It is well understood that medium chain triglycerides (MCT) have a higher thermogenic effect than long chain triglycerides (LCT) and this fact has stimulated considerable interest in the possible use of MCT for body fat control. Medium chain triglycerides are prepared by the esterification (addition) of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) to a glycerol backbone. Medium chain fatty acids are themselves naturally occurring in certain tropical oils and are commercially obtained from fractionation of coconut oil. Medium chain fatty acids, by definition, contain from six to 10-12 carbon atoms in their hydrocarbon chain, whereas long chain fatty acids are 14 or more carbon atoms in length. Animal fats and most vegetable oils (”typical dietary fats”) are comprised of long chain triglycerides. CapTri® is comprised of mostly pure C8 fatty acids with with some C10s and absolutely no C12s since these can uplink to long chain fats.

It is well known that endurance exercise performance is highly dependent on carbohydrate fuel availability. Ingestion of a high carbohydrate (CHO) diet prior to exercise, and supplementation of carbohydrate during exercise, have both repeatedly proven to improve endurance performance. Furthermore, the onset of fatigue during prolonged exercise correlates highly with muscle glycogen depletion. However, the rate of oxidation of orally supplemented CHO seems to have a maximum limit around 1.0 to 1.1 grams per minute (1). Even when ingestion of oral carbohydrate during exercise is increased to a rate of 2 grams per minute, the rate of oxidation of this carbohydrate supplement did not exceed 1 gram per minute. Thus there seems to be an upper limit to how fast the body can digest, absorb, transport, and oxidize carbohydrate. In simple terms, your body cannot digest and absorb carbs fast enough to keep up with the rate of carbohydrate oxidation during prolonged exercise performed at moderately high intensity.