I was like others bought into hype that coconut oil is loaded with
dangerous level of saturated fat that would clog the artery in no time.
After reading some great information about coconut products, I knew that
another change in dietary lifestyle is imminent.
I have already discussed the many toxic effects of the
unsaturated oils, and I have frequently mentioned that coconut oil
doesn't have those toxic effects, though it does contain a small amount of
the unsaturated oils.
Many people have asked me to write something on coconut oil. I thought
I might write a small book on it, but I realize that there are no suitable
channels for distributing such a book -- if the seed-oil industry can
eliminate major corporate food products that have used coconut oil for a
hundred years, they certainly have the power to prevent dealers from
selling a book that would affect their market more seriously. For the
present, I will just outline some of the virtues of coconut oil.
The unsaturated oils in some cooked foods become rancid in just a
few hours, even at refrigerator temperatures, and are responsible for
the stale taste of leftover foods. (Eating slightly stale food isn't
particularly harmful, since the same oils, even when eaten absolutely
fresh, will oxidize at a much higher rate once they are in the body, where
they are heated and thoroughly mixed with an abundance of oxygen.)
Coconut oil that has been kept at room temperature for a year has
been tested for rancidity, and showed no evidence of it.
Since we would expect the small percentage of unsaturated oils
naturally contained in coconut oil to become rancid, it seems that the
other (saturated) oils have an antioxidative effect:
I suspect that the dilution keeps the unstable unsaturated fat
molecules spatially separated from each other, so they can't interact in
the destructive chain reactions that occur in other oils.
To interrupt chain-reactions of oxidation is one of the functions of
antioxidants, and it is possible that a sufficient quantity of coconut oil
in the body has this function. It is well established that dietary coconut
oil reduces our need for vitamin E, but I think its antioxidant role is
more general than that, and that it has both direct and indirect
antioxidant activities.
Coconut oil is unusually rich in short and medium chain fatty acids.
Shorter chain length allows fatty acids to be metabolized without use of
the carnitine transport system. Mildronate protects cells against stress
partly by opposing the action of carnitine, and comparative studies showed
that added carnitine had the opposite effect, promoting the oxidation of
unsaturated fats during stress, and increasing oxidative damage to cells.
I suspect that a degree of saturation of the oxidative apparatus by
short-chain fatty acids has a similar effect -- that is, that these very
soluble and mobile short-chain saturated fats have priority for oxidation,
because they don't require carnitine transport into the mitochondrion, and
that this will tend to inhibit oxidation of the unstable, peroxidizable
unsaturated fatty acids.
When Albert Schweitzer operated his clinic in tropical Africa, he said
it was many years before he saw any cases of cancer, and he believed that
the appearance of cancer was caused by the change to the European type of
diet. In the l920s, German researchers showed that mice on a fat-free diet
were practically free of cancer.
Since then, many studies have demonstrated a very close association
between consumption of unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer.
Heart damage is easily produced in animals by feeding them linoleic
acid; this "essential" fatty acid turned out to be the heart toxin in
rape-seed oil.
The addition of saturated fat to the experimental heart-toxic
oil-rich diet protects against the damage to heart cells.
Immunosuppression was observed in patients who were being "nourished"
by intravenous emulsions of "essential fatty acids," and as a result
coconut oil is used as the basis for intravenous fat feeding, except in
organ-transplant patients. For those patients, emulsions of unsaturated
oils are used specifically for their immunosuppressive effects.
General aging, and especially aging of the brain, is increasingly seen
as being closely associated with lipid peroxidation.
Several years ago I met an old couple, who were only a few years apart
in age, but the wife looked many years younger than her doddering
old husband. She was from the Philippines, and she remarked that she
always had to cook two meals at the same time, because her husband
couldn't adapt to her traditional food. Three times every day, she still
prepared her food in coconut oil. Her apparent youth increased my
interest in the effects of coconut oil.
In the l960s, Hartroft and Porta gave an elegant argument for
decreasing the ratio of unsaturated oil to saturated oil in the diet (and
thus in the tissues). They showed that the "age pigment" is produced in
proportion to the ratio of oxidants to antioxidants, multiplied by the
ratio of unsaturated oils to saturated oils.
