To the estimated 26.6 million ­people worldwide with ­Alzheimer's disease and their countless caregivers, a recent and truly amazing case study offers new hope and insight into this ­debilitating condition.

Dr. Mary Newport, researcher and author of the case study, recently demonstrated that the medium-chain fats found in coconut oil can positively affect brain cells to both prevent and treat the damage caused by Alzheimer's disease (AD).

And the Alzheimer's patient she has been most concerned about? Her husband, Steve.

"Many days, often for several days in a row, he was in a fog; he couldn't find a spoon or remember how to get water out of the refrigerator," says Dr. Newport of Steve, a former accountant.

Drugs helped somewhat, but many devastating changes surfaced. Dr. Newport says she felt helpless as she watched her husband's decline-a decline so significant that he did not qualify for the many drug trials she researched. In her ­research, however, she came across a very interesting completed pilot study for a ­private company that showed ­remarkable ­results in Alzheimer's patients even ­after the first dose. She obtained the patent ­application for this treatment and learned that the promising ingredient was medium-chain triglyceride (MCT). ­After scouring 75 pages she, Dr. Newport found the once-mentioned source of the MCT: coconut oil.

With nothing to lose, she was spurred to take action with coconut oil ­therapy.

Coconut oil therapy
According to Dr. Newport, after two months of treatment on a therapeutic dosage (see sidebar page 11), "Steve walks into the kitchen every morning alert and happy, talkative and making jokes." His tremor was no ­longer very noticeable, he was able to concentrate on things that he wanted to do and stay on task, whereas ­before ­coconut oil he was easily ­distracted and ­rarely ­accomplished anything unless directly ­supervised.

Between two and four months ­after Steve started taking coconut oil, his ­visual disturbances resolved, his gait normalized and he was able to run again. His conversation skills improved and he recognized family members whom he couldn't a year earlier.

Between four and 10 months after treatment began, his conversation skills continued to improve. Reading comprehension and short-term ­memory ­improved, and now Steve is able to be ­involved in meaningful work such as home chores and volunteering outside of the home. Steve's depression also lifted and he says, "I have my life back."

How is this type of healing possible with just coconut oil? The little-known ­research mentioned earlier is about ­ketones as medicine and was done by Dr. ­Richard L. Veech of the National Institutes of Health, and others. MCT oil is ­digested differently than other fats. Instead of storing MCTs as fat, the liver converts them directly to ketone bodies.

"Brain cells, specifically neurons, are very limited, more limited than ­other cells in what kinds of fuel they can use to function and to stay alive. ­Normally, they require glucose (sugar), but they can also use ketone bodies," Dr. Newport ­explains.

We also know from previous research that, in Alzheimer's disease, neurons in ­certain areas of the brain are unable to take in glucose. "If these cells had access to ketone bodies, they could potentially stay alive and continue to function," Dr. Newport suggests. In short, coconut oil gives the brain what it needs to be healthy.

The MCT-brain connection
Additional research is pointing to the importance of MCTs. A 2008 ­animal study in the journal Brain Research ­concluded that adding MCTs to the diet ­increases cellular activity in the parietal lobe, a part of the brain that is severely ­impacted by ­Alzheimer's. A 2009 ­University of ­Toronto study in Neurochemical ­Research found that adding MCTs to the diet of dogs with age-related cognitive decline also increased the levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids in the parietal lobe.

"Steve is a very different person than he was a year ago," Dr. Newport reports. "I plan to tell ­everyone I can and get this information to persons in positions to ­investigate this with the hope that Dr. Veech and other MCT oil and ketone body researchers get the funding they need." 


Long acknowledged as the father of the ­Canadian health food movement, Siegfried Gursche (founder of alive publishing, Teldon and ­Alpha Health, Inc.) comes by his vast amount of knowledge about healthy fats and oils through both firsthand experience and dedicated ­research. www.alphahealth.ca

For more information about Dr. Newport or to support funding for more research go to: http://www.coconutketones.com/>

But Isn't Coconut Oil Bad for You?

Coconut oil's high saturated fat content is the reason it is often ­incorrectly lumped into the "bad" fat category along with animal fat. However, the saturates in unrefined virgin coconut oil are plant-based and they are not long fatty acid chains, as is the case in animal saturates. Short- and medium-chain ­fatty acids behave differently in the body than long-chain fatty acids, such as those found in beef fat. The high amount of medium-chain and other saturated fats in unrefined virgin coconut oil is what makes the oil so stable, which means it is resistant to rancidity and safe for use as a food or supplement and for cooking and baking.

The stability of high quality coconut oil is one of the many reasons it promotes health (lower quality coconut oil, made from dried coconut flesh that has been ­refined, bleached and deodorized, is disease-promoting).

Aside from coconut oil's stability, up-to-date research tells us that medium-chain fatty acids are a burning-not a storing-fat, which means they actually help increase metabolism, aiding in weight loss and promoting health in many other ways. There is no danger of medium-chain fatty acids being stored in the arteries as long-chain fatty acids are.

Yet another reason unrefined virgin coconut oil's composition is unique and of benefit to health is its very high content of lauric acid. Research tells us that lauric acid, which is converted to monolaurin in the body, helps to lower LDL cholesterol and inactivates pathogens. Lauric acid is missing from our modern-day diet, but high quality coconut oil is a safe, delicious way to benefit from this nutrient.

Delicious Dosage

To duplicate the dose of MCT taken in the study that Dr. Newport found, about seven level teaspoons of coconut oil should be taken at one time, once a day.

"I do not know if it is necessary to take this much at one time or if the dosage could be spread out over the course of the day," Dr. Newport says. "Studies obviously need to be done to determine this. We actually give this amount to Steve at least twice a day to make sure that there are no periods without ketone bodies circulating. Many days he receives at least 50 percent more than this."

This may seem like a lot of coconut oil, but it's important to remember that the amounts mentioned here are not excessive in areas of the world where coconut is a staple. It is advisable to start treatment with one or two teaspoons and increase the amount to full dosage over the space of a week.