Summary
Coconut oil can replace most of your medicine cabinet, energize you, and make you slimmer in the bargain.
[7,000 words]
Eric Armstrong
Coconut oil and, to only a slightly lesser extent, palm kernel oil is far better for us than we have generally been led to believe.
Coconut oil consists almost entirely of saturated fat -- about 92% -- which sounds pretty bad on the surface. But not all saturated fats are created equal. As the old saying goes, "some are more equal than others". Coconut oil actually helps you lose weight and stay healthy in ways that no other fat can match.
In particular, note that:
Notes:
- Coconut oil and fractionated palm kernel oil are very similar, and come from different parts of the same plant. They are stable at room temperature, so they don't need to be refrigerated.
- Throughout this article, "coconut oil" means virgin coconut oil -- oil that has not been refined, bleached, or deodorized. Although none of that processing is necessary, some manufacturers do it anyway, which produces the same problems as those associated with hydrogenated oils. (The 8% of unsaturated fats that coconut oil contains can be damaged by such high-heat processing.) So when you shop, look for virgin coconut oil -- oil that isn't bleached, refined, or deodorized.
Coconut oil becomes a liquid at 76-degrees Fahrenheit. So on a warm day, it's liquid in the jar. On cool days, however, it's a white solid. When it's solid, it looks like one of those hard-to-digest fats that might clog up your arteries and end up around your middle.
But the difference becomes apparent when you pick up a little and rub it between your fingers. The fat "solid" turns into an oily liquid almost immediately. That reaction hints at how quickly it metabolizes -- how quickly it breaks down to produce energy in your even warmer interior.
It turns out that coconut oil is so effective at providing energy and at protecting the body from disease-causing microbes that it's used in baby formulas, intravenous fluids, and sports endurance snacks. Those uses, along with centuries of use by healthy indigenous cultures, are major clues as to just how good it is for you.
Coconut oil is metabolized from other fats. It breaks down quickly and is burned for fuel long before it can be stored as fat. That process makes all the difference in the world, not only to your weight.
When we think about saturated fat, we generally think of the 18-carbon long-chain fatty acids found in meat and dairy products. But medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are different. They contain 8, 10, or 12 carbons, and they are metabolized in radically different ways. Approximately 64% of coconut oil consists of medium chain fatty acids, so the difference is important.
Since MCFAs are shorter, they contain less energy. So instead of containing 9 calories per gram like longer saturated fats, they contain a little over 6 calories per gram. That's a bargain, right there. For the same satisfying taste, you save 1/3 the calories over meat and dairy products.
But that's just the beginning, because the medium-chain fatty acids tend to be converted into energy, rather than stored as fat. To understand how, see the sidebar, What Happens to Fat. (Or skip it to save yourself the gory details.)
When the medium-chain fats that aren't immediately used for energy are stored as fat, they only contain 2/3 the energy of the long-chain variety -- so when they're burned, they burn more quickly. You'll learn more about that beneficial side effect in a moment.
Meanwhile, the medium-chain fats that go to the surface cells in the skin, sinuses, digestive tract, and vaginal tract create an extremely potent defensive barrier against microbial invaders. You'll see how that process works later on.
The bottom line with respect to fat metabolism is that long-chain fats take longer to digest, and they tend to be stored as that "stubborn fat" you can't get rid of. Medium-chain fats, on the other hand, are immediately broken down into fatty acids, and tend to be burned for energy.
Those who combat fatigue on a daily basis may therefore notice an increase in body temperature (and blood pressure) when they consume coconut oil. It's the result of the increased metabolic rate as the medium-chain fatty acids are burned. Since you're more energetic, you feel more like working and exercising, which burns even more fat.
Notes:
- If are under treatment for hypertension (high blood pressure), you should use coconut oil sparingly -- and you may want to discuss it with your doctor first.
- The increased endurance and energy levels that MCFAs provide is the reason that coconut oil is included in sports snacks. It's most effective over the long term, however, as your body's hormones adapt to use the free fatty acids as an energy supply. So a single serving won't do much good, but a steady supply will do wonders.
