Coconut Oil: overcoming TP taboos

[Anongirl]

This is a quick reply on the run BE! Mum seemed really good the last few days, much improved concentration and not as anxious. Today was awful. She's all over the place, I know she's not taking in information and I'm so tired of repeating everything and knowing its pointless.

I looked at her coconut oil jar and she's taken nearly a full jar. I'm mortified. She has clearly been taking it whenever she felt like it rather than when the carer comes (2 teaspoons a day). What could too much do to her do you think? So tired if EVERYTHING being so hard

 

[ockc]

Coconut oil overdose?

This is a quick reply on the run BE! Mum seemed really good the last few days, much improved concentration and not as anxious. Today was awful. She's all over the place, I know she's not taking in information and I'm so tired of repeating everything and knowing its pointless.

I looked at her coconut oil jar and she's taken nearly a full jar. I'm mortified. She has clearly been taking it whenever she felt like it rather than when the carer comes (2 teaspoons a day). What could too much do to her do you think? So tired if EVERYTHING being so hard

Could it be that the reduced concentration today is because she hasn't had enough coconut oil, compared to previous days?

2 teaspoons per day probably isn't enough for someone who already has Alzheimer's/dementia. The recommendation I read is 5 tablespoons per day, spread over 3 meals. See here.

Can too much hurt? Unlikely - there are entire populations living with a lot of coconut in their diets. The problems started when they started eating less coconut.

 

[ockc]

Chopsticks

Imagine my astonishment as she ate the entire meal, no mess and no problems with chopsticks. That is a real change for the better.

Excellent news, BE! If you have a video camera, maybe you should film her progress every few days, both as a record of your mother for yourself and as a way to track whether or not everyday activities are improving?

 

[ockc]

Statins

Had a real shock a couple of weeks ago when watching the film Statin Nation - the great cholesterol cover-up: http://www.statinnation.net/. Realised statins may have the opposite effect compared to coconut oil.

My father has been on Simvastatin for years. Asked his consultant whether statins are known to have any effect on the brain. Apparently, statins can cause cognitive impairment!

After seeing his GP on Friday, he is now off Simvastatin and also his anti-hypertensive medication (which can also lead to poor blood circulation in the brain and hence dizziness, etc) - he has fallen down a few times lately due to low (not high) blood pressure.

The filmmaker has produced a fact sheet to take to the doctor ...

 

[Big Effort]

Improvement and decline

Hi there,
We are starting to be a nice interactive Coconut Oil research group.

Excellent news, BE! If you have a video camera, maybe you should film her progress every few days, both as a record of your mother for yourself and as a way to track whether or not everyday activities are improving?

This would be an excellent idea. I have a video camera. But what I don't have is time, right now I have a million urgent things that demand attention. What I would like to do is film her post a coconut oil dose, and then when the effect has worn off..... dramatic. If those who doubt the effectiveness of coconut oil in some (won't say all) dementia cases could observe for themselves, there would be none of this nonsense of relegating coconut oil to the Resource section. No, researchers would be harnessing us here on TP and conducting serious research to collect numerical data. Hundreds of people could be involved, at different stages of dementia, and then those who benefit could start really benefitting.

My sincere regret now is I didn't start her off years ago...... coconut oil is NOT curing Mum in that the effect drops off after a few hours and muddle and confusion return. However the quality of life that this miracle food has given Mum is beyond measure. She laughs, really finding things funny, humour everywhere. Laughter truly is the best medicine, as it lifts my soul too to hear poor Mum laughing. Being able to find words...... well one only has to observe Mum to see how distressing, isolating and exhausting it is NOT to be able to produce the words one needs when one needs them. In the Chinese restaurant she was like she was at the beginning of the illness - speechwise - just a bundle of social chat. A delight!

Am about to order a case of the stuff from your recommended site, ockc
Thank you for your ongoing support and taking the time to guide and provide real data too. Good for you! Good also for the dementia sufferer! xx BE

 

[tre]

Not sure where you live BE but I wonder if you live near a University whether one of the students might like to come and film your mum as part of a project if you would not find this too intrusive.
I am sad to say coconut oil did not work for my husband but so pleased for you that it is helping your mum with her symptoms although as you say it is not a cure.
love Tre

 

[Big Effort]

Dear Anongirl,

Mum seemed really good the last few days, much improved concentration and not as anxious. Today was awful. She's all over the place, I know she's not taking in information and I'm so tired of repeating everything and knowing its pointless.

