Coconut Oil Health Topic

Learn More About...Coconut Oil

1. Coconut Oil and Heart Disease

   Coconut oil is composed of a group of unique fat molecules known as medium-chain fatty acids. Although technically classified as saturated fats, they do not have a negative effect on cholesterol. Natural, nonhydrogenated coconut oil tends to increase HDL (good cholesterol that helps protect against heart disease) and improve the cholesterol profile. Heart disease is caused by atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) which is manifest by the formation of plaque in the arteries. In an effort to heal the injury, blood platelets, cholesterol, and protein combine in the artery wall. It appears that there is a cause and effect relationship associated with persistent low-grade (chronic) infections and heart disease (atherosclerosis). A large number of studies have reported associations between heart disease and chronic bacterial and viral infections.

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2. Coconut Oil: Atherogenic or Not? What Therefore Causes Atherosclerosis? (PDF file)

   According to the universally accepted Lipid-Heart Theory, high saturated fats cause hypercholesterolemia and coronary heart disease. Coconut oil has been especially condemned for this reason. The true facts are just the opposite. The countries consuming the highest amounts of coconut oil xxx the Polynesians, Indonesians, Sri Lankans, Indians, Filipinos xxx have not only low serum cholesterol but also low coronary heart disease rates. Coconut oil consists predominantly of medium chain fatty acids, which are metabolized rapidly in the liver to energy and do not participate in the biosynthesis and transport of cholesterol. Coconut oil, in fact, tends to raise the HDL and lower the LDL:HDL ratio. It is not deposited in adipose tissues and therefore does not lead to obesity. It is primarily an energy supplier and as fast a supplier of energy as sugar. Coconut oil has no role at all to play in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Coconut oil is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal for all lipid coated organisms.

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3. The Fat That Can Make You Thin

   Despite the fact that fat and calorie intake has decreased over the past 30 years, we are heavier than ever before. Research has shown that those who get an adequate amount of fat in their diets generally eat less than those to try to reduce fat intake. Our bodies process and metabolize fats differently. The vast majority of fats in our diet are composed of molecules known as long-chain triglycerides. The only significant natural source of medium-chain triglycerides are found in coconut and palm kernel oils. Studies demonstrated that diets containing medium-chain triglycerides result in an increase in energy, a rise in metabolism, increase burning of calories, decrease in food consumption, lower body fat mass, and reduce body weight. Medium-chain triglycerides in coconut oil are smaller than other fats and, therefore, digest very quickly, so quickly in fact, that the body uses them as an immediate source of fuel rather than pack them away in storage inside our fat cells. Medium-chain triglycerides are used to produce energy much like carbohydrates and, therefore, they do not circulate in the bloodstream like other fats. For this reason, they do not supply fat to fat cells or contribute to weight gain. Because medium-chain triglycerides are used by the body as a source of fuel to produce energy, they have a stimulatory affect on metabolism.

4. Things You Probably Didn't Know About Coconut Oil

   Coconut oil has many important nutritional and medical applications. There is no truth in the belief that coconut oil causes or even contributes to heart disease. In the 80s the soybean industry spent millions in an anti-saturated fat and anti-tropical oils publicity campaign. The reason people think of heart disease when anyone mentions coconut oil has to do with marketing and money. Most all of the fats and oils in our diet are composed of long-chain fatty acids There are only a few dietary sources of medium-chain fatty acids, particularly palm kernel and coconut oils. Medium-chain fatty acids are smaller than long-chain fatty acids. The size of these molecules is very important because our bodies process and metabolize each fat differently depending on its size. The medium-chain fatty triglycerides in coconut oil are quickly digested, so pancreatic enzymes are not needed. By the time they enter the intestinal tract they are completely broken down into fatty acids. Because of this, they are absorbed immediately and sent directly to the liver where they are used as a source of fuel to produce energy. They bypass the lipoprotein stage, and they don't circulate in the bloodstream to the degree that other fats do. The medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil are used by the body to produce energy rather than body fat.

5. A New Look at Coconut Oil: Health and Nutritional Benefits from Coconut Oil

   The lauric acid in coconut oil is used by the body to make the same disease-fighting fatty acid derivative monolaurin that babies make from the lauric acid they get from their mothers milk. The monoglyceride monolaurin is the substance that keeps infants from getting viral or bacterial or protozoal infections. In the United States today, there is very little lauric acid in most of the foods. Whole coconut as well as extracted coconut oil has been a mainstay in the food supply in many countries in parts of Asia and the Pacific Rim throughout the centuries.

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6. Coconut Oil Versus Unhealthy Unsaturated Fats

   In the 1940s, farmers attempted to use cheap coconut oil for fattening their animals, but they found that it made them lean, active and hungry. It was found that causing animals to get fat without eating much food could be achieved by using soy beans and corn as feed. Coconut oil can be used for saut"xxing and cooking as it does not form dangerous trans fatty acids that even olive oil does, and it is far healthier than the other vegetable oils.