- Sports drinks often contain medium-chain triglycerides in the form of MCT. They're effective for generating energy, but they contain only 2 of the 3 medium-chain fats. The one they're missing is the critical medium-chain fatty acid for health -- lauric acid. You'll learn more about lauric acid in a moment. For now, the take-home message is that coconut oil in a sports drink is vastly superior to MCT.
Replacing other fats with coconut oil means that the rate at which your body stores fat slows down, because more of your dietary fat is metabolized for energy. But beyond that, coconut oil actually increases the rate at which you burn stored fat, even beyond the extra fat you burn simply because you exercise more and work harder.
As you grow accustomed to your new energy levels, you'll tend to eat less sugary and starchy foods, because you don't have as much need for them. It's not something you'll have to try to do, either. Your body will make the adaptation naturally. (For an example, see the sidebar, How Your Appetite Can Change.)
When you eat less sugar and starch -- especially refined starch like white flour and white rice -- you'll have less glucose (blood sugar) in your blood stream. The brain runs on glucose exclusively (except when fasting), but the rest of your cells will tend to alter their hormonal balance to metabolize the additional fatty acids that are arriving for energy, instead of sugar.
The lack of glucose, in turn, causes fat cells to release fatty acids instead of storing them.[Guyton, 866] It's an interesting mechanism. When sugar is present in the blood, fat cells tend to store fat. But when it's absent, fat cells tend to release fat. They're simply optimizing things in attempt to keep your energy levels constant. The fats are then burned, in a process known as hydrolysis.
Note:
The prefix hydro- means "water". The process requires water, so be sure to drink plenty of it.
So one interesting and useful effect of replacing other fats in your diet with coconut oil, over time, is to increase the amount of fat that is released as result of the lowered glucose levels -- even though your energy level is still high from the medium chain fatty acids you're burning for energy. In essence, your body is reacting to the low-sugar state that triggers it to burn fat, only you aren't experiencing the fatigue and hunger you normally associate with low blood sugar.
But wait. There's more!
When you've been consuming coconut oil for a while, most of the fat you've stored only contains 2/3 the energy of long-chain fats, because you've been storing medium-chain triglycerides. So whenever your body goes into fat-burning mode as a result of exercise or waiting to eat, it has to burn 1/3 more stored fat to deliver the same amount of energy! It's like getting 60 minutes of exercise for the price of only 40 -- another great bargain.
The process might take less time, than you think, too. Fat stores are actually dynamic. Fat doesn't just sit there like a lump. Every day, your body releases the fatty acids it contains and replaces it with new fatty acids it receives. So the fat in your body actually turns over every 2-3 weeks![Guyton, 867]
Of course, most of us tend to keep putting on a little more than we're taking off, but that has a lot more to do with the partially hydrogenated soybean oils in our diet than it has to do with saturated fat. Just eliminating the trans fats tends to stabilize your weight. But when the majority of your fat comes from coconut oil, your body will tend to take off more than it puts on.
The process will be slow at first, because most of your stored fat will probably be of the long-chain variety (and worse, ugly trans fats). But it will speed up over time, as more and more of your stored fat becomes medium-chain triglycerides. People have reported losing 20 lbs. in 6 months without making any other changes in their diet or exercise regimen.[Fife, Eat Fat, 9, 147, Miracles, 130-132; Hopzapfel, 40-42] With a healthy diet and exercise, of course, your changes will come that much faster.
The origins of the American obesity epidemic can be traced to the 1970's when a concerted campaign against "harmful tropical oils" by the American Soybean Association led to the elimination of coconut oil in virtually all commercial cooking.[Fife, Miracles, 26-30]
The coconut oil was in the main replaced by partially hydrogenated oil, which interferes with insulin activity and causes other health problems, as explained in What's Wrong with Partially Hydrogenated Oils?. But "partially hydrogenated oil" on a food label generally means soybean oil, and soybean oil adds an additional problem of its own -- it inhibits the thyroid's ability to produce the hormones we need to burn fat, generate energy, and carry on the processes of life.[Fife, Eat Fat, 130-131]
When the thyroid isn't operating properly, your body's metabolism is lowered, so you store fat instead of burning it. And you don't want to exercise, because you don't have the energy. So you just naturally gain weight.
