
MCT Powder vs MCT Oil in Keto Coffee – Our Test Results – Transcript
Between MCT powder vs MCT oil, who will come out the winner?
A few months ago, we tested MCT oil in our coffee, and the results were great. But like always happens, you guys had a lot of questions about MCT oil powder.
We have been promising to test MCT powders for a while, so that is what we did today!
In this post, we test three different popular MCT oil powders and compare their results to our past MCT oil results.
MCT Powder vs MCT Oil Summary
- After consuming MCT oil in our coffee, our ketone levels rose, and our blood glucose levels dropped, which is a favorable response.
- MCT powders contain at least a gram of carbohydrates. Many powdered products need additives to prevent clumping or to help with preservation.
- None of the powders were as beneficial as MCT Oil. Of the 3 brands we tested, Quest Nutrition produced the most favorable results, followed by Left Coast, and then Perfect Keto (vanilla flavor).
MCT Powder vs MCT Oil in Keto Coffee: 2 Fit Docs Test Glucose & Ketones to Compare [Video]
Another Day Of Testing!
Becky:
Many of you have been following us as we tested all kinds of different things in our morning coffee.
We have tested a lot of fats in coffee and various keto coffee concoctions.
We have also tested many sweeteners. I think we tested like eight different artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes.
Out of all the testing that we did, the big standout for us (as far as great results) was MCT oil.
Both of us had higher ketones and lower blood glucose after consuming MCT oil in our coffee. So we decided to go ahead and run tests on MCT powder as well.
MCT Oil vs MCT Powder – How We Ran The Tests
Becky:
We are going to bring those results to you in a second, but first, let’s set the stage.
So we followed the same scientific methods as our other test. We came up with a hypothesis, tested our hypothesis, gathered our results, and came to our conclusions.
Keith:
The materials we used were the Precision Xtra blood glucose and ketone monitor. The testing strips and monitor that we used were both from Abbott Labs.

We put sixteen ounces of hot coffee in our mugs, and then we tested our MCT powders.
We had three popular brands to test.
Our Previous Results: MCT Oil
Becky:
Let’s recap our results for MCT oil.
MCT Oil: Glucose Results
Keith:
Becky’s glucose started at 68 mg/dL and ended at 59 mg/dL after 120 minutes.

Mine started at 93 mg/dL and went to 86 mg/dL after 120 minutes.

So that’s good, those are both showing decreases.
MCT Oil: Ketone Results
Becky’s ketones started at 2.3 mmol/L because she’s an overachiever, as I’ve mentioned many times before.
Becky:
Thank you.
Keith:
Then your ketones went all the way up to 3.2 mmol/L.

Ignore the jealous look on my face.
Mine started at 0.5 mmol/L. So I was just barely in ketosis that day, which is kind of typical for me.
I have a hard time getting into ketosis, and we talk about my struggle a lot on our channel.
At one point during the test, I actually got to one 1.3 mmol/L. Then I ended at 0.8 mmol/L at 120 minutes that day.

So that was huge for me.
MCT oil pushed me from that borderline ketosis to being further in ketosis. So that was an excellent test, and we are big fans of MCT oil.
We have big expectations for these tests.
MCT Oil vs MCT Powder: Hypothesis
Becky:
So because we really liked the results of MCT oil, we hoped MCT powder would not be very different.
We hypothesized that MCT powder would give us the same changes in our blood glucose and ketones that we experienced with MCT oil:
Hypothesis: MCT oil powder mixed in our coffee will lower our blood glucose and raise our blood ketones.
So we tested three different brands. We tried to find the most popular.
Keith:
We used Left Coast MCT oil powder because it is the same brand as the oil we use, Quest MCT oil powder was an Amazon bestseller, and Perfect Keto MCT oil powder is a popular one that we see on a lot of the keto channels.

What Makes Powders Different?
Becky:
So we quickly discovered that all of the powders contained at least a gram of carbohydrates, which is different from the zero carbs in MCT oils.
The added carbohydrates most likely to do with the fact that these are in a powder form.
Many powdered products need additives to prevent clumping, or to help with preservation.
That would explain the gram of carbohydrate added to these powders. It is most likely the filler that is needed to make the powders a useful, usable product.
So we were curious to see how that would affect our results, and actually, we started with the Left Coast brand, which is the one highest in carbohydrates.
Also, to do this test and compare it with MCT oil, we had to match the servings. So what we matched was the fat content.
So our MCT oil has what? Fourteen grams of fat per serving?
Keith:
Yes, so we added multiple servings of these powders to our coffees to make the fat content match. The Left Coast MCT oil powder was the first one we tested.
We use this oil brand, so we were a little disappointed that it has a lot of carbs in it.
Becky:
AND one of the ingredients was maltodextrin. We have talked about maltodextrin as a filler in previous videos.
Maltodextrin is high on the glycemic index scale. If we are talking about table sugar, sucrose, it’s around 65 to 68 on the glycemic index scale. If we are talking about maltodextrin, it has a glycemic index of like 85 to 136.

