The number of people with obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes type 2 is rapidly growing in the U.S. Moreover, scientists warn of the great possibility that by the year 2050, 15,000,000 Americans will have developed Alzheimer`s disease.
Mary T. Newport, M.D., a neonatal practitioner, who has been researching scientific literature about Alzheimer’s for the last ten years , found that medium chain triglycerides (MCT) contained in coconut oil can be the miraculous remedy for preventing and slowing down the progression of Alzheimer`s.
Her husband, Steve, age 58, has been diagnosed with progressive Dementia for more than 5 years. According to MRI results, the disease was likely to develop in Alzheimer`s.
He experienced huge memory issues such as inability to find a spoon or how to get water out of the fridge. He also suffered from depression. In her research, she found that depression can be the precursor for Alzheimer`s.
Why are MCT Important?
Human body cells use ketone bodies as a fuel when there is a lack of glucose. Brain cells are the most selective cells in the human body since they are limited in what kind of fuel they use in order to stay alive. Generally, they need glucose, but they can also use ketone bodies. Normally, the human body does not have ketone bodies which can be available for the brain to use them.
What exactly happens in Alzheimer’s disease?
The nerve cells in certain parts of the brain are not able to use glucose as a fuel because of insulin resistance and they slowly start to die off. This process last for 10 or 20 decades before there are any clear symptoms of the disease. However, if these neurons use ketone bodies as a fuel they can survive and continue to function normally. Similar is the case with patients with Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis and ALS, where the problem is the same but in a different part of the brain and spinal cord.
MCT oil is metabolized in a different way than other type of fats. Namely, the liver converts them directly into ketone bodies and further as energy. Oral and intravenous application of MCT oil leads to hyperketonemia, an elevated number of ketone bodies in the blood which can be used by the brain cells in case of glucose deficiency.
″Hyperketonemia results in a substantial (39%) increase in cerebral blood flow, and appears to reduce cognitive dysfunction associated with systemic hypoglycemia in normal humans,″ says Dr. Newport.
In her further research, she found that coconut oil is about 60% medium chain fatty acids, has zero cholesterol and is rich in omega-6 fatty acids. Other sources of MCT are palm kernel oil and human breast milk. Also, it can be found in smaller concentrations in cow and goat milk, and in the butter made from these milks.
When the disease had considerably advanced, Dr. Newport decided to try the coconut oil therapy. She bought 100% virgin coconut oil and gave her husband 36 grams (over two tablespoons) of coconut oil per day, for more than a month. The results were unbelievable.
″After about two weeks, and again at 37 days, after starting the coconut oil, I asked him to draw a clock. There is an obvious marked improvement″, she says.
This means that after a month and a half her husband was almost completely recovered after consuming 35 mg (over 2 tablespoons) of coconut oil per day.