8Keto Zero Carb is an MCT supplement released by manufacturer, VPX. If you haven’t heard of VPX, you’ll no doubt have heard of their eternally popular energy drinks line, Bang Energy or its founder, the dynamic Jack Owoc.
Owoc is a former high school science teacher who claims his mission is to make ‘the highest quality nutritional supplements on the market, backed by scientific research.’ He says he was obligated to start his own supplement company 24 years ago because he ‘tired of all the lies and deception that unscrupulous supplement companies were using to purposefully rip off consumers.’
Having reviewed hundreds of supplements here at Best5Supplements – some useless and even dangerous products included – we salute that philosophy.
It should stand to reason then that any supplements Owoc puts out should be a decent quality. The best quality, in fact. Existing products and ranges like Bang Energy, Meltdown and Redline have indeed demonstrated that they are based in sound science and showed good results in medical trials.
Thanks to these claims and the results his supplements produce, when Owoc releases a new product, you can bet that people sit up and pay attention. And wouldn’t you know it? That’s exactly what he’s gone and done!
8Keto Zero Carb was released only a week or two ago and we’re not wasting any more time before looking at this latest offering from the man behind VPX and Bang Energy.
Table of Contents
About 8Keto Zero Carb
If you like your supplements to be no nonsense, then you’ll like 8Keto Zero Carb. It consists of pure caprylic acid (C8) – a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) which you can find in a variety of foods. It’s a fatty, oily liquid containing easy-to-digest fats.
It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that 8Keto Zero Carb is a keto supplement that doesn’t contain carbohydrates. We know, right? Who comes up with the crazy names they give these things?
You’re probably familiar with the keto diet. The principle behind it is that you can swap your body’s preferred energy source from carbs to fats, and by doing so you can lose weight more easily.
The evidence for keto being an effective weight loss program is definitely valid, and VPX reckon that 8Keto Zero Carb’s MCT complex is an ideal way to easily achieve and maintain a fat burning ketogenic state.
But just how effective are MCTs at keeping your body burning away that blubber? And is C8 indeed the holy grail of MCTs?
We’ll answer those questions and more when we dive into the details below!
8Keto Zero Carb – Supplement Facts
Each bottle of 8Keto Zero Carb contains 18 ounces of pure C8 and it is recommended that you use 1-2 tablespoons at a time and mix it with food or drink. It has no taste or odor which makes it perfect for adding to coffee, shakes or sauces.
Please, for the love of God, don’t drink the whole bottle at once.
Now that’s out the way, let’s get into what the heck C8 is and whether this stuff is worth 25 bucks a bottle.
MCTs – A Quick Overview
For starters, we should talk about what exactly MCTs are and what they do. Medium-chain triglycerides are fats, but ones that can be easily broken down once inside your body.
The name ‘medium-chain triglycerides’ comes from the chemical structure of these fats – basically they have a shorter chain of triglyceride molecules that the long chain triglycerides (LCTs). LCTs make up the majority of fats that we eat including fish, meat, avocados, nuts and fatty oils.
Your body breaks down MCTs more easily and quickly than LCTs and MCTs produce more ketones while improving protein metabolism.
MCTs have been linked to many health benefits. Mixing just two tablespoons of MCT oil in with your breakfast could keep you feeling fuller come lunchtime. The advantage of this is you want to eat less which makes losing weight much easier.
There are four different MCTs that you’ll find in different combinations depending on which supplement you try. They are caproic acid (C6), caprylic acid (C8), capric acid (C10) and lauric acid (C12).
People of all shapes and sizes can increase the rate at which their body burns fat by taking MCT oil while also enjoying higher levels of energy. Finally, MCTs can help maintain a healthy environment in your gut which contributes to success when trying to lose weight.
MCTs and ketosis
The keto diet is all about your body maintaining a state called ketosis. While in ketosis you are burning fat as your primary source of energy.
Because the keto diet allows for very few carbs (only 5% of total calories), you can sometimes be left feeling low on energy, especially if you’re in the advanced stages of keto and have burned away most of your fat reserves.
MCTs are quickly absorbed and don’t need to be broken down in the stomach. They can enter your cells easily and provide energy or be transported to your liver to be broken down to ketones that provide fuel for your brain. For this reason, they’re a great source of instant energy if you’re running low on reserves.
Caprylic Acid (C8)
This is the only MCT in 8Keto Zero Carb. Natural sources of C8 include coconut oil, palm oil and the milk of various mammals including cows and humans.
C8 is generally thought to be one of the ‘better’ MCTs because it produces 4 times as many ketones as coconut oil which contains all four MCTs from C6 to C12. This makes C8 a great MCT for energy, but it lacks some of the benefits of the other MCTs, in particular capric acid (C10).
Taking C8 on its own does offer some good benefits, for example it has been proven to suppress the hormone ghrelin (the hunger hormone) so you feel more satisfied for longer after eating. It also improves cardiovascular health and reduces cholesterol while on a high fat diet (though this study looked at a combination of MCTs, not C8 in isolation).
