MCT Wellness is a dietary supplement used for weight loss and cognitive function from a brand called Gundry MD. The brand describes this supplement as being perfect for consumers who want “a body that can act like a fat-burning furnace,” and “a sharp mind that stays focused.”

But are medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) actually proven to cause fat loss and improved cognitive function? Is it dosed high enough in this supplement? Does MCT Wellness contain any unhealthy ingredients? And is it better or worse than popular fat burners like Inno Supps Night Shred?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in MCT Wellness to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective for weight loss, and whether or not it's healthy.

We'll discuss the risk of side effects, discuss the supplement's potential effects on cognition, and compare MCT Wellness to other popular fat burners to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Likely to support weight loss
• Contains inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend MCT Wellness

Will MCT Wellness Cause Weight Loss?

The active ingredients in MCT Wellness are shown below:

C8 CMT Oil Powder is included at a dose of 5,500 milligrams (mg), which we consider effective.

A meta-study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics analyzed results from clinical trials on MCT oil and weight loss, and documented an average weight loss of 1.12 pounds after 10 weeks of daily use.

MitoHeal is a patented extract of redcurrant and blackcurrant. We find this to be a strange inclusion in a weight loss or cognition supplement, and we cannot identify any clinical studies proving it to be effective for either outcome.

The manufacturer’s own website describes MitoHeal primarily as a beauty ingredient that can “reduce fine lines and wrinkles.”

CogniGrape is a trademarked extract of red grape that's used to support cognition.

Overall, we consider MCT Wellness likely to cause modest weight loss due to the MCT oil inclusion.

We do not currently recommend this supplement because we consider some of its inactive ingredients, shown below, to be unhealthy:

Citric acid was shown in a medical review published in the Toxicology Reports journal to cause whole-body inflammation in a some individuals. 

Natural flavor is a broad categorization that fails to describe the specific chemical compounds used as flavoring agents.

As we documented in our review of the 310 Shake, there is clinical evidence that some natural flavoring agents have toxicity concerns.

Will MCT Wellness Improve Cognition?

MCT oil has been studied for its nootropic (cognitive-enhancing) properties in clinical studies.

A 2021 clinical trial found that MCT oil improved cognitive function in young, healthy adults, but the minimally-effective dose was documented to be 12 g, or over 4x the amount in MCT Wellness.

We are unable to identify any medical studies suggesting that MCT oil at as low a dose as in this supplement improves cognition, and Gundry MD does not cite any on the product page.

We cannot identify any medical evidence that MitoHeal improves cognitive function.

CogniGrape was shown in a clinical trial published in the Frontiers in Pharmacology to improve cognitive function in healthy, older adults.

Attention, language, immediate memory and delayed memory were all improved, and there was also a reduction in depression scores of over 15% and a reduction in anxiety scores of over 24%.

We consider MCT Wellness likely to improve cognitive function because of its effective dose of CogniGrape.

Does MCT Wellness Cause Side Effects?

MCT Wellness does not appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, so it’s challenging to say for certain whether or not the supplement causes side effects.

However, we can make an educated guess based on its ingredient label.

All of the ingredients in MCT Wellness are safe and well-studied, so we do not consider this supplement likely to cause any side effects in healthy individuals.

MCT oil can cause gastrointestinal distress when taken at large doses according to the Cleveland Clinic, but we would not categorize the amount in this supplement as a large dose.

Some individuals online report anxiety after taking MCT oil, but we can’t find any evidence of this effect in clinical research.

MCT Wellness vs. Popular Fat Burners

Here's how MCT Wellness compares to other popular fat burner supplements in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:

Night Shred

Contains research-backed ingredients for weight loss and is free from unhealthy inactive ingredients.

The only ingredient in this formulation that prevents us from recommending this supplement is CLA, which is an active ingredient that's clinically shown to cause oxidative stress at the dose required to support weight loss.

However, its dose in Night Shred is likely below that threshold (it's included in a prop blend so we can't determine its exact dose), and therefore we consider Night Shred to be the winner from a health perspective.

Winner: Night Shred

Nugenix Thermo

Contains research-backed ingredients for weight loss.

However, this supplement also contains both active and inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy, as we documented in our Nugenix Thermo reviews article.

MCT Wellness is the winner from a health perspective.

Winner: MCT Wellness

Bye Bye Belly Juice

Unclear ingredients and unclear official manufacturer.

Gundry MD is by a far a more reputable brand than Bye Bye Belly Juice, and is the safer (and more likely effective) choice.

Winner: MCT Wellness

Our Clean Weight Loss Picks

Ceylon cinnamon was described as "an effective anti-obesity agent" in a 2022 meta-analysis. The study authors concluded that effects were greater at doses at or over 3 grams daily.

Illuminate Labs Ceylon Cinnamon Extract is our standardized Ceylon cinnamon supplement which is third-party tested to ensure purity and potency.

Dietary fiber was shown in a medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition to cause 16 pounds of weight loss in 6 months when combined with moderate caloric restriction (750 calories per day below baseline).

MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick because it's certified organic, provides 7 g of fiber per serving and costs under $1.85 per serving at the time of updating this article.

Both of the products mentioned in this section are free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

MCT Wellness Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Likely effective for weight loss
• Likely effective for cognitive enhancement
• Unlikely to cause side effects
• Healthier than some competitors

Cons:

• Contains citric acid
• Contains natural flavor
• Expensive
• Doesn't appear to be clinically tested

Conclusion

MCT Wellness is a decently formulated supplement that we consider likely to be effective for both of the main claims made by the brand.

This supplement has the potential to cause modest weight loss due to the effective MCT oil dose, and has the potential to cause cognitive improvements due to the effective CogniGrape dose.

We do not currently recommend MCT Wellness overall due to the inclusion of two questionable additive ingredients, and because we consider it to be a cost-inefficient way to take MCT oil. 

We consider the potential cognitive benefits to be more impressive than the potential weight loss benefits, as the research backing for CogniGrape (one of the active ingredients) is impressive.

There are no ingredients in this product that we consider likely to cause side effects in healthy individuals.

We consider MCT Wellness to be a better-quality fat burner than Nugenix Thermo and Bye Bye Belly Juice, but less healthy than Inno Supps Night Shred.