Health, wellness and fitness trends seem to come and go faster than you can brew a batch of Kombucha tea, but if there are two products that have proved themselves and are here to stay, it’s collagen and MCT oil. Collagen has been the subject of some criticism of late but seems to have come out on top with its popularity only growing.
Given that the name of this product is Keto Collagen, it may be worth starting with a brief overview of what exactly the keto diet is and why it has become so popular. However, Keto Collagen is not limited to adherents of a keto diet, so everyone should read on!
What is the Keto Diet?
You may know this as a low-carb high-fat diet.
But here is how it actually works: one of the best ways to lose weight is to lose fat (as opposed to muscle), and we lose fat when we force our bodies to burn the body fat which it has stored. When we consume carbohydrates, the carbs are broken down into glucose (blood sugar) which can either be used by your body as fuel (energy) or it will be stored as additional body fat. When you consume carbs in excess of your energy needs, your body fat accumulates.
The answer therefore seems to eliminate carbs (glucose) to prevent this body fat storage, but that means you need an alternative energy source. Lucky for us, there is an alternative, known as ketones which are molecules formed in the liver. Ketones are a great source of fuel and energy for our brains and bodies and are produced when our bodies are in a state of ketosis, which happens when our bodies don’t have enough carbs to make glucose.
When your body is in ketosis, you burn stored fat (the liver turns the burned fat into ketones), and the idea is then that you lose weight while having ketones available as a replacement fuel for energy! While the keto diet isn’t effective for everyone (especially women with thyroid issues), millions of people benefit from this lifestyle approach when it is done correctly!
Enter…MCT Oil
Now that we know what ketosis is, we can understand where MCT oil comes in: the fatty acids in MCT oil can quickly be broken down into ketones by the liver and are readily available for use by your body, which makes it unique relative to other fats like butter or olive oil. Those ketones boost energy and allow you to burn stored body fat without adding to it!
So, what exactly is MCT oil?
MCT (mostly derived from coconuts) stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides. Triglycerides (tri = three) are three fatty acid groups (long chains of carbon atoms with some hydrogen atoms attached) which are connected to a single glycerol backbone (think of a spine). You can ignore the science but suffice to know that those fatty acids are all bound together with different numbers of carbon atoms.
A Short Chain Triglyceride has 5 or less carbon atoms, Medium has 6 to 12 carbon atoms and Long has 13 to 21. This is why you might hear of the different types of MCT oils, either called C6, C8, C10 or C12, each with their own properties.
Each of the short, medium or long chain triglycerides have a different purpose. As an example, Short Chain Triglycerides are very important for digestion, and Long Chain Triglycerides are common in food (Omega-3 is an example of a LCT) like olive oil, fish and avo's.
MCT’s are quite famous in the keto world though because they are unique compared to all other fatty acids. This is because they can very quickly be used for ketone production. While most fats travel rather slowly through the gut to reach the bloodstream, MCT oil is rapidly available for ketone production and therefore energy production. They go straight from the gut into the liver (where ketones are made), so MCT oils are famous due to their mechanism of action.
As mentioned, there are different types of MCT oil, and they are all different. Most effective for a ketogenic diet is C8 (also known as Caprylic acid) because it can be converted to ketones faster and more efficiently than any other MCT and is therefore the highest quality of MCT.
Important to note that MCT oil and its benefits is far from limited to only a ketogenic diet! Studies show impressive benefits for cognitive functioning and mental clarity, making it very promising for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and those on the autism scale.
Collagen Decoded
Our bodies contain protein, and collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It is found in our bones, ligaments, skin, tendons, muscles and blood vessels, so kinda essential in holding us all together!
There are over a dozen different types of collagen, but types I, II and III are the most famous. The types differ based on the amino acids (building blocks of protein) that form the collagen. Types I and III are popular for maintaining the health and structure of skin, bones and muscles (basically, they reduce the appearance of wrinkles which is why collagen supplementation is so popular), whereas Type II is more supportive of joint health (stops the knee creak when climbing stairs!).
As we age, collagen production sadly declines, resulting in the appearance of wrinkles and drying out of the skin. One way to combat this is to simply supplement with collagen! In addition to plumping and hydrating the skin, collagen has also shown to have the following benefits:
- Supports digestion and heals the gut (gut connective tissue = collagen)
- Muscle strength (collagen is a concentrated source of amino acid glycine which helps your body to produce creatine)
- Deeper sleep (glycine promotes better sleep)
- Nail and hair growth (faster growth and stronger hair and nails)
PrimeSelf Keto Collagen
PrimeSelf has combined two of their most popular products (MCT Keto Creamer and Collagen) into a single product that serves as a coffee creamer. This powder can easily be added to coffee, tea, shakes or smoothies and is a wonderful addition to a daily routine, whether you’re a keto adherent or not!