Keith:
Yeah, big range, but high…
Becky:
I’ve seen Maltodextrin listed as a few different ranges, but it is always high, much higher than sugar.
So we were starting to worry.
Left Coast MCT Powder
Left Coast Powder: Glucose Results
Becky:
So here is what Left Coast MCT oil powder did to our blood glucose.
Keith:
Becky started with the blood glucose of 80 mg/dL, which is standard for her.
It went to 90 mg/dL at 30 minutes, dropped to 78 mg/dL at 60 minutes, and then went down the 60 mg/dL over the two hours.

My blood glucose started at 90 mg/dL, which is also kind of standard for my body. I’m usually starting there.
I went up to 107 mg/dL at 30 minutes. So that is a 17 point jump.
Then it went back to 91 mg/dL at 60 minutes and finally ended at 95 mg/dL at 120 minutes.

So we both got a little pop up at the 30-minute mark.
Becky:
Yeah, and was that because of the filler? I don’t know.
Keith:
Right, the maltodextrin could be doing it.
Left Coast Powder: Ketone Results
The ketone results are kind of interesting.
Becky started at 1.7 mmol/L, went up to 2.2 mmol/L at 30 minutes, then to 2.0 mmol/L at 60 minutes, and 2.1 mmol/L at 120 minutes.

So she had a little bit of an increase and mostly stayed put.
On the other hand, I started at 1.0 mmol/L, which I would just like to say is a fantastic number for me. I was actually at a good point in ketosis.
Then I dropped to 0.9 mmol/L at 30 minutes, I dropped to 0.6 mmol/L at 60 minutes, and I ended up at 0.7 mmol/L at 120 minutes.

So this seemed to just keep dropping me down lower and lower… So I wasn’t real thrilled with these results.
Left Coast Powder: Our Conclusions
Becky:
So here again, we’ve got an experiment that involves only two people.
We understand that there are some variables that we are not controlling, but this is another test of the many tests that prove that different metabolisms handle things differently.
We have gathered that I [Becky] am much more insulin sensitive than you are.
Keith:
Also, you would think that after a year and a half of following a keto diet, I should be getting more insulin sensitive. However, things like this keep happening.
Our bodies clearly handle things totally differently.
Becky:
So maybe that’s not insulin resistance, I don’t know. Maybe there’s some other factor that we’re not taking into account.
Anyway, let’s give our thoughts on Left Coast MCT oil Powder.
For me, it was actually kind of favorable.
I had a little bit of a jump up in ketones, so I’m giving it a thumbs-up.
Keith:
Sorry, Left Coast. I love your liquid, but I don’t like your powders.

Quest Nutrition MCT Powder
Keith:
All right, so on to day two.
We did Quest Nutrition MCT oil powder. This powder was the Amazon bestseller. Also, the most affordable. It was the cheapest one by far.
Becky:
Yeah, by far.
Quest Nutrition Powder: Glucose Results
Keith:
So Becky started with a blood glucose of 95 mg/dL, went up a little bit to 103 mg/dL at 30 minutes, then to 85 mg/dL at 60 minutes, and to 98 mg/dL at 120 minutes.

So she basically, through that range wound up at about the same place.
My blood glucose started at 89 mg/dL and went to 91mg/dL at 30 minutes, down to 86 mg/dL at 60 minutes, and back to 90 mg/dL at 120 minutes.

I stayed within a five-point range for my blood glucose, which I think is really good. So I was pretty happy with that.
Becky:
Yeah, and mine did not fluctuate that much. I was kind of all over the board in the middle, but it started and ended about the same.
Keith:
Yeah, it stayed within a good range.
The funny thing is that we get a little bit of a bump at the 30-minute mark, probably because of the added carbohydrate.
Quest Nutrition Powder: Ketone Results
Keith:
So on to ketones.
Now you started at 0.7 mmol/L that day, which was very unusual, and we probably should have used a different strip in retrospect.
We could have had a strip error on that one because you are typically never that low.
Becky:
Yeah, or maybe it was accurate. We don’t know, so we can’t really speculate on that.
Keith:
That’s true.
Then your ketones went up to 1.8 mmol/L at 30 minutes, and 1.8 mmol/L again at 60 minutes, and then 1.7 mmol/L at 120 minutes.

For my ketones, I started at 0.9 mmol/L that day, which again is pretty decent for me.
I bumped up to 1.3 mmol/L at 30 minutes, went back down to 0.9 mmol/L at 60 minutes, and ended at 1.4 mmol/L at 120 minutes.

So I was super happy with that result. For me, that was a fantastic result.
Quest Nutrition Powder: Our Conclusions
Keith:
So quest nutrition MCT powder….
Becky:
Well, I guess I have to give that one a thumbs up.
Keith:
I’m definitely giving it the thumbs up.
Becky:
It’s a thumbs up for me only based on the standpoint of how it affected my ketones.
Keith:
Yeah, my ketones earn it the thumbs up too, and it is also the cheapest!

