MCT, COCONUT OIL AND SOME BRAIN DISEASES

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

Coconut oil is an excellent source of medium chain triglycerides or MCT. Pure MCT oil, which is sold at some health food stores, is more concentrated than coconut oil.

Coconut oil or MCT oil have received some wonderful praise lately because it is helping some people with brain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, multiple sclerosis or MS, Huntington’s disease, brittle diabetes, some seizures, possibly cystic fibrosis and perhaps others, as well.

This article discusses how this works.

HOWEVER, while coconut oil may be an effective remedy for some people, I do not recommend it for everyone. The reasons are:

1. It is very yin because it is the oil of a sub-tropical fruit. It is also slightly toxic for the liver.

2. A person who is on a nutritional balancing program should not need coconut oil or MCT oil for the brain, thyroid or blood sugar.

HOW DOES MCT OIL OR COCONUT OIL HELP THE BRAIN OF SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ON A NUTRITIONAL BALANCING PROGRAM

1. Medium chain triglycerides or MCTs. People with brain diseases may not utilize glucose well. This can cause their brain cells to starve to death. This is a type of diabetes of the brain, which may or may not correlate with diabetes in the rest of the body. It seems to be caused by low insulin levels in the brain. Insulin is produced in the brain itself, normally.

Coconut oil can provide these people with an alternative “fuel” that can prevent cell death and restore brain functioning. It does this in an interesting way. Instead of burning glucose, eating coconut oil allows the brain to survive on ketone bodies instead of glucose.

Ketone bodies. Most fats must be slowly digested by being mixed with bile, which then breaks them down into smaller fatty acids. Medium chain triglycerides or MCT found in coconut oil, however, are absorbed through the intestinal wall and go directly to the liver. There they are converted to ketone bodies or ketoacids, and released into the blood stream in this form. The brain, which normally burns sugar, can also apparently burn ketone bodies directly for fuel without the need for insulin, which may be in short supply in people with brain diseases.

A person who is on a nutritional balancing program usually will not have the problem of low insulin in the brain, so an alternative fuel for the brain is not needed, in my experience, so far. This is a research area, however, and I will advise in this article if there are any changes in this hypothesis.

The MCT oil component of coconut oil appears to be the main reason why coconut oil can, at times, stop or even reverse brain diseases. However, coconut oil contains other chemicals that may also be helpful:

2. Lauric acid. This chemical found in coconut oil has anti-viral and other anti-infection properties. It is possible that some people with brain diseases have subtle, but active viral illnesses. The lauric acid in coconut oil may reduce their viral load, and this enables them to function better.

3. Saturated fat. Coconut oil contains saturated fat. Fast oxidizers, in particular, need fats and do best on saturated fats, at times. It is possible that eating up to 4 tablespoons daily of coconut oil provides them with fats they need to help balance their body chemistry.

In addition, the high fat content may help the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

4. Other benefits for the thyroid gland, blood sugar, and weight control. The same medium chain triglycerides may assist with these body functions.

If you are suffering from any of the brain diseases listed earlier in this article and wish to try this approach, here is how to do it:

1. Buy a bottle of MCT oil at the health food store and take several tablespoons daily.

2. An alternative is to buy some coconut oil, preferably the processed type, which is less sweet. Take 2-4 tablespoons daily, starting with a little less and increasing over a week or two.

However, if it does not help, do not continue it. Instead, I suggest a complete nutritional balancing program.

Blood type A more prone to brain diabetes. The condition discussed in this article, which some call brain diabetes, seems to be more prevalent in people with blood type A.

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