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Coconut Oil for Health and Vitality Use Coconut Oil for Health and Vitality - Antiviral, Antimicrobial, and AntiObesity. Coconut oil has a unique role in the diet as an important physiologically functional food. The health and nutritional benefits that can be derived from consuming coconut oil have been recognized in many parts of the world for centuries. Additionally, coconut oil provides a source of antimicrobial lipid for individuals with compromised immune systems and is a non-promoting fat with respect to chemical carcinogenesis. The anti-obesity effect of coconut oil is clear in all of the animal studies, and from observation in those who eat it regularly. When coconut oil was fed as 7% of energy to patients recovering from heart attacks, the patients had greater improvement compared to untreated controls, and no difference compared to patients treated with corn or safflower oils. Populations that consume coconut oil have low rates of heart disease. Coconut oil may also be one of the most useful oils to prevent heart disease because of its antiviral and antimicrobial characteristics. [JAMA 1967 202:1119-1123; Am J Clin Nutr 1981 34:1552] Clearly, there has been increasing recognition of health- supporting functions of the fatty acids found in coconut. Recent reports from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about required labeling of the trans fatty acids will put coconut oil in a more competitive position and may help return to its use by the baking and snack food industry where it has continued to be recognized for its functionality. Now it can be recognized for another kind of functionality: the improvement of the health of mankind. Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. www.healthoracle.org 1 The antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal properties of lauric acid and monolaurin have been recognized by a small number of researchers for nearly four decades: this knowledge has resulted in more than 20 research papers and several U.S. patents, and this past year it resulted in a comprehensive book chapter, which reviewed the important aspects of lauric oils as antimicrobial agents (Enig 1998). Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria, including listeria monocytogenes and helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid. Recognition of the antiviral aspects of the antimicrobial activity of the monoglyceride of lauric acid (monolaurin) has been reported since 1966. Some of the early work by Hierholzer and Kabara (1982) that showed virucidal effects of monolaurin on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses was done in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control of the U.S. Public Health Service. These studies were done with selected virus prototypes or recognized representative strains of enveloped human viruses. The envelope of these viruses is a lipid membrane, and the presence of a lipid membrane on viruses makes them especially vulnerable to lauric acid and its derivative monolaurin. The medium-chain saturated fatty acids and their derivatives act by disrupting the lipid membranes of the viruses (Isaacs and Thormar 1991; Isaacs et al 1992). Research has shown that enveloped viruses are inactivated in both human and bovine milk by added fatty acids and monoglycerides (Isaacs et al 1991), and also by endogenous fatty acids and monoglycerides of the appropriate length (Isaacs et al 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992; Thormar et al 1987). Some of the viruses inactivated by these lipids are: • • • • HIV measles herpes simplex (HSV-1) vesicular stomatitis virus www.healthoracle.org 2 • • visna virus cytomegalovirus (CMV) One of the remarkable things about coconut oil is that it can help you lose weight. Yes, there is a dietary fat that can actually help you take off unwanted pounds. Coconut oil can quite literally be called a low-fat fat. A review of the diet/heart disease literature relevant to coconut oil clearly indicates that coconut oil is at worst neutral with respect to atherogenicity of fats and oils and, in fact, is likely to be beneficial oil for prevention and treatment of some heart disease. Additionally, coconut oil provides a source of antimicrobial lipid for individuals with compromised immune systems and is a non-promoting fat with respect to chemical carcinogenesis. Traditionally, polyunsaturated oils such as soyabean oil have been used for livestock feed because they cause the animals to gain weight. These oils are made up of what is known as long chain fatty acids--the kind of fatty acids that promote weight gain. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is a saturated fat made up primarily of medium chain fatty acids. Also known as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), medium chain fatty acids are known to increase metabolism and promote weight loss. Coconut oil can also raise basal body temperatures while increasing metabolism. This is good news for people who suffer with low thyroid function. Coconut Oil does not interfere with thyroid function (unlike soyabean oil). There seems to be good evidence that coconut oil is very good for thyroid health. The article indicates that coconut oil will help overweight individuals to lose the excess weight. The origins of the American obesity epidemic can be traced to the 1970’s when a concerted campaign against ‘harmful tropical oils’ by the American Soybean Association led to the elimination of coconut oil in virtually all commercial cooking. Not all Fats are alike www.healthoracle.org 3 Replacing the fats you now eat with coconut oil may be the wisest decision you can make to lose excess body fat. We often think that the less fat we eat the better. However, you do not necessarily need to reduce your fat intake; you simply need to choose a fat that is better for you, one that does not contribute to weight gain. You can lose unwanted body fat by eating more saturated fat (in the form of coconut oil) and less polyunsaturated fat (processed vegetable oils). One of the remarkable things about coconut oil is that it can help you lose weight. Yes, there is a dietary fat that can actually help you take off unwanted pounds. Coconut oil can quite literally be called a low-fat fat. If there was any oil that you could use for your daily cooking needs that helped protect you from heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative conditions, improved your digestion, strengthened your immune system, and helped you lose excess weight, would you be interested? No such oils exists you say? Yes, there is an oil that can do all this and more!!! No, it is not olive oil; it is not canola oil, or safflower oil or any of the oils commonly used for culinary purposes. It is not flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, or any of the oils sold as dietary supplements. It is not rare or exotic. It is ordinary coconut oil. Learn about the amazing health benefits of coconut oil, meat, milk, and water. Coconut oil is considered the healthiest oil on earth and it can protect you against heart disease, diabetes, and infectious illnesses such as influenza, herpes, candida, and even HIV. Coconut meat (the fleshy part) can protect you from colon cancer, regulate blood sugar, and expel intestinal parasites. But wait, is not coconut oil a saturated fat? And is not saturated fat bad? Because coconut oil is primarily saturated oil, it has been blindly labeled as bad. It is lumped right along with beef fat and lard with the assumption that they all carry the same health risks. However, researchers have clearly shown that the oil from coconuts, a plant source, acts differently. The oil from coconuts is unique in nature and provides many health benefits obtainable from no other source. www.healthoracle.org 4 Coconut Oil DOES NOT: • • • • • • Contain cholesterol. Increase blood cholesterol level. Promote platelet stickiness which leads to blood clot formation. Contribute to atherosclerosis or heart disease. Promote cancer or any other degenerative disease. Contribute to weight problems. Coconut Oil DOES: When taken as a supplement, used in cooking, or applied to directly to the skin, has been found to: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Reduces risk of atherosclerosis and related illnesses. Reduces risk of cancer. Helps prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal (including yeast) infections. Supports immune system function. Help protect against heart disease, arthritis, and many other degenerative diseases Helps prevent osteoporosis. Helps control diabetes. Promotes weight loss. Supports healthy metabolic function. Strengthen the immune system Provides an immediate source of energy. Supplies fewer calories than other fats. Supplies important nutrients necessary for good health. Improves digestion and nutrient absorption. Has a mild delicate flavor. Is highly resistant to spoilage (has a long shelf life). Is heat resistant (the healthiest oil for cooking). Helps keep skin soft and smooth. www.healthoracle.org 5 • Prevent premature aging of the skin • Helps prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin. • Helps protect against skin cancer and other blemishes. As unbelievable as it sounds, the oil in coconuts has been found to aid the body in destroying dozens of harmful viruses including hepatitis C, herpes, and HIV. Coconut oil has been called the healthiest dietary oil on earth. If you are not using coconut oil for your daily cooking and body care needs you are missing out on one of nature’s most amazing health products. Each health benefit is explained and fully documented by scientific research. The inquiring reader will have a new and more balanced view of the role of fat and especially saturated fats in our diet. Coconut Flour The secret weapon to managing your weight, a natural and delicious alternative to wheat and grain that is packed with dietary fiber and is a good source of protein too! Coconut flour is unlike any other consisting of 14% coconut oil and 58% dietary fiber! The remaining 28% consists of water, protein, and carbohydrate. If you have not tried coconut flour yet, here are some more excellent reasons to start: • Coconut Flour is ideal for baking. It has fewer digestible (net) carbs than other flours, and it even has fewer digestible carbs than some vegetables! • Coconut Flour is gluten-free and hypoallergenic. With as much protein as wheat flour, coconut flour has none of the specific protein in wheat called gluten. This is an advantage for a growing percentage of the population who has allergies to gluten or a wheat sensitivity. • Coconut Flour consists of the highest percentage of dietary fiber ( 58 %) found in any flour. Wheat