To sum it all up, coconut oil reduces your fat calories by a third, tends to be burned for energy rather than stored as fat, promotes the metabolism of stored fat, and keeps your thyroid firing on all cylinders. And since you're more energetic, you tend to exercise more and work harder, so you burn even more fat. See Coconut Loss Diary for a personal account of energizing weight loss using coconut oil and natural, fiber-rich foods.
In a word, coconut oil is dynamite for weight loss. But as you'll see in the next section, it's dynamite for your general health, as well, because it blows up microbial invaders!
Coconut oil energizes you for most of the same reasons that it promotes weight loss. It has even been effective in treating Chronic Fatique Syndrome (CFS).[Fife, Miracles, 72-73, 103-106]
The increased energy induced by coconut oil occurs for a variety of reasons:
Finally, coconut oil offloads the immune system in ways you'll read about in the next section. Since the immune system needs less fuel, more energy is available for your brain and muscular activity.
So far, coconut oil keeps you thin, gives you energy, and you can cook with it. But it gets better. Coconut oil is uniquely effective at protecting your health, primarily because of its high concentration (48-50%) of lauric acid. Lauric acid is a very important triglyceride (3-part fat) that breaks down into monolaurin, which kills bacteria and viruses.
Coconut oil also contains caprylic acid (8%) which kills fungus (for example, athlete's foot fungus) and yeast (candida, as well as vaginal yeast). One or more of coconut oil's medium chain fats also kill a wide variety of intestinal parasites.[Fife, Miracles, 69-76]
Note:
Coconut oil contains other medium chain fatty acids as well, including capric acid (7%), caproic acid (0.5%), and the "in-betweener", myristic acid (18%). So far, I haven't seen any discussions of specific benefits they provide. But it's likely that they are lethal to some kind of undesirable microorganism since, as Fife says, "different fatty acids...are more effective at killing certain kinds of germs than others."[Fife, Eat Fat, 28]
Because of its composition and high MFCA content, coconut oil is effective for treating and preventing heart disease,[Fife, Miracles, 77-87] as well as AIDs, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, osteoporous, gallbladder disease, diabetes, liver disease, Crohn's disease, prostate enlargement, and cancer.[Fife, Miracles, 99-120] That's a lot of protection for an inexpensive food that until recently was a standard part of our diet!
Monolaurin is created when either your saliva or the bacteria on your skin break down the 3-part lauric acid triglyceride into single units, called monolaurin. The beauty of monolaurin is that it kills microbial invaders before they even get in the door, so the immune system doesn't spend all of its time and energy fighting them. Because the immune system only operates inside the skin, it can be required to do a lot of work to defend against bacterial and viral invaders that could just as easily have been killed by monolaurin on the skin and in the sinuses. Similarly, lauric acid plays a key role in protecting the digestive tract, which is also outside the skin, topologically speaking.
Besides coconut oil, the only other good source of lauric acid is mother's milk. Lauric acid is critical for infants because it's the only protection they have until their immune systems develop. When you think about it, that fact speaks volumes about the power of lauric acid -- it keeps babies healthy even in the absence of the immune system! That's why coconut oil is a critical ingredient in healthy milk formulas. And that's why it is effective at treating and preventing AIDs.[Enig, 214; Fife, Miracles, 58-59; Holzapfel, 61-65].
Notes:
- According to Dr. Kabara, Mother's milk has high a percentage of monolaurin because the fats are accompanied by lipase--the enzyme that breaks down fat. It is the fact that the fats are pre-digested, according to Dr. Kabara, which makes the monolaurin available and effective inside the digestive tract. While bacteria residing on the skin breaks up coconut oil to produce a sizeable percentage of monolaurin externally, Dr. Kabara has accumulated scientific evidence that shows monolaurin produced in the digestive tract is rapidly absorbed through the portal vein and recombined into triglycerides in the liver. He feels that ingested coconut oil therefore contains 6% monolaurin at best--with most of that resulting from the manufacturing process, rather than from digestion. In order to make significant quantities of monolaurin available internally, he formulated a product that consists of tablets of 100% monolaurin bound in glycerine. (For more information or to obtain it, visit http://www.lauricidin.com.)
