Herman Nation,
I have seen and replied to numerous posts about pre-workout supplements, the types, the uses, and potential benefits and pitfalls. I wanted to post about another alternative that is safe, effective, and has the added benefits of helping you burn fat and killing bacteria and viruses. What is it? Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.
Coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use. We all know essential fatty acids are a key macronutrient that are necessary to make all your bodily hormones, transport nutrients, help absorb fat soluble vitamins (A, E, D), and maintain cell membranes. Many people don't realize that a special type of saturated fat called Medium Chain Tryglycerides (MCT's) are a great source of energy as well. Coconut oil is made up primarily of Lauric Acid. Lauric Acid is a great energy source and it is lethal to viruses and bacteria. It also helps lower LDL and Triglycerides and boost HDL levels in the blood. The American Medical and Pharmaceutical industries have done a great job demonizing fats - especially saturated fats. They just this month changed the guidelines for physicians when prescribing Statins so that more people will be put on them. Statins are the biggest scam drug ever made but that is the topic for another discussion. MCT's are different than other fats in the way your body processes them. They bypass your intestines and are immediately sent to the liver which converts them to Ketone bodies for immediate use as energy.
What does this mean? Unlike pre-workout supplements that either try to give you a metabolic boost with caffeine or herbs or others like NO and Creatine that try to force more nutrients into your muscles, coconut oil does it the old fashion way by supplying a more dense calorie energy source (9 calories/gram versus 4/calories per gram of carbs) for your metabolic pathways. This means you don't have to worry about "loading" or "cycling" it for it to be effective or less "addicting" metabolically. It also allows you to reduce some of your carb intake but maintain your energy levels - great for accelerating fat burn.
You need to choose an organic, virgin coconut oil. Like Virgin olive oil, it is from the first pressing of the coconut meet and is not processed at all. There are plenty of places to find it in the U.S. and it will cost around $12 - $20 bucks for the good stuff. You only need a max of 2 tablespoons per day and it tastes great mixed in with food or protein drinks. I wouldn't exceed 2 tablespoons because above that it can cause abdominal cramping and diarrhea - not because it is bad for you but because of how it is digested.
John