More recently, a variety of studies have demonstrated that ultraviolet
light induces peroxidation in unsaturated fats, but not saturated fats,
and that this occurs in the skin as well as in the lab.
Rabbit experiments, and studies of humans, showed that the amount of
unsaturated oil in the diet strongly affects the rate at which aged,
wrinkled skin develops.
The unsaturated fat in the skin is a major target for the aging and
carcinogenic effects of ultraviolet light, though not necessarily the only
one.
In the l940s, farmers attempted to use cheap coconut oil for fattening
their animals, but they found that it made them lean, active and hungry.
For a few years, an antithyroid drug was found to make the livestock get
fat while eating less food, but then it was found to be a strong
carcinogen, and it also probably produced hypothyroidism in the people who
ate the meat.
By the late l940s, it was found that the same antithyroid effect,
causing animals to get fat without eating much food, could be achieved by
using soy beans and corn as feed.
Later, an animal experiment fed diets that were low or high in total
fat, and in different groups the fat was provided by pure coconut oil, or
a pure unsaturated oil, or by various mixtures of the two oils. At the end
of their lives, the animals' obesity increased directly in proportion to
the ratio of unsaturated oil to coconut oil in their diet, and was not
related to the total amount of fat they had consumed.
That is, animals which ate just a little pure unsaturated oil were fat,
and animals which ate a lot of coconut oil were lean.
G. W. Crile and his wife found that the metabolic rate of people in
Yucatan, where coconut is a staple food, averaged 25% higher than
that of people in the United States.
In a hot climate, the adaptive tendency is to have a lower metabolic
rate, so it is clear that some factor is more than offsetting this
expected effect of high environmental temperatures. The people there are
lean, and recently it has been observed that the women there have none of
the symptoms we commonly associate with the menopause.
By l950, then, it was established that unsaturated fats suppress the
metabolic rate, apparently creating hypothyroidism.
Over the next few decades, the exact mechanisms of that metabolic
damage were studied. Unsaturated fats damage the mitochondria, partly by
suppressing the reparatory enzyme, and partly by causing generalized
oxidative damage. The more unsaturated the oils are, the more specifically
they suppress tissue response to thyroid hormone, and transport of the
hormone on the thyroid transport protein.
Plants evolved a variety of toxins designed to protect themselves from
"predators," such as grazing animals. Seeds contain a variety of toxins,
that seem to be specific for mammalian enzymes, and the seed oils
themselves function to block protein digestive enzymes in the stomach.
The thyroid hormone is formed in the gland by the action of a protein
digestive enzyme, and the unsaturated oils also inhibit that enzyme.
Similar protein digestive enzymes involved in clot removal and immune
function appear to be similarly inhibited by these oils.
Just as metabolism is "activated" by consumption of coconut oil, which
prevents the inhibiting effect of unsaturated oils, other inhibited
processes, such as clot removal and immune function, will probably tend to
be restored by continuing use of coconut oil.
Brain tissue is very rich in complex forms of fats.
The experiment (around 1978) in which pregnant mice were given diets
containing either coconut oil or unsaturated oil showed that brain
development was superior in the young mice whose mothers ate coconut oil.
Because coconut oil supports thyroid function, and thyroid governs
brain development, including myelination, the result might simply reflect
the difference between normal and hypothyroid individuals.
However, in 1980, experimenters demonstrated that young rats fed milk
containing soy oil incorporated the oil directly into their brain cells,
and had structurally abnormal brain cells as a result.
Lipid oxidation occurs during seizures, and antioxidants such as vitamin E
have some anti-seizure activity. Currently, lipid oxidation is being found
to be involved in the nerve cell degeneration of Alzheimer's disease.
Various fractions of coconut oil are coming into use as "drugs,"
meaning that they are advertised as treatments for diseases. Butyric acid
is used to treat cancer, lauric and myristic acids to treat virus
infections, and mixtures of medium-chain fats are sold for weight loss.
Purification undoubtedly increases certain effects, and results in
profitable products, but in the absence of more precise knowledge, I
think the whole natural product, used as a regular food, is the best way
to protect health.