bran has only is 27% fiber. • Coconut Flour can help you reach a healthy weight. Ideal for those who follow a low-carb eating plan, coconut flour works well as part of a weight loss program because it has high fiber, and foods with high fiber can help promote a feeling of fullness. www.healthoracle.org 6 Whoever said ‘you can't have your cake and eat it too’ was definitely in the dark about the benefits of coconut flour! The unsaturated oils in some cooked foods become rancid in just a few hours, even at refrigerator temperatures, and are responsible for the stale taste of leftover foods. (Eating slightly stale food is not particularly harmful, since the same oils, even when eaten absolutely fresh, will oxidize at a much higher rate once they are in the body, where they are heated and thoroughly mixed with an abundance of oxygen.) Coconut oil that has been kept at room temperature for a year has been tested for rancidity, and showed no evidence of it. Since we would expect the small percentage of unsaturated oils naturally contained in coconut oil to become rancid, it seems that the other (saturated) oils have an anti-oxidative effect: This is probably because of the dilution which keeps the unstable unsaturated fat molecules spatially separated from each other, so they cannot interact in the destructive chain reactions that occur in other oils. To interrupt chain-reactions of oxidation is one of the functions of antioxidants, and it is possible that a sufficient quantity of coconut oil in the body has this function. It is well established that dietary coconut oil reduces our need for vitamin E. Its antioxidant role is more general than that, because it has both direct and indirect antioxidant activities. Coconut oil is unusually rich in short and medium chain fatty acids. Shorter chain length allows fatty acids to be metabolized without use of the carnitine transport system. Mildronate protects cells against stress partly by opposing the action of carnitine, and comparative studies showed that added carnitine had the opposite effect, promoting the oxidation of unsaturated fats during stress, and increasing oxidative damage to cells. A degree of saturation of the oxidative apparatus by short-chain fatty acids has a similar effect--that is, that these very soluble and mobile short-chain saturated fats have priority for oxidation, because they do not require carnitine transport into the mitochondrion, and that this will tend to inhibit oxidation of the unstable, peroxidizable unsaturated fatty acids. www.healthoracle.org 7 Immunosuppression was observed in patients who were being ‘nourished’ by intravenous emulsions of ‘essential fatty acids,’ and as a result coconut oil is used as the basis for intravenous fat feeding, except in organ-transplant patients. For those patients, emulsions of unsaturated oils are used specifically for their immunosuppressive effects. General aging, and especially aging of the brain, is increasingly seen as being closely associated with lipid peroxidation. In the l960s, Hartroft and Porta gave an elegant argument for decreasing the ratio of unsaturated oil to saturated oil in the diet (and thus in the tissues). They showed that the ‘age pigment’ is produced in proportion to the ratio of oxidants to antioxidants, multiplied by the ratio of unsaturated oils to saturated oils. More recently, a variety of studies have demonstrated that ultraviolet light induces peroxidation in unsaturated fats, but not saturated fats, and that this occurs in the skin as well as in the lab. Rabbit experiments, and studies of humans, showed that the amount of unsaturated oil in the diet strongly affects the rate at which aged, wrinkled skin develops. The unsaturated fat in the skin is a major target for the aging and carcinogenic effects of ultraviolet light, though not necessarily the only one. In the l940s, farmers attempted to use cheap coconut oil for fattening their animals, but they found that it made them lean, active and hungry. For a few years, an anti-thyroid drug was found to make the livestock get fat while eating less food, but then it was found to be a strong carcinogen, and it also probably produced hypothyroidism in the people who ate the meat. By the late l940s, it was found that the same anti-thyroid effect, causing animals to get fat without eating much food, could be achieved by using soya beans and corn as feed. Later, an animal experiment fed diets that were low or high in total fat, and in different groups the fat was provided by pure coconut oil, or pure unsaturated oil, or by various mixtures of the two oils. At the end of their lives, the animals’ obesity increased directly in proportion to the ratio of unsaturated oil to coconut oil in their diet, and was not related to the total amount of fat they had consumed. www.healthoracle.org 8 That is, animals which ate just a little pure unsaturated oil were fat, and animals which ate a lot of coconut oil were lean. People in Yucatan, where coconut is a staple food, averaged 25% higher than that of people in the United States. In a hot climate, the adaptive tendency is to have a lower metabolic rate, so it is clear that some factor is more than offsetting this expected effect of high environmental temperatures. The people there are lean, and recently it has been observed that the women there have none of the symptoms we commonly associate with the