Positive effects of coconut oil on Alzheimers - please read

[sunshine12]

Hi All,

There is a lot of positive stories on the internet right now on coconut oil helping alzheimers sufferers. I have also just purchased the new book by a lady called Mary Newport called 'Alzheimers Disease - what if there was a cure' this is a book about Mary Newport's husband whom after taking the coconut oil has continued to improve.
I have just started it with my mum last weekend who is 60 and has alzheimers, she does appear moderatly better so far in the sense that she seems more talkative. I will continue to give her the coconut oil each day and see what the improvement is after a couple of months, the book recommends that you keep a diary to note any changes which I will do. I attach a few articles which I have found on the internet concerning the postive effects of coconut oil and Alzheimers........this is the best news I have heard in a long time and it could be an alternative option for our loved ones.......

http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/alzheimers-and-coconut-oil-how-coconut-oil-gave-me-back-my-brain/

http://www.coconutketones.com/whatifcure.pdf

http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2010...disease-another-nightmare-for-big-pharma-yes/

 

[Jancis]

Hi Sunshine12,
Thanks for posting this, you may also be interested to read a couple of other threads started by members - this is the latest one I think http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?31744-Coconut-Oil&highlight=coconut

 

[sunshine12]

thanks Jancis, I did see the original coconut post but wanted to post a fresh one to boost awareness, really hope more people give it a go, we have nothing to lose. As someone once said to me 'no disease is incurable, the doctor's just haven't figured a cure out yet' therefore we need to try other things than the constant drugs that people are given. I am going to keep going with the coconut oil, apparently some people see improvements straight away others in a few months, I am feeling very positive about this.....will post back on any further progress in the weeks to come

 

[Jancis]

As someone once said to me 'no disease is incurable, the doctor's just haven't figured a cure out yet' therefore we need to try other things than the constant drugs that people are given. I am going to keep going with the coconut oil, apparently some people see improvements straight away others in a few months, I am feeling very positive about this.....will post back on any further progress in the weeks to come

I totally agree and look forward to hearing your updates on progress.
My very best wishes xxx

 

[virg]

Warning?

I've posted on the other coconut oil thread but have added it to this in case people don't read both.

I decided to do some baking with coconut oil for my Mum (with alzheimers) and her blood thickness levels have changed. She is on warfarin and it seems that coconut oil is a good source of Vitamin K which interacts with warfarin and therefore affects these levels. This is just a bit of a warning in case anyone else was thinking of trying it when they are on blood thinning drugs.

(I'm not a scientist so am just warning as there may be a connection).

 

[jenniferpa]

You've raised a very important point virg: that what might seem benign may have unexpected consequences particularly when you are talking about a group of people who may be on a variety of different medications.

Lets not forget - if something "might" be effective in a medical sense, it might also have side effects.

 

[virg]

Naively I thought that because it was just replacing one fat with another it would be ok. It's easy to get caught up in the desperation for something to help (because medication doesn't for my Mum.)

 

[TedHutchinson]

Nutritional Data Coconut oil
100grams (3.5 ounces) of coconut oil provides only 0.5mcg 1% of your daily Vitamin K requirement.
100 grams is a LOT of coconut oil. even for an addict like me I'd be lucky if I use more than 50g daily and I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone use coconut oil to supply their vitamin K daily requirements. Imagine consuming 1kg daily of coconut oil to get just 10% of your daily RDA vitamin K would be nightmare.

It's simply implausible that getting such a very small amount of vitamin k could have caused the claimed effect it's simply scaremongering. It really is necessary to ask your health professionals to show you the evidence that supports their nonsensical claims rather than repeat myth based nonsense.


This chart of vitamin K foodsources and warfarin (Coumadin) puts the 0.5mcg from an unlikely 100grams of coconut oil into perspective

 

[virg]

Sorry Ted, I didn't mean to be scaremongering but it just scared me that I might have affected my Mum's blood thickness. I'm just a daughter trying to do the best for her Mum and thought I might have made things worse for her.

 

[Canadian Joanne]

Virg was not scaremongering, but reporting what happened to her mother, warning that there can be side effects. What happened is a fact, and not 'myth based nonsense'.

She is on warfarin and it seems that coconut oil is a good source of Vitamin K which interacts with warfarin and therefore affects these levels. This is just a bit of a warning in case anyone else was thinking of trying it when they are on blood thinning drugs.
(I'm not a scientist so am just warning as there may be a connection).

Virg qualified her statement, as is appropriate for all medically related claims.

 

[jenniferpa]

Absolutely Joanne. It's illogical to claim that something might be medically therapeutic but refuse to accept that it might have side-effects.