Some key points to note on the ingredients:
-
goFAT Coconut MCT’s
goFAT creates low-carb fat powders that are of the highest quality (think non-GMO and free of artificial ingredients). Their Coconut MCT is in C8 form (i.e. the best kind you can have) and provide clean burning energy for your body.
-
Peptan’s Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides
Bovine Collagen Type I is very similar to the collagen that we have in our own bodies. Type I is the most abundant form in the body and found in scar tissue, tendons, skin, eyes, muscles, cartilage, bones and teeth. Hydrolyzed means that the collagen has been broken down into smaller units of protein (or collagen peptides) which makes the collagen easy to dissolve in liquids and also easier for you to digest and absorb. Peptan is a globally leading collagen peptide brand and their Type I collagen peptides, found in PrimeSelf Keto Collagen, is the same type of collagen as is found in our bones and skin. The quality of the product is well-established (clean and pure). Type I collagen (bovine) is special because while it contains 18 different amino acids, it has particular three amino acids responsible for the majority of the benefit: glycine, proline and hydroxyproline. They are crucial building blocks of collagen and also key to regulating inflammation and the immune system. So, the collagen in this product is basically the Rolls Royce of collagen.
-
L-Theanine
L-Theanine is a popular nootropic (found in green tea) for better mental focus, better sleep, relaxation and better cognitive performance. While it is great on its own, it has pronounced synergistic effects when combined with caffeine: all of the above benefits but even more enhanced (which is why green tea is so powerful). The beauty is that it also allows caffeine to give you all of its benefits, but it prevents the jitters and inevitable crash so often associated for people with caffeine. It’s therefore a wonderful addition to a creamer because it let’s the effects of your coffee or tea last longer but staves off the jitters or other side-effects of caffeine.
My Review of PRIMESELF Keto Collagen
For a number of years, I’ve been supplementing with grass-fed bovine collagen and I think it has made a big difference for, from finer lines on my face to a real difference in the strength of my nails. It’s definitely one of the supplements that I’ve stuck with through the years when others have fallen away.
And while I’ve always been a proponent of a ketogenic diet, it’s only recently that I’ve really started incorporating MCT oil into my daily routine. It has made a massive difference for me. After the initial benefits which I experienced from a mental clarity perspective, I experimented by ONLY drinking MCT oil for 2 days (no food) and was astounded by how satiated I felt, but mostly by the absence of brain fog which I’d been struggling with. I’ve tried a lot of things for mental clarity, so this was amazing and the only thing that’s made a real difference for me.
Long story short, I’m a big fan of MCT oil but adding it to my coffee and glugging oil is not my favourite, even if you try to whisk it in. So, you can imagine what a breakthrough product Keto Collagen is for me. It combines the type of collagen that I already use religiously with an MCT powder, giving me all of the benefits of collagen and MCT oil, with the added bonus of it actually making my coffee taste really good!
To back up a bit: it has a neutral taste and doesn’t affect the taste of your coffee, but it IS a coffee creamer, and it does that job beautifully. Bulletproof coffee (coffee with butter or MCT oil) purists rightly point out that milk isn’t an ideal addition to coffee: not only is it alleged that the whey protein in milk isn’t stable when subjected to heat, it also contains lactose which has carbs.
But I don’t like black coffee. I just don’t. So, with this product, it’s super easy to skip the milk and still have that creamy coffee taste that I love! Convenience supreme! It dissolves in liquid in an instant, which is a joy if you’ve ever experienced the clumps from some collagen brands!
If you’re someone who has to eliminate dairy (believe it or not but up to 70% of people are lactose intolerant to some degree), this is your answer if you’re not a fan of black coffee.
Even if you’re not on a keto diet, this creamer provides you all the cognitive benefits of a clean-burning fuel, and for everyone following a ketogenic diet, this is nothing short of fabulous as an addition to coffee or smoothies and my new favourite way of drinking my first coffee of the day!
PrimeSelf Keto Collagen is a dairy, gluten and grain free creamer that boosts metabolism and mental clarity and improves digestive health. It is a great tool for a fat-only fast.
Disclaimer
This information does not serve as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is for informational purposes only and does not provide a comprehensive explanation of the different compounds. Always consult your doctor first when making any changes to medication or supplementation.
