Coconut Oil

[Ducky]

Hi Everyone
I'm not sure if this has been covered, i have had a look but couldn't see anything so if there already is a thread regarding coconut oil then point me in the right direction
I was just wondering if anyone had read up on the effects coconut oil has had on people with Dementia and if they had tried it themselves?
If so how did you incorporate the oil into the sufferer's diet and what outcomes did you have? As i'm keen to try this but don't know where to start
Thanks

[donkey]

this ones a new one on me ducky, hope someone will come along soon to explain what its all about xx

[jenniferpa]

There have been one or two posts in the past about this, but the potential benefits are speculative. I think it's one thing if you want to try something like this on yourself, but trying it on someone else is, I personally think, a bit iffy. Mind you, coconut oil is fairly benign, unlike other experimental treatments. I'd be a lot happier about the whole thing if there had been any real scientific trials: all I have seen is personal testimonials.

[TedHutchinson]

Coconutketones is Dr Mary Newport's site on the topic. (her husband has Dementia)

If you want to understand the science of why a ketone based diet may be helpful then These AXONA videos should help

I use coconut oil in my cooking instead of industrial seed oils such as corn, soybean, safflower, sunflower and cottonseed oil. I also use MCT oil but it's difficult to find at a sensible price in the UK Organic virgin coconut oil is best bought in bulk as the Health food shops in UK charge twice the USA price. Indian Grocers/corner shops/cash and carries sell a non organic CO at a reasonable price. Depends on whether you like the taste of coconut or not.

My blog has a link to the paper Nutrition and Alzheimer's disease: The detrimental role of a high carbohydrate diet This explains the rationale for using a low carbohydrate diet to prevent AD. There is good reason to believe that using only those foods our DNA evolved to cope with is probably a good idea and the over reliance on refined carbohydrates, sugar, fructose and inflammatory industrial seed oils is causing the inflammation/oxidation that sets the damage off.
Dr McCleary ex brain surgeon has a useful blog on what constitutes good food for Neuroprotection.

[TedHutchinson]

Dietary ketosis enhances memory in mild cognitive impairment This is a new paper showing the way the use of coconut oil (because it induces ketone burning) appears to help memory.

Early dysregulation of the mitochondrial proteome in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease If we want to improve mitochondrial function we only have limited ways to do that. Exercise, a ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting are the best ways to create new fully functional mitochondria.

I manage to stay just on the edge of ketosis with my version of a low carbohydrate diet I don't think it's necessary to adopt the full ketogenic diet used by those with Epilepsy. I think most people will get away with the new Atkins Style diet and may not even need the INDUCTION stage. Once you get off refined carbs it's much easier not being hungry all the time and so it's easier to extend the period between meals and so create a short intermittent fast simply by eating supper early and skipping breakfast.

Improving Circadian Rhythm and thus improving melatonin secretion will help protect your mitochondria so that also helps the situation.

I just use Coconut oil as my main cooking oil and use it as I would any other oil for frying/baking. I use the MCT oil to replace 50% of olive oil in salad dressings. I sometimes add coconut oil or MCT to my coffee as one would cream/milk.

Study of the ketogenic agent AC-1202 in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease

[danny]

Hi Ted, your links are really interesting reading.

Four out of ten people at our day centre for people with dementia have diabetes.

I will do alot more reading of your links over the weekend,thankyou.

[TedHutchinson]

You may also find these blogs a helpful introduction to the topic.

Alzheimer's, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Ketosis

Your Brain on Ketones

New brain metabolism and ketone review article

[danny]

Thankyou.

[diablo]

I got a few jars of unrefined coconut oil and yes it is expensive.

I had thought of blending it with olive oil to made a buttery spread but the taste is just too strong really.

Have been using it for cooking stuff for mum. Read some stuff a while ago but really I never had much faith in it from the start.

[TedHutchinson]

You may want to try Coconut Butter I'm told Artisana is good but I haven't tried it myself as yet.

You could mix MCT into coconut oil to make it spreadable. It's how I make MAYO You'll find different makes of coconut oil are more/less coconutty I'd just buy one of each until you find a type you like then when you find a brand you like see if you can buy that type in 10kg bulk pack, I now buy a 25kg barrel for around £77 so that works out around £1.50 for a 450g pot but you've got to be sure you like it to use that much. It's pretty stable so it's not likely to go rancid and it stays solid at room temperature. I have to put it into the airing cupboard or warm greenhouse to warm it up to decant into smaller containers.

You might find this series of 9 You Tube Video's helps you understand why providing an alternative energy source is so important for Alzheimer's.
Part 5 deals with explaining ketosis and Alzheimer's

[missmo]

Hi Everyone
I'm not sure if this has been covered, i have had a look but couldn't see anything so if there already is a thread regarding coconut oil then point me in the right direction
I was just wondering if anyone had read up on the effects coconut oil has had on people with Dementia and if they had tried it themselves?
If so how did you incorporate the oil into the sufferer's diet and what outcomes did you have? As i'm keen to try this but don't know where to start
Thanks

Hello

I have only joined this forum today so I have a lot of reading to do but I thought I must add to this thread because we have been using coconut oil for the past 6 months and it has improved my husbands walking and communication problems. We started using the coconut oil after reading Mary Newports thread, I have also emailed the lady to ask after her husbands progress, who I believe is still keeping well and doing some work, a great improvement from how he was. My Tom only slightly improved and we have no proof that it was the coconut oil but if he stops taking it after a day he is more confused and disorientated.

