Can Coconut Oil Help Alzheimer's?

I learn the most interesting things at the Y. Recently I was listening to a conversation about a woman who had been treating her father, an Alzheimer's patient, with coconut oil. Before taking the coconut oil the father was asked to draw a simple clock. He could not do it. After being treated with pure coconut oil for several months, he could easily draw the clock and much, much more. This is interesting to note, as news about the failure of drugs in treating Alzheimer's continues to make headlines. Drug companies Pfizer and Medivation admitted that the new drug they were developing, dimebon, not only did not help patients in trials, but made patients worse. The expensive drug had already reached phase lll trials. So the development of the drug has been abandoned. Researchers are beginning to look at the role of diet in Alzheimer's and focusing on prevention. People are also beginning to see positive results using coconut oil to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's.

For years we've heard that because coconut oil is a highly saturated fat, we should stay away from it. Cholesterol is required in the brain as an antioxidant, an electrical insulator. It plays an important role in the formation and functional of synapses in the brain. Several studies show a lack of cholesterol present in the brains of Alzheimer's paties which is so vital for several functions. The study also shows that there is a cholesterol deficiency in dementia and Parkinson's disease. Dr. Raymond Peat has talked aobut the importance of saturated fats in the development of the brain. In a study with mice, those eating a diet high in saturated oil had superior brain development.

Coconut oil differs from other oils because it's rich in medium chain fatty acids that are utilized readily by the body for energy. According to Dr. Bruce Fife, from his new book Stop Alzheimer's Now, there are so many benefits of coconut oil.

Here are just a few of the dozens of benefits of coconut oil: boosts immune system, protects against heart disease, helps protect organs, balances body weight by increasing metabolic rate, creates healthy skin and hair, kills viruses that cause flu, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, provides quick energy, helps improve digestion and absorption of other nutrients.

If you believe it does all that (and the list goes on), it may be the next wonder drug. Every year it seems to be something else. As with everything else, check with your doctor before using it regularly. Coconut is used regularly in about 1/3 of the world's cultures and has been used for thousands of years in local folk medicine.

How much to take? How often? I have no idea, but you can google Alzheimer's disease+ coconut oil and find out much, much more. The story I told at the beginning of this blog about the father who couldn't draw the clock is certainly not scientific, but it's certainly worth looking into the possible positive effects of coconut oil on Alzheimer's.