I just returned from a very informative conference on concussion, dementia and brain health.\u00a0 It is a real problem with an expected 15 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the near future.\u00a0 At a cost of $100,000\/yr and an average life span of 10 years.\u00a0 Those numbers are an astounding\u00a0 $1.5 trillion a year!<\/p>\n
Nutrition has a lot to do with preventing, delaying, slowing this process.\u00a0 The main take away points to the 20 hour seminar is\u00a0 get rid of ALL the copper in supplements and a filter in your house if you have copper pipes.\u00a0 No aluminum ever!\u00a0 We need to eat a balanced omega 3 rich diet\u00a0 with either fatty fish or fish oil supplements.\u00a0 And coconut oil.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I include the following article from Green Med info.\u00a0 One of my favorite websites.<\/p>\n
All the more reason to celebrate a promising new study soon to be published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease<\/em> titled, “Coconut Oil Attenuates the Effects of Amyloid-\u03b2 on Cortical Neurons In Vitro<\/a><\/strong>.”[i]<\/a>\u00a0 The study lends fresh experimental support to an accumulating body of anecdotal reports that coconut oil may alleviate and\/or regress cognitive deficits associated with aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease<\/a><\/strong> and Parkinson’s.<\/p>\n Medical researchers from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada, undertook a pilot study to investigate the effects of coconut oil supplementation directly on cortical neurons treated with amyloid-\u03b2 (A\u03b2) peptide in vitro.\u00a0 A\u03b2 peptide is the main component of certain deposits found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease believed to contribute to the disease.<\/p>\n The researchers noted that a recent clinical trial, which we reported on in our article MCT Fats Found in Coconut Oil Boost Brain Function in Only One Dose<\/a><\/strong>, reported significant improvements in Alzheimer’s disease patients after 45 and 90 days of treatment with medium chain triglycerides<\/a><\/strong> from coconut oil.\u00a0 They pointed out that this trial led to the marketing of the FDA-approved ‘medical food’ caprylidene (trade name Axona<\/a>), but that the public has shown greater interest in coconut oil itself as a potential therapy, owing to its far greater affordability and availability.<\/p>\n The researchers sought to test the hypothesis that coconut oil is beneficial for neurodegenerative conditions using a cell model.\u00a0 Live rat neurons were exposed to various combinations of A\u03b2 peptide and coconut oil, with the result that A\u03b2 peptide reduced survival of neurons and coconut protected against this A\u03b2-induced reduction in survival time.\u00a0 The researchers noted that coconut treated A\u03b2 cultured neurons appeared “healthier,” and that coconut oil “rescued” A\u03b2-treated neurons from mitochondrial damage caused by their toxicity. \u00a0The researchers observed coconut oil preventing A\u03b2-induced changes in mitochondrial size and circularity. These findings have great significance, as mitochondria function is often compromised in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients.<\/p>\n According to the researchers, “The rationale for using coconut oil as a potential AD [Alzheimer’s Disease] therapy is related to the possibility that it could be metabolized to ketone bodies that would provide an alternative energy source for neurons, and thus compensate for mitochondrial dysfunction.”\u00a0 The researchers proposed that ketone bodies formed as a byproduct of coconut oil metabolism may offset A\u03b2-induced impairment of mitochondrial function and thus energy metabolism.\u00a0 Considering that the medium chain triglyceride found in coconut known as caprylic acid does cross the blood-brain barrier, and has recently been found to have anti-convulsant, in addition to, ketogenic effects, coconut oil likely does have a neuroprotective effect.[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The researchers concluded, “The results of this pilot study provide a basis for further investigation of the effects of coconut oil, or its constituents, on neuronal survival focusing on mechanisms that may be involved.”<\/p>\n Clearly, one of the ways that coconut oil can ‘rescue’ the brains of Alzheimer’s patients is by addressing the metabolic derangement in the brain associated with the condition, or what is known as “type 3 diabetes<\/a>.” As the brain ages, it becomes increasingly resistant to insulin, and therefore incapable of using glucose efficiently to meet its significant energy needs — hence the metaphor “type 3 diabetes.” Thankfully, nature has devised an alternative fuel source for the brain that is independent of glucose utilization and the insulin signaling system, namely, the use of ketone bodies.\u00a0 Coconut oil provides the substrate for the immediate production of these ketone bodies, enabling significant quantities to be produced within a matter of only minutes following ingestion. This metabolic restoration of function may explain why remarkable recoveries in cognitive function and memory have been observed, anecdotally.<\/p>\n Putting the science aside for a moment, coconut, like walnuts, both obey the so-called ‘doctrine of signatures.’ Both foods are encased by a skull-like shell, and contain within a fatty acid-rich ‘meat,’ that feed the organ \u2013 the brain \u2013 they resemble.\u00a0 Could the poetry of our direct experience tell us something about the value this food has to our brain, or should we continue to play agnostic and exercise great caution incorporating a ‘food as medicine’ approach until the men in white coats, and powerful economic forces behind them willing to shell out millions, if not billions of dollars, to “prove” in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled fashion something we probably already know is true?<\/p>\n For additional research on the benefits of coconut oil visit our research page on the topic: coconut oil health benefits<\/a><\/strong>. Or, visit our neurodegenerative diseases<\/a><\/strong> page for dozens of natural substances studied that may help these conditions.<\/p>\n [i]<\/a> Firoozeh Nafar, Karen M Mearow. Coconut Oil Attenuates the Effects of Amyloid-\u03b2 on Cortical Neurons In Vitro.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n [ii]<\/a> Wlaz P, Socala K, Nieoczym D, Luszczki JJ, Zarnowska 296 I, Zarnowski T, Czuczwar SJ, Gasior M (2012) Anticon- 297 vulsant profile of caprylic acid, a main constituent of the 298 medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) ketogenic diet, in mice. 299 Neuropharmacology <\/em>62<\/strong>, 1882-1889.founder of\u00a0Greenmedinfo.com<\/a><\/strong>, on the Board of Governors for the\u00a0National Health Federation<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Fearless Parent<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Steering\u00a0Committee Member\u00a0of the\u00a0Global\u00a0GMO\u00a0Free Coalition<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(GGFC),\u00a0a reviewer at the\u00a0International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
\n