnitine shuttle to cross the mitochondrial membrane and when carbohydrate metabolism is taking place, a by-product called malonyl-CoA is produced which inhibits the carnitine shuttle. Therefore, long chain fats are not metabolized. MCTs, because of their shorter carbon chain, can enter the mitochondria through passive diffusion, allowing them to be used in the presence of carbohydrate. MCTs, however, are metabolized so quickly the Krebs cycle cannot convert all of it into adenosine triphosphate so a lot of it is converted to ketones which are transported directly to the muscles to be used for energy. Ketones are used by the muscles preferentially, sparing glucose for use later. Excess calories from MCT can be converted to fat, but with much less tendency than excess calories from other food sources. This is because excess calories from MCT are lost as heat through the process of thermogenesis, making them unavailable for storage.

For years bodybuilders and scientists have disagreed over how much protein was needed. Scientists said that bodybuilders only needed to increase protein a small amount to provide the essential building blocks necessary for growth. Bodybuilders, however, say that to build muscle they need a lot more protein than the average person. The answer is that protein does need to be increased significantly, but not to build extra muscle. Extra protein is necessary because more protein is used for energy during exercise than was originally thought. Older studies found that nitrogen balance was held in check with very little increase in protein intake, even during exercise. What they failed to measure, however, was the nitrogen also lost in sweat, which turns out to be significant. New experiments also are more realistic in that they use real athletes who are participating in intense training programs. These studies show that serious athletes may need as much as two or three times as much protein as the average person to stay maintain nitrogen balance. BCAAs are important because, unlike other amino acids, they go straight to the muscles, bypassing the liver because it is very low in branched chain aminotranferase, which means it canít break down the BCAAs to a significant extent. Skeletal muscle, however, contains branched chain aminotransferase and is able to break down the BCAAs for energy. When there is plenty of other fuel available (glycogen and blood glucose), however, the BCAAs are spared to be used for protein synthesis. The BCAAs, besides being used for protein synthesis, also assist in other protein synthesis by increasing insulin levels. Thatís why a supplement like Muscle Amino Formula, which contains the BCAAs leucine, isoleucine and valine, can be a significant help in your training regimen.