Perfect Keto MCT Powder
Keith:
So on to day three of testing!
We used the Perfect Keto MCT Oil Powder. This one was actually vanilla flavored.
It is the only flavored one that we used in this video’s testing.
It also has two grams of carbs per scoop, and we use multiple scoops.
Becky:
Right, we did that so we could match our liquid MCT serving we tested before.
Keith:
The Perfect Keto MCT Powder also says that there are two grams of dietary fiber in it.
So we could get into a whole rant about net carbs again, right?
Becky:
Right. If you have seen us, I guess rant, on why we count total carbs and not net carbs, we dislike net carbs because you can add fiber to a food to bring down the net carb count.

So the Perfect Keto MCT Oil Powder has zero net carbs and added fiber…
Keith:
for example, I could make something that has four grams of sugar and then put four grams of fiber in it, and it would have zero net carbs.
So that’s how some companies fool consumers.
Becky:
Yeah, we are not saying that that was an intended effect of the added fiber, but it does pique our interest.
So let’s see what this one did to our blood glucose.
Perfect Keto Powder: Glucose Results
Keith:
You started with a blood glucose of 77 mg/dL, that number shot up to 106 mg/dL at 30 minutes. So that is a 29-point jump.
Becky:
That’s a big jump for me.
Keith:
Yeah. Then it went down to 114 mg/dL at 60 minutes and ended at 95 mg/dL at 120 minutes.

So you were still nearly 20-points higher at the end than where you were at the start.
I started at 97 mg/dL, my blood glucose jumped up to 115 mg/dL at 30 minutes, went to 113 mg/dL at 60 minutes, and down to 100 mg/dL at 120 mintues.

So I had an 18-point jump in the middle, and then I was a few points higher at the end than from where I started as well.
Becky:
You know, this also has stevia in it, and we were curious about that beforehand.
Keith:
Yeah, and it has natural vanilla powder in the ingredients. So I don’t know if that could be a sweetener as well. I just don’t know.
Perfect Keto Powder: Ketone Results
So onto the ketone results.
You started at 1.7 mmol/L, which is a good place for you to start. You have been at 1.7 mmol/L a lot of times during our past at-home testing.
You went up to 2.3 mmol/L at 30 minutes, then to 2.1 mmol/L at 60 minutes, and finally to 1.8 mmol/L at 120 minutes.

So you kind of ended right where you started.
I started at 1.0 mmol/L, went to 1.2 mmol/L at 30 minutes, then to 1.1 mmol/L at 60 minutes, and ended up at 1.2 mmol/L at 120 minutes.

So I had just a little fluctuation in my results.
Looking at my numbers, I feel like this MCT powder did not really do anything, unlike some of the other powders we tested.
Becky:
Right, and we are taking in MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides), which are turned into ketones by your liver.
So we would expect that ingesting MCTs would increase our ketones.
Keith:
Or at least give us that bump in the 30 or 60-minute range.
Becky:
Right, but then you would expect that after a couple of hours, you would probably have used them up, and your body would get back to making its own ketones.
So I got the bump up at the 30 to 60-minute mark, and you did not. So that’s interesting.
Keith:
Yeah, I got a tiny bump.
Perfect Keto Powder: Our Conclusions
Becky:
So how do we feel about the Perfect Keto brand?
Keith:
Well, I think because of the glucose issue on this one – I’m sorry Perfect Keto, but I’ve got to give it a thumbs down.
Becky:
I know, I hate to do this because it’s a popular brand.
Keith:
It just didn’t do much for my ketones, and it certainly raised our blood glucose.

Becky:
Yeah, I have to give it a thumbs down too, and we’re sorry. Please prove us wrong.
Do your own tests at home, and put your results in our comments. We would love to be proved wrong about the Perfect Keto brand.
MCT Oil vs MCT Powder – Final Conclusions
Keith:
Between MCT powder vs MCT oil, who is the winner?
Well, none of these powders did as good as liquid MCT oil. That is still the king. So that is probably what I will continue to use.
Becky:
Yeah, I would say that the Left Coast brand MCT oil is in the first place based on the tests that we have done. I would also give the Quest brand MCT Oil Powder an honorable mention. For us, I think we will continue to use this powder.

Keith:
Yeah, well now, we have a nice big thing of it, so we will have to use it.
Becky:
Yeah, or we will have a lot of leftovers.
Keith:
Right, I don’t know what we are going to do with the other ones.
Becky:
All right, I hope that this home test has been helpful for you! We will be back soon with some more testing videos soon, as well as more videos to help you reach your health goals.
If you would like to see the results of some of our past tests, you can check them out here:
What Breaks a Fast? Our Other Tests
- Can I Add Stevia to Keto Coffee?
- Will Coffee Break Intermittent Fasting?
- Will Cream, MCT Oil, or Butter Break My Fast?
- Will Keto (Bullet-Proof) Coffee Break Intermittent Fasting?
- Can I Have Cream in Coffee When Fasting?
- Will Ghee Break My Intermittent Fast?
- Can I Have Half & Half in Coffee When Fasting?
- Sweeteners in Coffee & Intermittent Fasting? (Stevia, Splenda, Sweet-N-Low, Equal
- Sweeteners in Coffee & Fasting Round 2! Erythritol, Monk Fruit, Xylitol, Allulose