The shorter-chain fatty acids have strong, unpleasant odors; for a
couple of days after I ate a small amount of a medium-chain triglyceride
mixture, my skin oil emitted a rank, goaty smell. Some people don't seem
to have that reaction, and the benefits might outweigh the stink, but
these things just haven't been in use long enough to know whether they are
safe.
Treating any complex natural product as the drug industry does, as a
raw material to be fractionated in the search for "drug" products, is
risky, because the relevant knowledge isn't sought in the search for an
association between a single chemical and a single disease.
While the toxic unsaturated paint-stock oils, especially safflower,
soy, corn and linseed (flaxseed) oils, have been sold to the public
precisely for their drug effects, all of their claimed benefits were
false.
When people become interested in coconut oil as a "health food," the
huge seed-oil industry -- operating through their shills -- are going to
attack it as an "unproved drug."
While components of coconut oil have been found to have remarkable
physiological effects (as antihistamines, antiinfectives/antiseptics,
promoters of immunity, glucocorticoid antagonist, nontoxic anticancer
agents, for example).
The cholesterol-lowering fiasco for a long time centered on the ability
of unsaturated oils to slightly lower serum cholesterol. For years, the
mechanism of that action wasn't known, which should have suggested
caution. Now, it seems that the effect is just one more toxic action, in
which the liver defensively retains its cholesterol, rather than releasing
it into the blood.
Large scale human studies have provided overwhelming evidence that
whenever drugs, including the unsaturated oils, were used to lower serum
cholesterol, mortality increased, from a variety of causes
including accidents, but mainly from cancer.
Since the l930s, it has been clearly established that suppression of
the thyroid raises serum cholesterol (while increasing mortality from
infections, cancer, and heart disease), while restoring the thyroid
hormone brings cholesterol down to normal.
In this situation, however, thyroid isn't suppressing the synthesis of
cholesterol, but rather is promoting its use to form hormones and bile
salts. When the thyroid is functioning properly, the amount of cholesterol
in the blood entering the ovary governs the amount of progesterone being
produced by the ovary, and the same situation exists in all
steroid-forming tissues, such as the adrenal glands and the brain.
Progesterone and its precursor, pregnenolone, have a generalized
protective function: antioxidant, anti-seizure, antitoxin, anti-spasm,
anti-clot, anticancer, pro-memory, pro-myelination, pro-attention, etc.
Any interference with the formation of cholesterol will interfere with all
of these exceedingly important protective functions.
As far as the evidence goes, it suggests that coconut oil, added
regularly to a balanced diet, lowers cholesterol to normal by promoting
its conversion into pregnenolone.
Coconut-eating cultures in the tropics have consistently lower
cholesterol than people in the U.S. Everyone that I know who uses coconut
oil regularly happens to have cholesterol levels of about 160, while
eating mainly cholesterol rich foods (eggs, milk, cheese, meat,
shellfish). I encourage people to eat sweet fruits, rather than starches,
if they want to increase their production of cholesterol, since fructose
has that effect.
Many people see coconut oil in its hard, white state, and -- as a
result of their training watching television or going to medical school --
associate it with the cholesterol-rich plaques in blood vessels. Those
lesions in blood vessels are caused mostly by lipid oxidation of
unsaturated fats, and relate to stress, because adrenaline liberates fats
from storage, and the lining of blood vessels is exposed to high
concentrations of the blood-borne material.
In the body, incidentally, the oil can't exist as a solid, since it
liquefies at 76 degrees. (Incidentally, the viscosity of complex materials
isn't a simple matter of averaging the viscosity of its component
materials; cholesterol and saturated fats sometimes lower the viscosity of
cell components.)
Most of the images and metaphors relating to coconut oil and
cholesterol that circulate in our culture are false and misleading.
I offer a counter-image, which is metaphorical, but it is true in that it
relates to lipid oxidation, which is profoundly important in our bodies.
After a bottle of safflower oil has been opened a few times, a few drops
that get smeared onto the outside of the bottle begin to get very sticky,
and hard to wash off.