I looked at her coconut oil jar and she's taken nearly a full jar. I'm mortified. She has clearly been taking it whenever she felt like it rather than when the carer comes (2 teaspoons a day). What could too much do to her do you think? So tired if EVERYTHING being so hard

I feel for you as we always beat ourselves up when we don't get things right. However your Mum's overdose is evidence of two things:
a) she must find it pleasant to take - my Mum just loves it in cappucino - a thought flits across my mind? Could it be she loves the freeing effect of it, much much more than the nutty taste?
b) you have seen that unintentional overdosing doesn't appear to have obvious negative side-effects, such as the much touted tummy upsets, by coconut oil detractors. Mum went up to three dessert spoons per day quickly as she loves it, she feels it does her good, she has a tendency to constipation (secondary benefit as no signs of that now), and she has had no digestive issue whatsoever.

I think we need to keep in mind that not every day is the same..... despite coconut oil, Mum is in dreadful shape cognitively. No hiding that. I also observe bad dips. Twice now that has happened because I forgot her oil dose in the afternoon, but yesterday I didn't, and this morning she was totally unable to hold a thought for a second, nor did she appear able to think. Dressing was a disaster this morning.

We here are at the forefront of coconut oil treatment..... so a certain amount of hit and miss, trial and error is par for the course.

The reason you find this hard, Anongirl, is because of authoritarian attitudes. But as we all know, parents and those in authority don't always know best. So dig deep, take a deep breath and have the courage to challenge the system. We are talking coconut oil, not cyanide!

Here is to a much much much clearer day for your Mum, and to your not fretting at all if it isn't. Good on ya, hugs always, BE

 

[Anongirl]

Hi Ockc, this is very interesting. Thank you for the article. Mum must have been taking several spoonfuls a day to use so much. I noticed last weekend she seemed more like her old self. Very little confusion. On Sunday (exactly a week after first use and nearly a full jar taken) she went to my brother's for lunch and he said she was "like new". I quote that. His girlfriend texted me also to comment that she seemed "more like her old self". I just put it down to her having a good nights sleep and feeling relaxed but now I'm wondering The last few days she has gone back to her anxiety and confusion. I put this down to her not getting enough sleep but now I'm not sure ...

Hi BE! She says she's not keen on the taste but takes it because we told her it would help her. We asked the two carers a day to make sure she has the two spoonfuls but mum says she takes more because it made her feel more independent! We told her off but now I'm wondering if she was taking the right dose for her! I don't know. Three of us who know her well noticed a marked improvement could it all just be coincidental though?

 

[Anongirl]

I think we are going to go up to 2 tablespoons a day. My poor mum will be so confused by our conflicting advice!!

I just spoke to my brother's girlfriend and she confirmed that she saw a marked improvement in mum this weekend. Similar to how she was 3 years ago when she first met her. Interesting stuff.

Mum does tend towards diarrhoea generally so I'm a bit nervous now you've said it could cause digestive upset. I guess it's trial and error though.

Mum takes statins and blood pressure lowering tablets, what a minefield all this is! X

 

[Big Effort]

Digestive Upset

I note your concerns about digestive upset.
When ordering the next batch of oil (12 jars at 460 grams and a 10kg tub!), I asked the supplier about this digestive issue.
He explained that coconut oil is an anti-fungal, an anti-viral and an anti-bacterial substance. The upset can be caused if we increase the dosage too fast - though not everyone has this side-effect. He pointed out that this runny tummy is actually a sign of the system being cleansed - purging - and the upset will stop as soon as the over-dose (for want of a better word) has left our systems. This means that if your Mum has a touch of diarrhoea, you could lower the dose a little bit.
I was worried it might be an irritant or something. This is not the case.

I am going to use it in cooking and baking once the 10kg tub arrives. I am getting quite curious about this stuff.

