|August 29, 2023

10 Ways to Use Brain Octane Oil (and Only One is Coffee)

By Courtney Sperlazza, MPH
Reviewed for Scientific Accuracy

10 Ways to Use Brain Octane Oil (and Only One is Coffee)

  • You might have blended Brain Octane Oil into your coffee for an instant upgrade in your cup. Did you know there are so many other uses for it?
  • From condiments to beverages to diet hacks, Brain Octane Oil has lots of places in your kitchen.
  • Read on to find out 8 creative ways to use Brain Octane Oil.

When you first switch to a keto diet, it takes a few days for your body to get used to burning fat for fuel instead of sugar. You go through a period of feeling anywhere from a little sluggish to full-on keto flu until your body shifts to burning fat and making ketones for energy. It can take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks to start feeling amazing.

There’s a cheat code for that. Brain Octane Oil helps your body make ketones even before your body becomes keto adapted, and gives your brain a steady stream of fuel. Here’s some info on how medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) work, and why Brain Octane Oil works more efficiently.

Looking to buy? Get Brain Octane Oil now

Since Brain Octane Oil helps deepen ketosis and keep you on track, you’ll want to add it to your food throughout the day. Here are 10 ways to use it, in blended coffee beverages and beyond.

Related: Beginner’s Guide to Cyclical Keto Meal Plans

In salad dressing

Brain Octane Oil sitting next to a leafy bowl of salad

Bottled dressings are usually stuffed to the brim with preservatives, franken-oils, and sugar, so when you make the switch to real food, whether you’re Paleo, Whole30, or keto, you definitely want to make your own. Since Brain Octane Oil, like all MCT oil, is flavorless, you can use it to thin out your home creations and add a silky mouthfeel to your favorite dressing recipe. It also neutralizes the flavor of overpowering oils like extra-virgin olive oil.

Oh, and the ketone boost is always welcome.

Try: Avocado-Basil Vinaigrette

To make compound butter

Ways to Use Brain Octane Oil_To make compound butter

Slices of lightly-grilled steak with gently roasted vegetables, all covered in herby compound butter…’nuff said. Once you start making your own compound butters, you’ll put them on everything.

To make compound butter, soften a stick of grass-fed butter and mix in chopped herbs and pink himalayan salt until incorporated. You can roll it up in parchment and refrigerate to mold it back into a stick, or you can mix in a little Brain Octane Oil while the butter is still soft for tub-style soft butter to serve in a condiment bowl. If you get the ratios right, it stays spreadable right out of the fridge. Start with 3/4c Brain Octane Oil to 1c grass-fed butter, and add more if you like it softer.

Make a bunch of different flavors — from savory to sweet. They’ll last up to three months, refrigerated.

Antioxidant herbs, undamaged MCT fats…there’s a long list of reasons this sounds so good right now.

To lower the glycemic index of carbs

hands pouring Bulletproof Brain Octane oil into teaspoon measurement

Fat keeps you fuller longer. You will eat far less if you swap empty processed grains and sugar for quality fats.[1]

The reason? Glycemic index.

Every food has a glycemic index (GI) — a numerical score that indicates how the food affects your blood sugar. Low GI means it affects your blood sugar less, and a high GI means it affects your blood sugar a lot. To illustrate…

Remember the days when you started with a bowl of sweet cereal with skim milk?

Talk about setting yourself up for failure. When all of those carbohydrates hit your system at once, they convert quickly to glucose. Your body doesn’t want high levels of sugar hanging out in the blood, so your body springs into action to get it out of your blood and either into your cells or stored away ASAP — as fat. A spike in sugar creates a spike in insulin to tell your cells to get ready for a delivery of fuel.

When you make a lot of insulin, your cells rapidly take up the sugar, which tanks the glucose levels in your blood. When your blood sugar drops too low, your brain gets the signal that there’s not enough fuel. Soon, you find yourself looking for food again.

One solution is to avoid carbs like the plague, but you can wreck your gut and have all kinds of symptoms with a very-low-carb-all-the-time diet. The other solution is a cyclical ketogenic diet, taking steps to avoid the blood sugar rollercoaster.

One thing to watch is how fast you’re getting an influx of carbs. Sweet desserts and empty carbs have a high glycemic index, so they will spike your blood sugar, cascading the scenario above.

