Mcts and Lauric acid in extra virgin coconut oil replace antibiotics: against candida, fungal infection, bacteria, viruses …

Extra virgin coconut oil and coconut oil
A world of difference

Usually coconut oil is refined and made of the copra of coconut. Copra is obtained by drying the coconut pulp at extremely high temperatures. It is from this copra that coconut oil is extracted using solvents. The oil is then bleached, deodorized and refined. The result is a cheap product, which is bad for our health. When animals are given refined coconut fat which contains transfats, but not essential fats then this coconut fat will increase the animals’ cholesterol level, according to a lecture given by Mary Enig in Vietnam in 1996.

Sterols, lecithin, polyphenols, carotenoids, minerals, vitamin E and other vegetable substances are removed during the refining process. And yet there is a reason for the presence of every one of these substances. Vitamin E prevents the oil from becoming rancid, while carotenoids protect the skin against the sun; minerals ensure growth and electric conduction, etc. Refined and hardened coconut oil will only melt around 30 to 37°C and cold-pressed extra virgin oil around 25°C. This means that refi ned coconut oil is rather solid at body temperature, which does not benefit our health. Extra virgin coconut oil is obtained by letting pulp ferment naturally or pressing it mechanically. Extra virgin oil smells and tastes of coconut like extra virgin olive oil tastes of olives. Extra virgin oil is perfectly liquid at 25°C and has a very small molecular structure. It is very healthy and extremely easily absorbed through the intestines and the skin.

Medium chain fatty acids Coconut oil is the richest source of Medium Chain Fatty Acids

MCTs are Medium Chain Triglycerides or medium chain fatty acids. These fats are most prevalent in coconut oil and palm kernel oil. The molecules of MCT fats are smaller, they are easily broken down and require little energy and enzymes in order to be absorbed and used by our body. They don’t require pancreatic enzymes. (22) Nor do they require any intervention from the liver or the gall. That is why people with liver problems benefit from the MCTs of coconut oil, as they are much easier digested. In contrast to other fats MCTs will be used as a fuel fi rst, rather than stored as a fat. (23) That is why athletes like coconut oil MCTs as they fit in perfectly with a diet geared toward vitality.

Thanks to MCT’s healing properties this oil is often used in hospitals for patients with severe burns and people who are critically ill. (17) Long chain fatty acids as prevalent in fi sh oil and vegetable oil are stored as fat and are only used in second instance as energy.

The antimicrobial function of coconut oil MCTs

Evolution has equipped plants, animals and mankind with a number of defence mech- anisms against viruses, bacteria, funguses, etc. Coconuts grow in a tropical climate, teeming with organisms that constantly attack us. Coconuts have adapted to this situ- ation with their medium chain fatty acids and have developed a natural antimicrobial system. Breast milk and the milk of other mammals draw on the MCTs of lauric fatty acids to protect newborns. (That is why you will also find some MCTs in butter). One of the unique characteristics of coconut oil is that it is an antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-protozoan food. (29, 30)

Coconut oil as a neutraceutical
Nature heals…

In regions where coconut oil has been on the menu for several generations, people are aware that it is an effective remedy for healing wounds and that it has anti-inflam matory and antimicrobial properties. Some coconut oil experts are working hard towards having coconut oil officially included in the list of neutraceuticals, a food supplement, with a high nutritional value that prevents or heals chronic disease. Coconut oil can fortify our immune system. Lauric, caproic, caprine, capryl, and myr- istic acid, which constitute more than 70% of the fatty acids in coconut oil, protect us against bacteria, viruses, funguses, fermentation and protozoa. By eating food that has been prepared with coconut oil we can better protect ourselves.

The different powerful antimicrobial fatty acids in coconut oil are:

• 45% lauric acid (an MCT with 12 carbon atoms)
• 10% caprine acid (an MCT with 10 carbon atoms)
• 8% capryl acid (an MCT with 8 carbon atoms)
• 0.5% caproic acid (an MCT with 6 carbon atoms)
• 8 to 12% myristic acid (an LCT with 16 carbon atoms)

The problem of resistance to antibiotics
Coconut oil offers a broader solution

If our immune system is functioning properly then in most cases our body will be able to defend itself and then we won’t be needing antibiotics or vaccinations. Many of the surrounding bacteria and viruses are friendly organisms. Without them mankind would be unable to thrive. In our intestines alone 2 kilos of these small organisms subsist.
Better hygiene has allowed us to make important progress in the battle against infec tious disease over the last 150 years. But sadly all our knowledge doesn’t help us prevent epidemics. Even new bacteria or variants of an older bacterium continue to plague medical science. Statistics show that the cause of death due to infectious diseases has risen considerably since 1980. (38) Two important factors are unhealthy feeding habits and a wrong and frequent use of antibiotics.