menopause. By l950, then, it was established that unsaturated fats suppress the metabolic rate, apparently creating hypothyroidism. Over the next few decades, the exact mechanisms of that metabolic damage were studied. Unsaturated fats damage the mitochondria, partly by suppressing the reparatory enzyme, and partly by causing generalized oxidative damage. The more unsaturated the oils are, the more specifically they suppress tissue response to thyroid hormone, and transport of the hormone on the thyroid transport protein. Plants evolved a variety of toxins designed to protect themselves from ‘predators,’ such as grazing animals. Seeds contain a variety of toxins, that seem to be specific for mammalian enzymes, and the seed oils function to block protein digestive enzymes in the stomach. The thyroid hormone is formed in the gland by the action of a protein digestive enzyme, and the unsaturated oils also inhibit that enzyme. Similar protein digestive enzymes involved in clot removal and immune function appear to be similarly inhibited by these oils. Just as metabolism is ‘activated’ by consumption of coconut oil, which prevents the inhibiting effect of unsaturated oils, other inhibited processes, such as clot removal and immune function, will probably tend to be restored by continuing use of coconut oil. Brain tissue is very rich in complex forms of fats. The experiment (around 1978) in which pregnant mice were given diets containing either coconut oil or unsaturated oil showed that brain development was superior in the young mice whose mothers ate coconut oil. www.healthoracle.org 9 Because coconut oil supports thyroid function, and thyroid governs brain development, including myelination, the result might simply reflect the difference between normal and hypothyroid individuals. However, in 1980, experimenters demonstrated that young rats fed milk containing soya oil incorporated the oil directly into their brain cells, and had structurally abnormal brain cells as a result. Lipid oxidation occurs during seizures, and antioxidants such as vitamin E have some anti-seizure activity. Currently, lipid oxidation is being found to be involved in the nerve cell degeneration of Alzheimer’s disease. Various fractions of coconut oil are coming into use as ‘drugs,’ meaning that they are advertised as treatments for diseases. Butyric acid is used to treat cancer, lauric and myristic acids to treat virus infections and mixtures of medium-chain fats are sold for weight loss. Purification undoubtedly increases certain effects, and results in profitable products, but in the absence of more precise knowledge, the whole natural product, used as a regular food, is the best way to protect health. Treating any complex natural product as the drug industry does, as a raw material to be fractionated in the search for ‘drug’ products, is risky, because the relevant knowledge is not sought in the search for an association between a single chemical and a single disease. While the toxic unsaturated paint-stock oils, especially safflower, soya, corn and linseed (flaxseed) oils, have been sold to the public precisely for their drug effects, all of their claimed benefits were false. When people become interested in coconut oil as a ‘health food,’ the huge seed-oil industry-operating through their shills--is going to attack it as an ‘unproved drug.’ Components of coconut oil have been found to have remarkable physiological effects (as antihistamines, anti-infectives/antiseptics, promoters of immunity, glucocorticoid antagonist, nontoxic anticancer agents, for example). The cholesterol-lowering fiasco for a long time centered on the ability of unsaturated oils to slightly lower serum cholesterol. For years, the mechanism of that action was not known, which should have suggested caution. Now, it seems that the effect is just one more toxic action, in which the liver defensively retains its cholesterol, rather than releasing it into the blood. Large www.healthoracle.org 10 scale human studies have provided overwhelming evidence that whenever drugs, including the unsaturated oils, were used to lower serum cholesterol, mortality increased, from a variety of causes including accidents, but mainly from cancer. Since the l930s, it has been clearly established that suppression of the thyroid raises serum cholesterol (while increasing mortality from infections, cancer, and heart disease), while restoring the thyroid hormone brings cholesterol down to normal. In this situation, however, thyroid is not suppressing the synthesis of cholesterol, but rather is promoting its use to form hormones and bile salts. When the thyroid is functioning properly, the amount of cholesterol in the blood entering the ovary governs the amount of progesterone being produced by the ovary, and the same situation exists in all steroid-forming tissues, such as the adrenal glands and the brain. Progesterone and its precursor, pregnenolone, have a generalized protective function: antioxidant, anti-seizure, antitoxin, anti-spasm, anti-clot, anticancer, pro-memory, pro-myelination, pro-attention, etc. Any interference with the formation of cholesterol will interfere with all of these exceedingly important protective functions. As far as the evidence goes, it suggests that coconut oil, added regularly to a balanced diet, lowers cholesterol to normal by promoting its conversion into