This property is why it is a valued base for paints and varnishes, but
this varnish is chemically closely related to the age pigment that forms
"liver spots" on the skin, and similar lesions in the brain, heart, blood
vessels, lenses of the eyes, etc. The image of "hard, white saturated
coconut oil" isn't relevant to the oil's biological action, but the image
of "sticky varnish-like easily oxidized unsaturated seed oils" is highly
relevant to their toxicity.
The ability of some of the medium chain saturated fatty acids in
coconut oil to inhibit the liver's formation of fat very likely synergizes
with the pro-thyroid effect, in allowing energy to be used, rather than
stored.
When fat isn't formed from carbohydrate, the sugar is available for
use, or for
storage as glycogen. Therefore, shifting from unsaturated fats in foods to
coconut oil involves several anti-stress processes, reducing our need for
the adrenal hormones. Decreased blood sugar is a basic signal for the
release of adrenal hormones.
Unsaturated oil tends to lower the blood sugar in at least three
basic ways.
It damages mitochondria, causing respiration to be uncoupled from
energy production, meaning that fuel is burned without useful effect. It
suppresses the activity of the respiratory enzyme (directly, and through
its anti-thyroid actions), decreasing the respiratory production of
energy.
And it tends to direct carbohydrate into fat production, making both
stress and obesity more probable. For those of us who use coconut oil
consistently, one of the most noticeable changes is the ability to go for
several hours without eating, and to feel hungry without having symptoms
of hypoglycemia.
One of the stylish ways to promote the use of unsaturated oils is to
refer to their presence in "cell membranes," and to claim that they are
essential for maintaining "membrane fluidity." As I have mentioned above,
it is the ability of the unsaturated fats, and their breakdown products,
to interfere with enzymes and transport proteins, which accounts for many
of their toxic effects, so they definitely don't just harmlessly form
"membranes."
They probably bind to all proteins, and disrupt some of them, but for
some reason their affinity for proteolytic and respiration-related enzymes
is particularly obvious. (I think the chemistry of this association is
going to give us some important insights into the nature of organisms).
Unsaturated fats are slightly more water-soluble than fully saturated
fats, and so they do have a greater tendency to concentrate at interfaces
between water and fats or proteins, but there are relatively few places
where these interfaces can be usefully and harmlessly occupied by
unsaturated fats, and at a certain point, an excess becomes harmful.
We don't want "membranes" forming where there shouldn't be membranes.
The fluidity or viscosity of cell surfaces is an extremely complex
subject, and the degree of viscosity has to be appropriate for the
function of the cell. Interestingly, in some cells, such as the cells that
line the air sacs of the lungs, cholesterol and one of the saturated fatty
acids found in coconut oil can increase the fluidity of the cell surface.
In red blood cells, which have sometimes been wrongly described as
"hemoglobin enclosed in a cell membrane," it has been known for a long
time that lipid oxidation of unsaturated fats weakens the cellular
structure, causing the cells to be destroyed prematurely.
Lipid oxidation products lower the rigidity of regions of cells
considered to be membranes. But the red blood cell is actually more like a
sponge in structure, consisting of a "skeleton" of proteins, which (if not
damaged by oxidation) can hold its shape, even when the hemoglobin has
been removed. Oxidants damage the protein structure, and it is this
structural damage which in turn increases the "fluidity" of the associated
fats.
So, it is probably true that in many cases the liquid unsaturated oils
do increase "membrane fluidity," but it is now clear that in at least some
of those cases the "fluidity" corresponds to the chaos of a damaged cell
protein structure. (N. V. Gorbunov, "Effect of structural modification of
membrane proteins on lipid-protein interactions in the human erythrocyte
membrane," Bull. Exp. Biol. & Med. 116(11), 1364-67. 1993.
Although I had stopped using the unsaturated seed oils years ago, and
supposed that I wasn't heavily saturated with toxic unsaturated fat, when
I first used coconut oil I saw an immediate response, that convinced me my
metabolism was chronically inhibited by something that was easily
alleviated by "dilution" or molecular competition.
I had put a tablespoonful of coconut oil on some rice I had for supper,
and half an hour later while I was reading, I noticed I was breathing more
deeply than normal. I saw that my skin was pink, and I found that my pulse
was faster than normal -- about 98, I think. After an hour or two, my
pulse and breathing returned to normal.