 

[TedHutchinson]

Virg was not scaremongering, but reporting what happened to her mother, warning that there can be side effects. What happened is a fact, and not 'myth based nonsense'.



Virg qualified her statement, as is appropriate for all medically related claims.

I wasn't implying that Virg was the scaremonger, it's the ignorant health professionals who put the idea into her head.
It's they who should check their facts before they talk utter nonsense.

 

[TedHutchinson]

Absolutely Joanne. It's illogical to claim that something might be medically therapeutic but refuse to accept that it might have side-effects.

But in this case there is absolutely no logic to support the connection.
You would have to obtain a SIGNIFICANT amount of vitamin K to produce an effect on Warfarin and Coconut oil does not contain a significant amount of vitamin K.
Half a microgram per 100 grams of coconut oil, when the daily Vitamin K requirement is adult women 90 mcg and adult males 120 mcg per day is truly a trivial amount and common sense has got to be used when dealing with such claims.

 

[jenniferpa]

I think the point is Ted is that you aren't a medical professional and you don't know. You don't know virg's mother's medical status, and anything else she might have eaten or taken that might have impacted her blood work. All you have are links to various studies posted on the internet, some of which are highly dubious in my opinion.

I will continue to point out that being an "amateur" in any field doesn't make you more qualified than the professionals.

 

[tre]

As far as I am aware Mary Newport is not citing coconut oil as a source of vitamin K ( although it is ) but as source of ketoacids ( acetoacetate and betahydroxybutyrate). She says that in Alzheimers the neurons in certain areas of the brain unable to take in glucose ( which is their normal "food" )due to insulin resistance and slowly die off. She postulates that if these cells had access to ketone bodies they could "potentially" stay alive longer and continue to function.
I am trying coconut oil for my husband although I think it is a long shot because basically it will not do him any harm. However, he is not on warfarin which many commonly used medications interact with particularly fresh plant based foods containing vitamin K. I would suggest you discuss this with your doctor.
I have been giving my husband the coconut oil for around three weeks and so far have seen no effect. I thought I would give it a 90 day trial and this has been assisted by the current special offer at H*****d and B*****t where it is currently on half price promotion.
Tre

 

[tre]

Whilst we are on interactions...

My husband has osteoporosis for which he is prescribed calcium tablets. However, I noticed that dysregulation of neuronal calcium may contribute to AD pathogenesis so before we started on the calcium supplement I checked this out with a neurologist involved in my husband's care. She advised that there would be no problem with taking calcium supplements. She said the dosage is relatively low and it remains important to address the bone problems. I thought I would add this just to emphasise that if you are worried about interactions it is best to ask.
Tre

 

[TedHutchinson]

I will continue to point out that being an "amateur" in any field doesn't make you more qualified than the professionals.

But I have pointed to the facts and we all have a certain modicum of common sense. It is extremely important that when we are told stuff from our health professional we pass that information through our common sense check mechanism and when we are told stuff that simply beggars believe we challenge it and explain why this claim must be nonsensical.
Can you not see how you put the whole credibility of the site in jeopardy when you appear to be supporting nonsensical information?
Surely the job of moderators on this forum should not be propagating myth based information. If you can't back up what you are saying then you should keep silent. If you take posts down because you disagree with the research provided then you should be able to back up your reasons with evidence based research.
It simply isn't good enough to criticize when you haven't either the evidence or the understanding to support your notions.

 

[Canadian Joanne]

But I have pointed to the facts and we all have a certain modicum of common sense.

You have pointed to the facts as you see them. To imply rather crudely that people who disagree with you are lacking in understanding is not appropriate, at best.

I believe you are sincere in your beliefs but you will have to accept that not everyone will agree. You can think what you like but calling people "lacking in understanding" because they don't agree with all of your ideas is not acceptable on this forum.

I would like to know one thing - do you have a personal connection with dementia? My mother was diagnosed nearly 11 years ago at the age of 64 and I have been living with it since. I would like to know what your connection is.

 

[Jancis]

I for one, respect Ted very much for his interest in dementia and common sense discussion on related health issues. There are good professionals and bad professionals and good amateurs and bad amateurs in every walk of life and I think Ted's posts are extremely interesting as are many others on this forum. That's the difference between good forums and bad forums in my opinion - good forums encourage members to express alternative points of view.

 

[Canadian Joanne]

That's the difference between good forums and bad forums in my opinion - good forums encourage members to express alternative points of view.

Yes, I agree, good forums do encourage various points of view. They also do not allow people to denigrate and insult those who don't agree with certain points of view.