I just felt that I had to add this bit of information, when we first tried it it was a case of Give it a Go "nothing to loose" but we are still using it after 6 months.

Mo

[TedHutchinson]

I should perhaps explain that changing from your usual cooking fat to coconut oil will result in changes in several different ways.
Bruce Fife explains here about Coconut Oil and Medium-Chain Triglycerides metabolism.
One of the routes is fairly immediate and if your problem is faulty brain metabolism and providing an alternative fuel sources solves that problem then the impact may be fairly rapid however there is a big difference between preventing further damage and repairing damage that has already happened.

But Coconut oil also works as an anti inflammatory agent. Your digestive system is inhabited by hundreds of thousands of both pathogenic and healthful bacteria that assist in breaking down the food we consume and extracting the nutrients from it. The pathogenic bacteria have to power to do harm if they become too invasive, they tend also to enjoy and create a more proinflammatory environment and so when you change from pro inflammatory omega 6 oils to less inflammatory coconut oil, butter, olive oil (and hopefully some omega 3 fish oil as well) the pathogenic gut flora will die off and their place will be taken by more of the bifidobacteria or Lactobacillus that are not only somewhat less efficient at extracting calories from food (less obesogenic) they are also anti inflammatory (they help improve your omega 3 ratio) Over the long term (six months or more) these changes are beneficial but in the short term the die off of Candida can result in feeling really poorly. Your body has to get rid of the dead pathogens and this may take a few weeks or more. So do take it slowly at first and be aware that this is almost bound to happen. People often have the same reaction when changing from drinking ordinary tea to green tea. The resulting die off from Candida results in them feeling nauseous until they acquire the friendly gut flora that are happy in an less inflammatory environment. It may help to eat some full fat Greek Yoghurt or make your own yoghurt to provide as source of "good" bacteria (or perhaps use a probiotic)

If indeed this article is correct in asking
Does a Pro-Inflammatory Process Precede Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment? it may well be we need to be considering improving anti inflammatory status generally by ensuring magnesium, vitamin D3, melatonin and omega 3 levels are consistent with those human DNA evolved to thrive best with.
I'm a bit concerned that people may think that changing to coconut oil is the ONE THING that may make a difference.
I suspect it's just one of many changes that may be helpful if they are right in suggesting that MMP-9 is a promising biomarker for signalling early stages of an ongoing CNS inflammation.
Downregulating MMP 9's with vitamin D3, melatonin, magnesium, curcumin may well be a useful strategy, alongside the replacement of pro-inflammatory foods with less inflammatory alternatives such as coconut oil.

[missmo]

Downregulating MMP 9's with vitamin D3, melatonin, magnesium, curcumin may well be a useful strategy, alongside the replacement of pro-inflammatory foods with less inflammatory alternatives such as coconut oil

Ted

What do you mean by the above statement, tom has coconut oil over his breakfast and at teatime, but it is a problem on what to put it with. His usual dose is 3 tablespoons each time. We do use other oils like butter and sunflower for cooking, I was thinking of stopping using them and using coconut oil instead. You mention MCT oil up to now we have not used it, although Mary newport does mention this in her paper - Sometimes I dont understand what people write about these oils and the effect they have. You say you use coconut oil and MCT do you think they make a good difference and can you recommend ways of taking them too.
mo

[missmo]

Coconutketones is Dr Mary Newport's site on the topic. (her husband has Dementia)

If you want to understand the science of why a ketone based diet may be helpful then These AXONA videos should help

I use coconut oil in my cooking instead of industrial seed oils such as corn, soybean, safflower, sunflower and cottonseed oil. I also use MCT oil but it's difficult to find at a sensible price in the UK Organic virgin coconut oil is best bought in bulk as the Health food shops in UK charge twice the USA price. Indian Grocers/corner shops/cash and carries sell a non organic CO at a reasonable price. Depends on whether you like the taste of coconut or not.

My blog has a link to the paper Nutrition and Alzheimer's disease: The detrimental role of a high carbohydrate diet This explains the rationale for using a low carbohydrate diet to prevent AD. There is good reason to believe that using only those foods our DNA evolved to cope with is probably a good idea and the over reliance on refined carbohydrates, sugar, fructose and inflammatory industrial seed oils is causing the inflammation/oxidation that sets the damage off.
Dr McCleary ex brain surgeon has a useful blog on what constitutes good food for Neuroprotection.

I buy virgin organic coconut oil from coconoil.com - I buy in bulk and it costs me about £7 a 500g tub which I dont thinks too expensive, probably the more you buy the cheaper you could get it

[TedHutchinson]

I buy virgin organic coconut oil from coconoil.com - I buy in bulk and it costs me about £7 a 500g tub which I dont thinks too expensive, probably the more you buy the cheaper you could get it

COCONOIL do a 10kg containers that works out much cheaper you have to email them for a price but they deliver very fast. You'll need to put the bulk container in a warm place (airing cupboard or greenhouse in summer) as it's solid at room temperature, at body temperature it's liquid and you can pour it off. Not everyone shares the same love of coconut flavour so do try a sample jar before you bulk buy.
When cooking with coconut oil do use a LOW heat as it spits like mad and gets all over the cooker. I use so much I've moved to a 25kg drum that cost around £85 delivered last year, May be more expensive next time.