• In many western countries, the US first and foremost, we tend to gorge on refined foods such as sugar, whitemeal products and refined oils. 80% of our calorie intake today comes from foods with no substantial nutritional value. They don’t only make us fat, but they also undermine our resistance.
• Not only people use a lot of antibiotics. The cattle industry also loves to use anti- biotics. Lots of them! This had led to certain bacteria surviving and becoming resistant against antibiotics. Resistant bacteria can also become life-threatening bacteria.
• Although antibiotics can eliminate bacteria (not viruses!) in our bodies, they con tinue to be alien substances in our body. They constitute an extra burden for our liver, kidneys, stomach and intestines.
• Antibiotics also destroy the good bacteria in our body, such as the good intesti nal flora, a complex of billions of beneficial micro-organisms living in our intestine. Possible consequences include diarrhoea; but we also become more sensitive to intruders due to the fact that the protective layer of good intestinal bacteria has been eliminated. Funguses, which are normally contained, can also flare up. In short, our immune system is weakened.

Coconut oil can provide a natural alternative to antibiotics. Coconut oil not only protects us against bacteria, but also against viruses and protozoa. Coconut oil also helps ensure that there are no fungal infections. If you do use antibiotics, then at least use some coconut oil to prevent fungal infections.

Coconut oil and fungal infections
Be rid of Candida albicans

Coconut oil cannot only reduce our dependence on antibiotics; it also contributes to a healthy balance in our intestinal flora. One of the discouraging side-effects of medication and antibiotics is that they not only kill bad bacteria, they also kill good bacteria, thereby causing fungal infections.

You will find a lot of funguses in countries where a lot of coconuts are consumed. India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Polynesia and the Philippines are among these countries. Remarkably the incidence of fungal infections is quite low. (111). Polynesian women for example rarely to never suffer from fungal infections.

The best-known natural rem- edy for funguses is capryl acid, a medium chain fatty acid, which is also present in coconut oil. The University of Iceland has conducted a large-scale study into the effectiveness of high concentrations of lauric acid and caprine acid.(9) They discovered that caprine acid was the fastest and most effective fatty acid to combat the Candida albicans fungus. But also in low concentrations lauric acid was the most active, even after a longer incubation. Capryl acid came in third place. (98). These three fatty acids are extremely prevalent in coconut oil. Other research has shown that the MCTs in coconut oil can kill funguses such as Candida albicans (106).

The ‘detoxification’ effect or Herxheimer response

Three spoons a day, always during or before a meal, will kill the funguses in your intestines. The massive dying of funguses such as Candida albicans might give you a temporary headache, skin rash or diarrhoea. This response is also known as the Herx- heimer response. The rapid killing of micro-organisms means that these funguses will release toxins. This response does however indicate that you are doing a good job of eliminating the funguses.

Coconut oil is a developing natural broad-spectrum anti-biotic, which also kills viruses and funguses

Chemical antibiotics? Go for natural antibiotics with extra virgin coconut oil

Once they have been developed, chemical antibiotics will always remain the same. They only kill those bacteria that have not yet become resistant. As bacteria always adapt in their urge to survive, the present antibiotics at one point or another will be- come useless. The bigger the pressure on the bacteria, the better they will adapt. The more antibiotics used, the more ‘intelligently’ we produce bacteria. That is why hospi- tals are the ideal breeding ground for new variants: ‘hospital bacteria’.

Antibiotics are used before and after almost every operation. Any antibiotics that are presently being developed will have lost their value in the future. This does not apply to coconut oil. Coconut oil is a natural product, which adapts in line with its environment, in its urge to survive. The moral: Frequent use of antibiotics will give bacteria a head start on mankind in the long term. Increase your health, take coconut oil and your body will do the rest.

Which bacteria and viruses can be killed by the lauric acid in coconut oil?

Monolauric acid dismantles the fatty membranes of viruses and renders bacteria and funguses passive. It almost dissolves the protective fat layer as it were, the sheath around certain viruses and bacteria, giving the human immune system the opportunity to finish the job. Of all the saturated fats lauric acid has the most comprehensive antiviral function, more than capryl acid or myristic acid. (82) Coconut oil has a positive impact on tumours, STDs, meningitis and can even reduce tooth decay by up to 80%.

Worldwide there are approximately 50 million new cases of people infected with Chlamydia trachomatis (the most transmissible sexual disease), which can be eliminated with monolauric acid.

Coconut oil restores general health

If coconut oil kills bad bacteria, viruses and funguses in our body, then general health will improve. Because an excess of bad bacteria, viruses and funguses can exhaust us, can make us chronically tired and ill, burden our resistance and cause several ail- ments and illnesses. By adding coconut oil to your diet you will feel much more en ergetic. According to Dr. Mary Enig an adult should consume 24 grams of lauric acid daily for therapeutic purposes. This amounts to 3.5 tablespoons of coconut oil a day.

Coconut oil and the prostate

Another potential use of coconut oil could be the treatment of benign prostate hyper- trophy or prostate enlargement in men. At present a very popular treatment based on herbs, i.e. the berries of the saw palmetto (Sabal serrulata or Serenoa repens), is already available. These berries contain fat-like components, which help combat the processing of testosterone into DHT, which in turn promotes strong growth of the prostate. The active component in these berries is the fat fraction, which mainly con tains medium chain fatty acids. That is why coconut oil, which is rich in MCTs, could have a beneficial effect on men’s prostate. (4)