- Another source of lauric acid is the genetically engineered canola plant (a derivative of the highly poisonous rapeseed plant), which was genetically modified a second time to create laurate canola--a substance that also contains lauric acid. You can consider that a source, too, if you want. As for me, I don't buy genetically engineered canola. The tests show that it consists of less than 1% erucic acid (the highly poisonous oil that makes up 50% of rapeseed), but less than 1% doesn't necessarily mean 0%. Besides, I don't knowingly buy from companies that genetically engineer foods. It only encourages them. (And since digested lauric acid appears to be a relatively poor source of monolaurin anyway, it's difficult to see why anyone would bother with canola oil.)
Monolaurin works, not by attacking an invader directly, but by destroying the invader's "body armor". You see, our skin, sinuses, and digestive tract "ain't a fit place to live" for a harmful bacteria or virus. So they wrap themselves in fatty acids and sneak in that way -- the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing. In this case, the wolf's cloak is weaved from multiple fatty acid strands.
Because monolaurin is a fatty acid, it gets weaved in, as well. But monolaurin is so biologically active that it rapidly dissolves, disintegrating the microbe's protective coating. The microbe must use whatever fatty acids happen to be available to weave it's body armor, and if monolaurin is in the immediate vicinity, the microbe has to use whatever is available.
But monolaurin isn't attacking the microbe directly, the way the immune system does. So the microbe doesn't evolve a defense. Instead, it's the body's chemical environment that destroys the invader-- and that's an attack that can't be defended against.[Fife, Miracles, 101-103] So unlike antibiotics, monolaurin doesn't produce resistant strains. That's another reason that monolaurin has proven to be so effective against AIDs, which proliferates by continually and rapidly evolving into new, drug-resistant strains.
Also, since monolaurin doesn't attack bacteria directly, the healthy bacteria we need to create B-vitamins and perform other functions in the digestive tract are unaffected -- again unlike antibiotics, which kill all bacteria indiscriminately.
Monolaurin works its magic in two different ways, depending on whether it is saliva or bacteria that is releasing the monolaurin:
Coconut oil is also effective for skin conditions like rash, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. It can be applied topically by rubbing it into the skin. But it is even more effective when significant quantities are in the diet, because it forms a self-renewing protective layer as the oils are released throughout the day, forming a protective barrier that stops microbes dead in their tracks.
Note:
Since it is the 8% caprylic acid in coconut oil that is effective against fungus, stronger solutions used in conjunction with coconut oil are even more effective on skin conditions like planter's warts and athlete's foot.[Fife, Miracles, 68]
Rosacea Cure (an ancecdote)Since I added coconut oil to my diet and using it on my skin (about two weeks ago) a roscea problem (red skin on the face and neck) of more than 15 year's duration has all but entirely cleared up.
The problem started when I moved to dry climate in California's San Jose peninsula. So it's possible that dehyration was the cause. Or maybe it's a fungus. Or a baceteria. No one really knows -- including the dermatologist I went to cure the problem. The ointment she gave me seemed effective where I applied it, but caused it to spread to surrounding areas. When I spread it even wider to cover clear skin as well, the rosacea simply spread wider and stayed on the edges. When I returned to her office, I wanted to know what I was up against! She told me that the didn't know what caused it, and if the antibiotic ointment she gave me didn't work, she'd try something stronger and suggest something to take internally.
By that time, I had had enough of that kind of "try it and see what happens" approach. And I had begun to blame my skin condition on the cortisone injections and creams that doctors used to give me to "cure" poison oak and poison ivy -- until I discovered a simple little soap that takes care of the probem quite nicely -- a soap called tecnu (see Curing Poison Oak and Poison Ivy). If the doctors could be so wrong about that, I fgured they could be wrong about this, too -- especially since they didn't even know what caused the problem!
So I said goodbye to the doctor. But it would be years before I found out about coconut oil's healing properties. But, once I did, results came quickly. After two weeks, my neck and face are nearly normal. You have to look closely to see the last remnants of the problem. And the deep crevices that had formed to either side of my nose have smoothed over. One is almost completely gone. The other is half as long and deep as it used to be. In a word, I've taken another 10 years or so off my appearance.