pregnenolone. Coconut-eating cultures in the tropics have consistently lower cholesterol than people in the U.S. Those who use coconut oil regularly happen to have cholesterol levels of about 160, while eating mainly cholesterol rich foods (eggs, milk, cheese, meat, and shellfish). Many people see coconut oil in its hard, white state, and--as a result of their training watching television or going to medical school--associate it with the cholesterol-rich plaques in blood vessels. Those lesions in blood vessels are caused mostly by lipid oxidation of unsaturated fats, and relate to stress, because adrenaline liberates fats from storage, and the lining of blood vessels is exposed to high concentrations of the blood-borne material. In the body, incidentally, the oil cannot exist as a solid, since it liquefies at about 25 degrees C. (Incidentally, the viscosity of complex materials is not a www.healthoracle.org 11 simple matter of averaging the viscosity of its component materials; cholesterol and saturated fats sometimes lower the viscosity of cell components.) Most of the images and metaphors relating to coconut oil and cholesterol that circulate in our culture are false and misleading. A counter-image, which is metaphorical, but it is true in that it relates to lipid oxidation, which is profoundly important in our bodies. After a bottle of safflower oil has been opened a few times, a few drops that get smeared onto the outside of the bottle begin to get very sticky, and hard to wash off. This property is why it is a valued base for paints and varnishes, but this varnish is chemically closely related to the age pigment that forms ‘liver spots’ on the skin, and similar lesions in the brain, heart, blood vessels, lenses of the eyes, etc. The image of ‘hard, white saturated coconut oil’ is not relevant to the oil’s biological action, but the image of ‘sticky varnish-like easily oxidized unsaturated seed oils’ is highly relevant to their toxicity. The ability of some of the medium chain saturated fatty acids in coconut oil to inhibit the liver’s formation of fat very likely synergizes with the pro-thyroid effect, in allowing energy to be used, rather than stored. When fat is not formed from carbohydrate, the sugar is available for use, or for storage as glycogen. Therefore, shifting from unsaturated fats in foods to coconut oil involves several anti-stress processes, reducing our need for the adrenal hormones. Decreased blood sugar is a basic signal for the release of adrenal hormones. Unsaturated oil tends to lower the blood sugar in at least three basic ways. • It damages mitochondria, causing respiration to be uncoupled from energy production, meaning that fuel is burned without useful effect. • It suppresses the activity of the respiratory enzyme (directly, and through its anti-thyroid actions), decreasing the respiratory production of energy. • It tends to direct carbohydrate into fat production, making both stress and obesity more probable. www.healthoracle.org 12 For those who use coconut oil consistently, one of the most noticeable changes is the ability to go for several hours without eating, and to feel hungry without having symptoms of hypoglycemia. One of the stylish ways to promote the use of unsaturated oils is to refer to their presence in ‘cell membranes,’ and to claim that they are essential for maintaining ‘membrane fluidity.’ As mentioned above, it is the ability of the unsaturated fats, and their breakdown products, to interfere with enzymes and transport proteins, which accounts for many of their toxic effects, so they definitely do not just harmlessly form ‘membranes.’ They probably bind to all proteins, and disrupt some of them, but for some reason their affinity for proteolytic and respiration-related enzymes is particularly obvious. (the chemistry of this association is going to give us some important insights into the nature of organisms). Unsaturated fats are slightly more water-soluble than fully saturated fats, and so they do have a greater tendency to concentrate at interfaces between water and fats or proteins, but there are relatively few places where these interfaces can be usefully and harmlessly occupied by unsaturated fats, and at a certain point, an excess becomes harmful. We do not want ‘membranes’ forming where there should not be membranes. The fluidity or viscosity of cell surfaces is an extremely complex subject, and the degree of viscosity has to be appropriate for the function of the cell. Interestingly, in some cells, such as the cells that line the air sacs of the lungs, cholesterol and one of the saturated fatty acids found in coconut oil can increase the fluidity of the cell surface. In red blood cells, which have sometimes been wrongly described as ‘hemoglobin enclosed in a cell membrane,’ it has been known for a long time that lipid oxidation of unsaturated fats weakens the cellular structure, causing the cells to be destroyed prematurely. Lipid oxidation products lower the rigidity of regions of cells considered to be membranes. But the red blood cell is actually more like a sponge in structure, consisting of a ‘skeleton’ of proteins, which (if not damaged by oxidation) can hold its shape, even when the hemoglobin has been removed. www.healthoracle.org 13 Oxidants damage the protein structure, and it is this structural damage which in turn increases the ‘fluidity’ of the associated fats. So, it is probably true that in many cases the liquid unsaturated oils do increase ‘membrane fluidity,’ but it is now clear that in at least some of those cases the ‘fluidity’ corresponds to the chaos of a damaged cell protein structure. (N. V. Gorbunov, "Effect of structural modification of membrane proteins on lipid-protein interactions in the human erythrocyte membrane," Bull. Exp. Biol. and Med. 116(11), 136467. 