Why Is MCT Oil Used In CBD Oil?

Despite what you might be thinking, CBD isn’t the primary ingredient in CBD oil — and that’s totally okay. CBD is strong enough that your body doesn’t need huge amounts of it to feel better! 

But, you might be thinking, if CBD isn’t the major ingredient in its namesake oil…then what is?

Something called a carrier oil. At fiveTM CBD we use premium MCT oil as the carrier in all our CBD oil products. Keep reading to learn why MCT oil is one of the most underrated ingredients in CBD oil. 

• Why premium ingredients matter
• The role of carrier oils
• MCT oil: the number one carrier oil for CBD
• More MCT oil, longer shelf life?

Why premium ingredients matter

Your body is more valuable than you think. 

Just imagine: messages travel throughout your nervous system at hundreds of miles an hour. Thousands of mitochondria within almost every one of your 30+  trillion cells produce energy. In the brain, 100 billion neurons keep track of it all. The human body even gives off its own light. [1]

Your body deserves the best, even in a world full of synthetic supplements and artificial foods. It’s because of this truth that you choose to eat healthy, exercise, and take CBD.

But the unregulated state of the hemp industry means that even CBD isn’t totally safe. Many CBD brands allow harmful additives to make it into their products...additives that go against the very CBD they’re promoting!

Even a CBD brand’s choice of carrier oil is vitally important. 

The right oil can boost CBD’s absorption rate and supply those who use it with steady energy. The wrong carrier oil, on the other hand, can cause an inflammatory response and actually make CBD less effective. Let’s take a closer look at how this works next. 

The role of carrier oils

A carrier oil is simply the non-active oil base of a CBD oil. Even strong CBD oils contain less than 10% CBD (and more than 90% carrier oil) by weight. Some common carrier oils include olive oil, grapeseed oil, and coconut oil. This is done by design. 

Why not simply take an undiluted CBD-based extract by itself, you may ask? For one, it would be thick and sticky and practically inedible…especially if left in the fridge for too long. 

More importantly, it’d also be less functional. That’s because the right types of dietary fats actually boost CBD’s absorption. Like vitamin E or vitamin D, DBD itself is fat-soluble, which means it blends perfectly with fats. The more saturated the fat, the better. [2] 

Normally saturated fat gets a bad rap, but that doesn’t have to be the case. There’s one type of saturated fat that the body metabolizes better than virtually all others. That leads us to something called MCT oil…

MCT oil: the number one carrier oil for CBD

At five CBD we don’t use any one of the three common carrier oils mentioned above. Instead we strategically infuse our CBD into an oil made from pure MCT’s (medium-chain triglycerides). 

Though MCT oil is a saturated fat, it’s actually metabolized in your liver as if it were a carbohydrate. MCT oil’s chemical structure also allows it to “passively and directly diffuse across the gastrointestinal tract.” [3]

In other words, our MCT-based CBD oils enable CBD to better permeate cell walls in the GI tract — exactly where the plant compound is needed most. Scientists call this process intestinal lymphatic transport. 

The result of this improved transport? MCT oil allows for quicker absorption and utilization of essential nutrients! When infused into MCT oil, cannabinoids like CBD are absorbed both faster and more fully than they would be with other carrier oils. MCT oil may allow CBD oil’s important terpene component to be better absorbed, too. 

One more benefit of using MCT oil as a carrier oil: it’s energy-promoting in and of itself. According to MCT expert Dave Asprey, “MCT oil increases energy, endurance, metabolism, satiety and brain function, especially when compared to other forms of fat, including olive oil.” Some studies even demonstrate that MCT oil can improve athletic performance. [4] (Hey, that sounds kind of like CBD.) 

As if all this weren’t enough, below are a few more potential health benefits associated with MCT oil:

• Increased satiety
• Reduced hunger hormones
• Improved cognitive function
• Reduced risk of heart disease
• Reduced weight and body fat
• Increased ketone production
• Improved athletic endurance
• Reduced lactic acid production
• Seizure reduction in epileptic patients

More MCT oil, longer shelf life?

Finally, our use of MCT oil ensures total product freshness. Olive oil is volatile enough to oxidize (i.e. go bad) when exposed to sun or heat, which is why it often comes in a dark container. But MCT oil is different. Products made with MCT oil tend to have a very, very long shelf-life. 

A recent study looking at several different brands of CBD oils found that only one of them — the one made with MCT oil — didn’t break down over time. 

“It is worth emphasizing that sample oil #4,” study authors explained, “was almost completely deprived of lipid oxidation products. This preparation was the only one prepared in MCT oil.” In other words, MCT oil prevented CBD oil from being oxidized by environmental wear and tear. [5]

Summing things up

If you’re ready to experience the very best that CBD has to offer, consider fiveTM CBD. We believe CBD products are worth doing right — all the way down to ensuring that they contain the very best carrier oil. 

What are you waiting for? Check out five's most powerful and popular CBD + THC gummy, the Daily Buzz gummy, today!