Coach Martin's blog

Coconut Oil better than Virgin Olive Oil

So how do people in the tropics do it? How can people on traditional diets consume so much saturated fat and remain slim and healthy?

Researchers have known for quite some time that the secret to health and weight loss associated with coconut oil is related to the length of the fatty acid chains contained in coconut oil. Coconut oil contains what are called medium chain fatty acids, or medium chain triglycerides (MCTs for short). These medium chain fatty acids are different from the common longer chain fatty acids found in other plant-based oils. Most vegetable oils are composed of longer chain fatty acids, or triglycerides (LCTs). LCTs are typically stored in the body as fat, while MCTs are burned for energy. MCTs burn up quickly in the body.  They are a lot like adding kindling to a fireplace, rather than a big damp log.

Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of MCTs.  Not only do MCTs raise the body’s metabolism leading to weight loss, but they have special health-giving properties as well. The most predominant MCT in coconut oil, for example, is lauric acid. Lipid researcher Dr. Jon Kabara states “Never before in the history of man is it so important to emphasize the value of Lauric Oils. The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are similar to fats in mother’s milk and have similar nutriceutical effects. These health effects were recognized centuries ago in Ayurvedic medicine. Modern research has now found a common link between these two natural health products—-their fat or lipid content. The medium chain fatty acids and monoglycerides found primarily in coconut oil and mother’s milk have miraculous healing power.” Outside of a human mother’s breast milk, coconut oil is nature’s most abundant source of lauric acid and medium chain fatty acids.

Much of the recent research done on coconut oil and lauric acid, the most predominant fatty acid chain found in coconut oil, has centered around the anti-microbial and anti-viral properties of this unique fatty acid. Today, many strains of bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, and antibiotics are generally ineffective in treating virus infections. When lauric acid is consumed in the diet, either in human breast milk or in coconut oil, lauric acid forms a monoglyceride called monolaurin, which has been shown to destroy several bacteria and viruses, including listeria monocytogenes and helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia.  Some of the viruses that have been destroyed by monolaurin include HIV, measles, herpes simplex virus-1, vesicular stomatitis virus, influenza and cytomegalovirus. There is also evidence now that the MCTs in coconut oil kill yeast infections, such as Candida.

So now that we know that these wonderful health benefits found of coconut oil that lead to weight loss and vibrant health are in the fatty acids of coconut oil, the question that begs to be answered is why hasn’t this secret been revealed in the past?

The answer is that is has! The incredible health properties of MCTs was researched and documented by people like Dr. Jon Kabara as far back as 1966. MCTs have been part of infant formulas and hospital formulas for many years. The food industry at one time considered coconut oil to be the most superior dietary oil for use in baking and food preparations. At one time, it was a significant part of the American diet.

Asthma is not a disease

Contrary to what millions of asthmatics worldwide have been led to believe, Asthma, according to F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., author of “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water”―is not a disease. Asthma is a state of dehydration of the body when excess histamine is produced to promote water intake and ration the available water. Allergies are also indicators that the body has resorted to an increase in production of the brain chemical agent histamine. Histamine is primarily the sensor regulator produced by the brain when there is a comparative water shortage in the body. It engages in rationed distribution of the available water in situations of drought in the body.

It is recognized that asthmatics have an increase in the histamine content of their lung tissue. The reason is that histamine and its subordinates must bring about a gradual contraction of the bronchial muscles. Since one of the sites for water loss through evaporation is in the lungs, the bronchial constriction produced by the histamine means less water evaporation during the act of breathing. This is a simple manoeuvre to preserve some water when the body is dehydrated. It is not a disease.

At a normal level of water content of the body the production of histamine (an agent that has responsibilities in antibacterial, antiviral and defence systems against foreign materials―in addition to its water regulatory role in the body) is silent or unexaggerated. In prolonged dehydration, when histamine-making becomes exaggerated for water regulation, an immune system activation of histamine-containing cells will release exaggerated amounts of the neurotransmitter. It is this excess release of histamine that produces the clinical picture of allergies. Both conditions, asthma and allergies, should be treated with a determined increase in water intake. On average, these conditions respond after three days to four weeks of water regulation of the body. Histamine production will decrease with an increase in the daily water intake.

This article would not be complete without a note on the vital intake of salt. Salt is a vital substance for the survival of all living creatures, particularly humans. Water and salt regulate the water content of the body. Water itself regulates the water content of the interior of the cell by working its way into all of the cells it reaches. It has to get there to cleanse and extract the toxic waste of cell metabolisms. Salt forces some water to stay outside the cells. It balances  the amount of water that is held outside the cells. There are two oceans of water in the body: one ocean is held inside the cells of the body, and the other ocean is held outside the cells. Good health depends on a most delicate balance between the volume of these oceans, and this balance is achieved by salt―unrefined salt. Salt is especially vital for clearance of the lungs of mucus plugs and sticky phlegm, particularly in asthma and cystic fibrosis.