I'm getting more sun, too. I've noticed that sunlight caused minor improvements in the past. The coconut helps thre, too. It keeps the skin from drying out and protects against free radical damage, so I can get more sunlight.
Of course, the problem may never entirely disappear. The story is that once you have it, it stays forever. There is always the possibility that it will disappear altogether. If the problem really is caused by a fungus or bacteria, and the coconut oil is killing it, then the problem could well be eradicated completely. Not even the high-priced skin conditioning regimens on the infomercials can say that -- and coconut oil is a whole lot less expensive than those remedies.
The fact that coconut oil is so effective is less surprising when you consider that it is the oils and fats in soap that kills germs![Fife, Eat Fat, 28] (In the past, though, soaps were made from natural fats that contained a mixture of fatty acids, so they killed a wider variety of germs.) Think of coconut oil as basically a particularly effective antibiotic soap that's secreted from your pores every hour of the day, 24-7.
Notes:
- The one place that coconut oil can't be of much help by itself is on an open wound, because the skin bacteria that break down the lauric acid only exist around the edges. Garlic oil kills pretty much everything, so a mixture of garlic oil and coconut oil has been used for ointment.[Fife, Miracles, 148] Garlic oil on an open wound by itself would be pretty painful, so perhaps the coconut oil makes the ointment more soothing. It still sounds pretty painful, though. A kinder, gentler approach might be to forgo the garlic oil and mix the coconut oil with saliva, since the saliva breaks down the lauric acid to activate coconut oil's antiseptic properties. Adding garlic oil would the solution for those who find that approach distasteful.
- Since I've begun consuming coconut oil and using it on my skin (without garlic), I've noticed that those little sores that never seemed to heal are not only healing faster, they're healing with no scab. That's interesting, because my body has basically been a scab factory for years -- little cuts would scab over and take forever heal, if for no other reason than the fact that the dry scab always itched like crazy, and I was forever picking it off. (Cuts didn't seem to take any less to time heal even when I left them alone, however.) When a scab has already formed, the coconut oil seems to soften it and prevent it from itching. When it's ready to come off, it flakes off instead of peeling away in a single sheet that tears the skin at the edges. When it's gone, there is slight depression showing bright, pink skin instead of a scab. The skin then closes over it more quickly than I've ever experienced before.
Coconut oil can effectively replace most of your medicine cabinet! In particular, it can replace these:
These are a few interesting possibilities that need further investigation:
About 3-1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil per day is recommended for good health. I get it at the natural foods store, where my favorite brand, Garden of Life (www.gardenoflifeusa.com) comes in a medium-size black canister with a label that clearly states: "No trans fats....contains NO HYDROGENATED OILS and is not Refined, Bleached, or Deodorized." It has a very mild, delicate hint of coconut, but not much. (Personally, I wish it had a stronger flavor. It doesn't taste enough like coconut for me. But then, my sense of smell isn't all that great, so maybe I'm just less sensitive it.)
Like olive oil and sesame oil, coconut is stable at room temperature. That makes them ideal for use when traveling or when refrigeration isn't available (like nuts).
The best way to get the recommended amount is to take a tablespoon with every meal, because it gives you an energy lift that makes coffee unnecessary! (Especially if you use sea salt, which adds the trace minerals you need to keep your metabolism running well -- minerals which are missing in many of our foods.)
The simplest way to take coconut oil is to replace dairy products with it in your diet:
Both Healing Miracles and Coconut Oil (below) contain a collection great recipes. Fife also recommends mixing it with raw milk, cream, fruit smoothie, vegetable juice, cottage cheese, or yogurt.[Fife, Eat Fat, 211]
Some open questions about the possibilities for using coconut milk:
Thanks to Steve Sauder for pointing out that coconut oil can raise blood pressure.
These books are listed in suggested reading order. They're available at Amazon.com.
For more books on health, see Recommended Reading.
These references are available online:
Finally, for a biologically available form of monolaurin in a formula called Lauracidin, go to:
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2005
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