There is also evidence that C8, along with other MCTs can directly improve brain function thanks to their ability to quickly produce high volumes of ketones.
There is plenty more to uncover when it comes to the benefits of C8 and other MCTs but it’s worth noting that most of the studies done to date have looked at the effects of multiple MCTs. The evidence for C8 being much more useful on its own than in combination with other MCTs is limited.
See the Top Ranked
– MCT Oil Here –
8Keto Zero Carb Formula Analysis
To assess the formula (which consists of just the one ingredient) we need to look at the other MCTs that 8Keto Zero Carb does not contain and find out what you might be missing out on by just taking C8.
The easiest place to start is with lauric acid (C12) because most nutritionists don’t agree that it qualifies fully as an MCT. It doesn’t offer any real health benefits and is very close in its chemical structure to an LCT so we can basically disregard it.
Caproic acid (C6) is the shortest of all the MCTs and produces a high number of ketones, but it can only be processed in the liver and cannot enter cells directly. This limits its usefulness as a supplement, but not as much as the fact that it tastes and smells like moldy cheese!
C10 offers a good balance of benefits, being quickly absorbed by your cells, increasing your metabolism, supporting a healthy immune system and helping to keep your gut healthy too.
Many studies on the benefits of MCTs have used a combination of C8 and C10 and you could easily make the argument that both of these together provide a wider range of benefits than C8 or C10 alone.
So, while a pure C8 oil like 8Keto Zero Carb has plenty of benefits, you might not get as much value out of it as you would if you were getting C10 in the mix as well.
8Keto Zero Carb Benefits
There are physical and mental benefits to using 8Keto Zero Carb as part of your supplement stack.
Physical benefits
- Supporting weight management by suppressing the hunger hormone
- Increases fat metabolism before, during and after your workout
- Provides an instant injection of energy
Mental benefits
- Supports cognitive functioning
- Helps get rid of food cravings which means less stressful dieting
While these benefits will be felt most by anyone transitioning to, or already on, a ketogenic diet, others can still benefit from the appetite-suppressing and energy-producing effects of 8Keto Zero Carb.
See the Top Ranked
– MCT Oil Here –
Who Takes It?
8Keto Zero Carb is primarily aimed at keto fans who want an easy way to boost energy and maintain their body’s ketogenic state.
It could also be useful for people not on keto by helping to suppress appetite and encourage fat burning.
Whichever category you fall in to, adding 1-2 tablespoons of 8Keto Zero Carb to food or drink could support weight loss and give you a quick burst of physical energy and brainpower.
Any Potential Side-Effects with 8Keto Zero Carb?
The keto lifestyle comes with free side-effects included, but these can be managed effectively with MCT supplements that help reduce symptoms of keto transition and maintenance such as nausea, headaches and low energy.
Use of C8 as a supplement can result in some minor side effects including flatulence, nausea, bloating and diarrhea but overall it is rated ‘likely safe’ according to WebMD.
If you suffer from the condition medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) then you should avoid using C8 or any other MCT supplement.
8Keto Zero Carb Summary
By now you’re probably close to making your mind up about 8Keto Zero Carb, but let’s break down all the pros and cons before you make your decision.
Pros
- Helps support weight loss
- Prolongs satiety (feeling of being full after eating)
- Increases the rate at which your body burns fat
- Provides instant energy for your brain and body
- Tasteless & odorless so can easily be added to any food or drink
Cons
- Priced at the very top end of MCT supplements
- Not effective at supporting your immune system
- Limited benefits to intestinal health
- Benefits therefore not as all-encompassing as a C8 and C10 combo
See the Top Ranked
– MCT Oil Here –
Pricing & Where to Buy
The only place you can pick up 8Keto Zero Carb right now is from the Bang Energy website (Bang are also owned by VPX).
It’s priced at $24.99 for 18 oz (approx. 18 servings)
8Keto Zero Carb Review: Conclusion
By only offering one MCT, 8Keto Zero Carb sadly limits its appeal. We’re not going to debate whether C8 is worth including in your supplement routine – it more than likely is.
The issue here is that C10 offers all the same benefits plus it’s better for your immune system, cardiovascular health and general health. The clinical evidence available suggests that a combination of MCTs – specifically C8 and C10 – will give you the greatest range of benefits.
Supplements like 8Keto Zero Carb that only contain one might leave you having to fill the gap with another product that contains C10. The thing is that every supplement that contains C10 also contains C8, so then why would you need a C8-only supplement?!
There is only one reason that we can see – if you’re in the advanced phase of ketosis and already getting the full range of MCTs, but you need something to provide instant energy so you can perform to a higher level either physically or mentally, then standalone C8 will provide exactly that.
It’s kind of a hardcore product that will be useful to a small number of people and carries a hefty, though arguably justified price tag.
If you’re simply looking for an MCT supplement to support ketosis and keep you energized, then a blended oil (which tends to cost less than C8 alone) might be a better way to go.
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