 

[Big Effort]

Spring sale in coconut oil

I bought my original two tubs of coconut oil from H*B, two for the price of one, so about £7 for 460 grams. That sale is now over.

I used the link given to me by others, and found they too have a Spring sale, so a 460 gram jar is now £5.50.

Here is the link: www.coconoil.co.uk
And if you are in the UK, postage is free.

 

[Anongirl]

Well she tested the theory all by herself and since she took nearly an entire jar in a week she seems ok!

My brother's girlfriend uses it herself and swears by it. She says she feels it has a lot of health benefits. I've thought about giving it a go myself! X

 

[velo70]

Coconut oil

Lovely on brown toast. Makes a nice omelette, too, with chopped onions and tomatoes. And in a jacket spud with loads of pepper, chopped onions and cheese.
We were both smiling, today, and chatting. Does the coconut oil work? I dunno. We still have honey on our porridge, and wouldnt dream of putting any oil in coffee.

 

[CollegeGirl]

Hi everyone - reading this thread with great interest, and wondering, wondering.

What's coconut oil like? Is it runny? Solid?

My mam is probably about to go onto antipsychotics. Would it be better not to start coconut oil as well - it might be difficult, if there was an improvement, to know which treatment had helped.

How much would you give, to start off with?

Sorry, I know these questions will have been asked before!

 

[snedds57]

I subscribe to the 'Food for the Brain' e newsletter and there was an article about the benefits of coconut oil for alzheimers in the last edition (circulated 17th March). I think it is a revisitation and this link contains much of the content of the article, plus the link to the Daily mail article by Jerome Burns.

http://www.remembercoconut.com/

 

[Big Effort]

Hi College Girl,

These are my observations and experiences, and are not prescriptive, diagnostic, nor do I intend to convince anyone.

Mum is on antipsychotics (light ones to calm aggression) and now I have put her on coconut oil (not at the same time).

My GREAT REGRET is that I didn't start coconut oil as soon as I had the dementia diagnosis. Three years of vastly improved state of mind and communication wasted. Why, why, why did I listen to the 'experts'?

Not one damn professional suggested coconut oil. And they are still mouthing off that it doesn't work. It isn't a cure and it doesn't work for everyone. In my opinion, every person with dementia deserves this chance.

Improvements to date:
* Laughing at herself - she finds her mental wanderings and slip-ups a real source of mirth, belly laughs!!
* At this very minute, Mum is writing a letter to a great friend. At Christmas I had to dictate every word and spell most words too AND then hand-correct so it was legible. The letter and content are not perfect (some confabulation and spelling errors), but at least she can concentrate, express herself, spell, and her hand-writing is her own again, not this shaky scrawl.
* Pills that would not go down are now swallowed without a fuss.
* Reading..... for six months Mum has just read a page or two of a book. She is now getting into books, half way through in some. So she can entertain herself again.

As I said, in my opinion, people with dementia should be given this chance. Mum still has advanced Alz, she also has dips in performance despite the oil, but the times I forget the dose are like going back to the stone age.

These are my observations and experiences, and are not prescriptive, diagnostic, nor do I intend to convince anyone.

 

[acacia]

living in spain

Hi Colleg
These are my observations and experiences, and are not prescriptive, diagnostic, nor do I intend to convince anyone.

Mum is on antipsychotics (light ones to calm aggression) and now I have put her on coconut oil (not at the same time).

My GREAT REGRET is that I didn't start coconut oil as soon as I had the dementia diagnosis. Three years of vastly improved state of mind and communication wasted. Why, why, why did I listen to the 'experts'?

Not one damn professional suggested coconut oil. And they are still mouthing off that it doesn't work. It isn't a cure and it doesn't work for everyone. In my opinion, every person with dementia deserves this chance.

Improvements to date:
* Laughing at herself - she finds her mental wanderings and slip-ups a real source of mirth, belly laughs!!
* At this very minute, Mum is writing a letter to a great friend. At Christmas I had to dictate every word and spell most words too AND then hand-correct so it was legible. The letter and content are not perfect (some confabulation and spelling errors), but at least she can concentrate, express herself, spell, and her hand-writing is her own again, not this shaky scrawl.
* Pills that would not go down are now swallowed without a fuss.
* Reading..... for six months Mum has just read a page or two of a book. She is now getting into books, half way through in some. So she can entertain herself again.