1993). Natural coconut oil--not the hydrogenated version often found in processed foods--is a saturated fat, but not the kind your doctor has warned you about. Studies have shown that this uniquely curative oil actually has innumerable health benefits ranging from disease prevention to anti-aging. Coconut oil and its associated ‘Medium Chain Fatty Acids’ are indeed true health miracles. They prevent and even reverse everything from infections to viruses (including the flu) to germs and bacteria of many types. It does so far better than any medical drugs can, and without any side effects what so ever. Of all the lies and ‘half truths’ being perpetuated by the medical establishment, drug companies, the media and special interest groups, such as the American Soyabean Association (400,000 members strong), perhaps the biggest and most deadly lie is that saturated fats are bad for you and that vegetable oils (used for cooking and as preservatives for prepackaged foods) are healthy for us. ‘The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil’ explodes these lies once and for all. Coconut Oil Coconut Oil is another healthy saturated fat that contains many beneficial properties. It is rich in lauric acid, a proven antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agent. The fat in coconut oil is easily digested and absorbed, unlike the man-made fats or oils that act just like plastic in the body. It puts little strain on the www.healthoracle.org 14 digestive system and provides a quick source of energy necessary to promote healing. Here are some other very interesting facts about Coconut Oil: 1. Supports immune system function. 2. Supplies important nutrients necessary for good health. 3. Improves digestion and the absorption of nutrients from proteins and carbohydrates. 4. Reduces our need for Vitamin E. 5. It is a powerful antioxidant (helps the body get rid of toxins and heavy metals). 6. It can be used on the skin to restore and repair it, and to moisturize it. 7. It can be used as a hair conditioner. It softens the hair, conditions the scalp and controls dandruff or cradle cap (caused by yeast/candida overgrowth). 8. Its antiseptic fatty acids help to prevent fungal and bacterial infections when it is consumed or applied to the skin. 9. It is the biggest chemical barrier to infectious organisms is the acid layer on the skin. This is why sweat and the oil produced on our skin are good for us. Taking fewer showers and baths is advisable because it allows the skin to build up natural oils, which forms a good acidic protective barrier, and also helps the skin make vitamin D when exposed to the sun. Soap washes off the protective layer of oil and acid on our skin. After a shower or bath apply coconut oil to the entire body to quickly reestablish the skin’s natural antimicrobial and acid barrier. 10. It helps reduce chronic skin inflammation, i.e. Rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, etc. 11. It soothes and heals. Buy a good quality coconut oil that is: • • Cold- or Expeller- pressed. Unrefined. www.healthoracle.org 15 • • Unbleached. Undeodorized. Coconut oil is highly resistant to spoilage and has a long shelf life (2 years at room temperature), so it is not kept refrigerated. It is kept in the cupboard or on the kitchen counter. Like other saturated fats coconut oil goes solid when cooled below room temperature, and in warm weather it will be totally liquid. Coconut oil has a high burning point making it perfect for cooking. It can be used alone, or mixed with butter, lard or other good fats for cooking and frying. Coconut oil can be taken by the spoonfuls with meals to aid digestion or melted on cooked foods. The recommended therapeutic dose for anyone who is unhealthy is 5-6 tablespoons per day, taken in divided doses preferably with meals that contain protein. Since coconut oil is antifungal, antiparasitic, antibacterial and antiviral, etc. it will create die-off or healing reactions in people who are unhealthy, but it will be particularly pronounced in candida sufferers and in people who have viruses and bacteria. The most common healing reactions are nausea or stomach upset, and diarrhea. This is because coconut oil kills bacteria, yeasts, viruses and parasites in the digestive system and it cleans out toxins. Diarrhea is the body’s way of getting rid of unwanted guests and toxins. Other healing reactions may include increased mucus in the intestines, nose, sinuses, lungs, as well as rashes and other skin eruptions. To minimize healing reactions or die-off symptoms start taking coconut oil at a low dose (1/2 to 1 teaspoon 3 times a day) and gradually increase the amount every 4-5 days until the maximum therapeutic dose of 5-6 tablespoons per day is reached. www.healthoracle.org 16 It is also important to take coconut oil in divided doses during the day and not all at once. Healthy people can take a maintenance dose of coconut oil which is 3 tablespoons per day. www.healthoracle.org 17