Healthy fats will lower glycemic index, because it slows down carbohydrate metabolism. Your insulin will take its time, releasing at a steady pace instead of opening the floodgates. The result is steady energy, instead of a buzzy surge of energy followed by a crash and hunger.

On carb refeed days, you can drizzle Brain Octane Oil on your rice, sweet potato or squash to trickle out your energy supply instead of letting the carbs bum rush your system.

Try: Sweet Potato Salmon Avocado Toast

To make intermittent fasting easier

Bottle of Brain Octane Oil on counter with coffee & measuring spoonWhen you first start intermittent fasting, there’s an adjustment period. Your body is used to being fed first-thing, and when it’s not, it starts sounding the hunger alarm bells. And that’s distracting.

Soon, your body will trust that it will get everything it needs, just later in the day.

Until then, you can use Brain Octane Oil to get you through until it’s time to eat. Pure fat won’t kick you out of ketosis like carbs or protein will. In fact, it does the opposite — it converts to ketones quickly, which your body uses for energy. So, MCT oil will curb your appetite and keep you focused instead of hungry, until you say it’s time to eat.

Try: Add a teaspoon of Brain Octane Oil to your water with a squeeze of lemon to stay fueled and focused until lunchtime.

In a homemade sports drink

Research shows MCT oil may help your athletic performance. According to scientists, if you teach your body to burn fat like MCTs for fuel, you can work out intensely without “bonking,” or feeling weak after you’ve used up your blood sugar.[2]

In a mouse study, researchers noted that mice that consumed MCTs before endurance tasks performed better because they had increased numbers of mitochondria in their cells.[3] Mitochondria are the parts of cells that help you get energy out of the food you eat.

To help you get enough fat if you’re keto

Mug of creamy Bulletproof Coffee next to butter & wooden spoon

When people first go keto or start the Bulletproof Diet, a common concern is, how in the world will I get enough fat? If you’re coming off of a standard American diet or the low-fat train, it can be a challenge at first to find enough fat to eat, let alone high-quality, undamaged fats that won’t make you weak.

The good news is, Brain Octane Oil is colorless, flavorless, and enhances the flavor of almost everything it touches. By adding just a tablespoon of Brain Octane Oil on your plate, you’re adding 14 grams of satiating MCTs to your day, without even trying. Do that for a couple meals, and you’ll tick off your fat requirements, no sweat.

Try: Steak With Chimichurri Sauce

In Bulletproof Coffee

Upgraded MCT oil, aka Brain Octane Oil, is a key ingredient in Bulletproof Coffee, which is another easy, satisfying, and energizing way to get fat without having to work it into your meals.

Bulletproof coffee in the morning keeps you full, turns the lights on in your brain, and tastes like a creamy latte.

Try: Bulletproof Coffee Recipe

In coffee-shop-worthy non-coffee beverages

Ways to Use Brain Octane Oil_In coffee shop worthy non-coffee beverages

If you want to change it up, Brain Octane Oil works in lots of variations on the frothy blended latte — with or without caffeine.

Try:

Vanilla Matcha Latte – Recipe here 
Anti-inflammatory Spiced Chai – Recipe here 
Antioxidant Turmeric Latte – Recipe here 

Blended in smoothies and smoothie bowls

How long a smoothie holds you depends on what’s in it. If you use straight-up fruit, you’re looking at an hour or two until your blood sugar crashes and hunger hits. If you keep your smoothie low-carb with satisfying fats, you’ll stay full and focused for hours and hours.

Since Brain Octane Oil has a neutral flavor and won’t chance the taste of your favorite smoothies, drizzle a tablespoon into your favorite smoothie recipe and blend. For the ice cream experience, use a little less liquid in your smoothie to make it thicker, and serve it up in a bowl.

Try: Blueberry Avocado Smoothie Bowl 

As a carrier oil for essential oils

Ways to Use Brain Octane Oil_As a carrier oil for essential oils

Essential oils are super-concentrated, and way too powerful to apply straight. Brain Octane Oil is lightweight and absorbs into the skin quickly, bringing along with it whatever essential oils you mix in.

Try: DIY Natural Bug Spray

Brain Octane Oil is so versatile, you’ll reach for it again and again once you get used to using it. If you’re not sure, you can try the 3-ounce travel size, or pick up the single-use GoPacks and share them with your friends. The possibilities are endless.

READ NEXT: 14 Ways to Add More MCT Oil to Your Diet

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