Every day for a couple of weeks I noticed the same response while I was
digesting a small amount of coconut oil, but gradually it didn't happen
any more, and I increased my daily consumption of the oil to about an
ounce. I kept eating the same foods as before, except that I added about
200 or 250 calories per day as coconut oil.
Apparently the metabolic surges that happened at first were an
indication that my body was compensating for an anti-thyroid substance by
producing more thyroid hormone; when the coconut oil relieved the
inhibition, I experienced a moment of slight hyperthyroidism, but after a
time the inhibitor became less effective, and my body adjusted by
producing slightly less thyroid hormone.
But over the next few months, I saw that my weight was slowly and
consistently decreasing. It had been steady at 185 pounds for 25 years,
but over a period of six months it dropped to about 175 pounds. I found
that eating more coconut oil lowered my weight another few pounds, and
eating less caused it to increase.
The coconut is a nourishing, strengthening dietary
supplement. It is used in all stages of maturity. As a food, it is most
valuable before it matures. Its jelly-like tender kernel contains various
enzymes and is easily digestible. The milk of fresh coconut forms a
valuable food for children suffering from nutritional deficiency. It has
adequate natural minerals and high-quality proteins which are valuable for
growth and repair of the body.
The water of the tender green coconut, generally known as
mineral water, is used as a beverage and a refreshing drink. A tender
coconut, which is fully grown and only one month old, contains about 400
to 465 cc. of water. It contains sufficient sugar in an easily
assimilable form. It is an excellent tonic for health.
The water of a single coconut contains sufficient Vitamin
C to meet the daily requirements of the body. It also contains several
vitamins in the B group. These are niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin,
riboflavin, folic acid, and thiamin, as well as pyridoxin in traces. The
water also contains sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper,
phosphorus, sulfur, and chloride.
Intestinal Worms
The coconut is an ancient and very effective remedy for
intestinal worms of all kinds. A tablespoonful of the freshly ground
coconut should be taken at breakfast, followed by a dose of castor oil
after three hours. The process may be repeated until the cure is
complete.
Acidity
The mature dried coconut is valuable in the treatment of
acidity. Its oil reduces the acid secretion of the stomach and gives much
relief to the patient.
Digestive System Disorder
Tender kernel of coconut is highly beneficial in the
treatment of digestive system disorders. It is valuable in diseases like
indigestion, colitis, gastric ulcers, diarrhea, dysentery, arid piles.
The tender coconut water is also an excellent remedy for flatulence,
vomiting, and dyspepsia. In vomiting, it is a food medicine of great
value when other methods have failed.
Dry Cough
Coconut milk, mixed with milk and pure honey, taken every
night before bed, is an effective food remedy for dry cough due to throat
irritation or due to excessive smoking.
Cholera
Tender coconut water is very useful in fighting cholera.
Eight to 12 ounces of this water mixed with a teaspoonful of fresh lime
juice should be administered orally to the patient. It rectifies the
electrolyte balance and neutralizes the acidosis of the blood. Coconut
water is a known source of potassium-rich fluid, and since cholera
patients can almost invariably take oral fluids following initial
correction of shock and acidosis, the experts suggest intake of coconut
water is a must for cholera patients.
Urinary Disorders
The coconut water is a valuable cure for urinary
disorders. It acts as a natural diuretic in heart, liver, and kidney
disorders such as scanty and suppressed urination.
Bilious Fever
Coconut water is highly beneficial in the treatment of
bilious fever. It should be given frequently in small doses. Water
should, however, not be taken immediately after taking coconut water. It
may be taken after some time has passed, if necessary.
Ascites
Ascites is a disease which causes swelling in the stomach
due to fluid accumulation. Coconut water is valuable in ascites. The
patient should be given two or three glassfuls of coconut water to drink.
This quantity may be increased or decreased according to the condition and
needs of the patient.
Skin Disorders
The oil extracted from the flesh of the ripe nut is an
effective dressing for burns and scalds. It is of great value in the
preparation of ointments, as it penetrates the skin readily. The tar-like
fluid obtained from the red-hot shell of a ripe nut is a rubifacient which
causes reddening and warming of the skin. It is a household remedy for
ringworm, itch, and other skin diseases.