As I said, in my opinion, people with dementia should be given this chance. Mum still has advanced Alz, she also has dips in performance despite the oil, but the times I forget the dose are like going back to the stone age.

These are my observations and experiences, and are not prescriptive, diagnostic, nor do I intend to convince anyone.

I posted earlier with my good news. My husbands short term memory loss has really improve since he has been taking coconut oil. Initially I didn't think it would help but as he isn't taking any other medication this can only be the reason for such an improvement - He is so much happier an so am I.

 

[ockc]

Antipsychotics?

What's coconut oil like? Is it runny? Solid?

My mam is probably about to go onto antipsychotics. Would it be better not to start coconut oil as well - it might be difficult, if there was an improvement, to know which treatment had helped.

How much would you give, to start off with?

The answer to the first question is easy: it's solid at room temperature and melts at 24C-30C, depending on the type of coconut oil.

Curious to read about antipsychotics being prescribed to your mother - who presumably has dementia/Alzheimer's? According to the Wikipedia article on antipsychotics:

"A 2006 Cochrane Collaboration review of controlled trials of antipsychotics in old age dementia reported that one or two of the drugs showed a modest benefit compared to placebo in managing aggression or psychosis, but that this was combined with a significant increase in serious adverse events. They concluded that this confirms that antipsychotics should not be used routinely to treat dementia patients with aggression or psychosis, but may be an option in the minority of cases where there is severe distress or risk of physical harm to others." For the abstract of the study see here .

So perhaps you should have more doubts about the antipsychotics than about the coconut oil ... ?

 

[Saffie]

but may be an option in the minority of cases where there is severe distress or risk of physical harm to others."

That's the punchline. Used for a short time, carefully monitored, they can help. They did for my husband who was becoming paranoid, scared and aggressive. I hated the idea of them and argued against him having them but the low dose for 4 months or so, certainly made him calmer whilst, after the first day, showed no sign of causing drowsiness.

 

[Big Effort]

Coconut Oil Recipies

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
—Hippocrates (borrowed gratefully from Perfect Health Meditation Challenge, day 11, Deepak Chopra)

I have ordered 12 pound pots of coconut oil and a 10kg tub. It will keep until 2015 in our cellar, so they say, and I saved a lot on transport costs. Those in UK don't pay freight, I do.

Today I got to wondering how I can use coconut oil in our diet, really integrate it. Right now I have to conserve the two pots I originally bought, so my creativity stretches to a very frothy cappucino with a thin layer of nutty oil under the froth, to be sipped with pleasure. Mum absolutely loves that.

I have a carrot cake recipe, heart healthy, usually made with olive oil..... when my coconut oil stash arrives I am going to make a coconut oil and carrot cake. Something that people who don't have dementia will savour. I am really curious to see how Best Beloved and I will fare on the stuff. Today, just to kick the smart eating off well, I made turkey fillets in a Creole sauce, spicy, coconutty, and much much nicer than I would have expected. Better than butter or olive oil, if I am honest.

There is something in these plant fats that nourish the brain. In the 1980's we used to take a large tablespoon of lecithin granules (soya fat) in a smoothie for breakfast. It was such a mood-enhancer that we laughed uproariously all the way to work, despite traffic chaos in Munich. At the same time, I convinced Mum to use lecithin on her museli daily and her dreadful migraines disappeared, so I am not surprised now that Mum thrives on coconut oil. Does she have some innate deficiency that specific plant fats help allieviate? What will replacing our fats with coconut oil do to our mental lives? I am so curious.

Does anyone have any good recipies using coconut oil? Perhaps we can swap and share? Bon appetit!

Oops, almost forgot! This post reflects my experiences and views on using coconut oil to facilitate Mum's recall of words and ease the symptoms of dementia. It is personal, and what works for Mum may not work for others. No guarantees, nothing prescriptive.

Guess what! We all listened to the Perfect Health meditation together, and then Mum looked at the clock and said, "Oh look, its a quarter to eleven". First time she has read the time in a year!