7. Coconut Oil and Monolaurin's Potential as a Cure for HIV/AIDS (PDF file)

   In the first clinical trial of monolaurin on 15 HIV-infected patients, 50% showed reduced viral load by the third month. Medium chain fatty acids possess significant activity against gram positive bacteria. Lauric acid was most potent, particularly in its monoglyceride form (monolaurin). Monolaurin xxxs activity is limited to lipid coated organisms (gram positive bacteria, enveloped viruses).

8. In Vitro Antimicrobial Properties of Coconut Oil on Candida Species

   Coconut oil was active against species of Candida at 100% concentration compared to fluconazole. Candida albicans had the highest susceptibility to coconut oil (100%). Coconut oil should be used in the treatment of fungal infections in view of emerging drug-resistant Candida species.

   SCIENTIFIC STUDY

9. Dietary Medium-Chain Triacylglycerols Suppress Accumulation of Body Fat

   The decrease in the area of subcutaneous fat in the medium-chain triglyceride group was significantly greater than that in the long-chain triglyceride group. These results suggest that the medium-chain triglyceride diet may reduce body weight and fat in individuals more than the long-chain triglyceride diet.

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10. Results of Use of Metformin and Replacement of Starch With Saturated Fat in Diets of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

    Addition of saturated fat and removal of starch from a high-monounsaturated fat and starch-restricted diet improved glycemic control and were associated with weight loss without detectable adverse effects on serum lipids.

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11. Coconut Information Database and Discussion Group

    Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which is known for being anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-fungal. At one time coconut oil received negative press in the US because of its high level of saturated fat. However, modern research has shown that not all saturated fats are alike and that the fatty acids in coconut oil, the medium chain triglycerides, do not raise serum cholesterol or contribute to heart disease, but are in fact very healthy. Also, some negative studies done on coconut oil in the past was done on hydrogenated coconut oil, which has been altered from its original form.

12. Coconut Research Links 1

    Links to articles and research on coconut oil.

13. Coconut Research Links 2

    Links to articles and research on coconut oil.

14. The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife

    Natural coconut oil, not the hydrogenated version often found in processed foods, is a saturated fat, but not the kind your doctor has warned you about. Studies have shown that this uniquely curative oil actually has innumerable health benefits.

15. Confused About Fats?

    The following new-fangled fats can cause cancer, heart disease, immune system dysfunction, sterility, learning disabilities, growth problems and osteoporosis: all hydrogenated oils, soy oil, corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, and all fats heated to very high temperatures in processing or frying.

16. Know Your Fats by Dr. Mary G. Enig

    The complete primer for understanding the nutrition of fats, oils, and cholesterol. Provides the reader with a very broad but also in-depth discussion of the many aspects of dietary fats and oils in our foods and in our bodies. The reader will gain an understanding of the relationship between dietary fat intake and health and between dietary fat intake and disease.

17. The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

    A collection of links about cholesterol.

18. Get Off Your Thyroid Medication and Start Consuming Coconut Oil

    Research shows that coconut oil contains unique fatty acids that stimulate metabolism, supply the body with tremendous energy, and promote weight loss. Is coconut oil a thyroid cure? Not by itself. Can it help people with low thyroid function? Yes, because it stimulates metabolism and boosts energy.

19. Effect of Topical Application of Virgin Coconut Oil on Skin Components and Antioxidant Status During Dermal Wound Healing

    Virgin coconut oil treated wounds healed much faster, as indicated by a decreased time of complete epithelization and higher levels of various skin components. Pepsin-soluble collagen showed a significant increase in VCO- treated wounds, indicating a higher collagen cross-linking. Glycohydrolase activities were also found to be increased due to a higher turnover of collagen.

    SCIENTIFIC STUDY

20. How Coconut Oil May Rescue The Brain From Alzheimer's Disease

    A promising new study soon to be published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease titled, "Coconut Oil Attenuates the Effects of Amyloid-β on Cortical Neurons In Vitro", lends fresh experimental support to an accumulating body of anecdotal reports that coconut oil may alleviate and/or regress cognitive deficits associated with aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's.

Tags: coconut oil, coconut oil and medium-chain fatty acids, coconut oil and lauric acid, coconut oil and monolaurin, coconut oil and cholesterol, coconut oil and saturated fat, coconut oil and heart disease, coconut oil and artherosclerosis, coconut oil and diabetes, coconut oil and anti-microbial, coconut oil and anti-fungal, coconut oil and anti-bacterial, coconut oil and candida, coconut oil and obesity, coconut oil and weight loss, coconut oil and cooking

Coconut oil has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for the any of the following topics indicated in the links above: antifungal, antimicrobial, atherosclerosis, alzheimer's disease, candida, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity

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