The Coconut Oil Miracle
THE COCONUT OIL MIRACLE
THE COCONUT OIL MIRACLE
BRUCE FIFE, C.N., N.D.
Previously published as The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil
AVERY. A MEMBER OF PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC. NEW YORK
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is complete and accurate. However, neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.
The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.
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Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 by Bruce Fife
Previously published as The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil by Piccadilly Books All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fife, Bruce, date.
The coconut oil miracle / Bruce Fife.—[Rev. ed.]
p. cm.
Rev. ed of: The healing miracles of coconut oil. 2001.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 1-4295-2048-5
1. Coconut oil—Health aspects. 2. Coconut oil—Therapeutic use. 3. Fatty acids in
human nutrition. I. Fife, Bruce, 1952–Healing miracles of coconut oil. II. Title.
QP752.F35F545 2004 2004046256
615'.3245—dc22
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
1 THE TRUTH ABOUT COCONUT OIL
2 UNDERSTANDING FATS
3 A NEW WEAPON AGAINST HEART DISEASE
4 NATURE’S MARVELOUS GERM FIGHTER
5 EAT FAT, LOSE WEIGHT
6 BEAUTIFUL SKIN AND HAIR
7 COCONUT OIL AS FOOD AND AS MEDICINE
8 EAT YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH
9 RECIPES FOR NUTRITION AND BEAUTY
Resources
References
Index
About the Author
FOREWORD
Up until now only a small group of lipid (fat) researchers were familiar with the incredible health benefits of a unique group of saturated fats found in coconut oil. Most of those in the health care industry have been generally ignorant of these benefits, shunning coconut oil because of common misconceptions regarding dietary fat. But this situation is beginning to change as the amazing nutritional and therapeutic benefits of the tropical oils become better known.
In this book the reader will learn that not all saturated fats are unhealthy. In fact, there is a subgroup of saturated fats that actually have a positive effect on your health. This book provides a brief summary of the remarkable health benefits lipid researchers have slowly been uncovering regarding a unique group of saturated fats found in mother’s milk and coconut oil known as “medium-chain fatty acids.” The story is fascinating and can have a pronounced effect on your health.
Those who take the time to pick up this book may be surprised to learn that these saturated fats promote good health. Contrary to what is generally believed by both the lay public and medical professionals, the saturated fats found in coconut oil are actually good for you. This should not be surprising, because if coconut oil were unhealthy it would have been evidenced in populations who have used it for generations. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Those populations who use coconut oil demonstrate a remarkable level of good health.
Historically, coconut oil is one of the earliest oils to be used as a food and as a pharmaceutical. Ayurvedic literature has long promoted the health and cosmetic benefits of coconut oil. Even today the Asian Pacific community, which may represent as much as half the world’s population, uses coconut oil in one form or another. Many of these people enjoy remarkably good health and longevity. Studies on people who live in tropical climates and who have a diet high in coconut oil show that they are healthier and have fewer incidences of heart disease, cancer, digestive complaints, and prostate problems. In North America and Europe popular cookbooks from the late nineteenth century often included coconut oil in many recipes, yet heart disease and cancer were almost unheard of at the time. Common sense would suggest that the saturated fats in coconut oil are not the poisons they are often made out to be.
Why, then, all the negative publicity regarding coconut oil? Since it is thought that “saturated fats” are involved in heart disease, coconut oil has been considered a health risk. Much of the information linking coconut oil and increased heart disease is, however, circumstantial at best and flawed at worst. Studies showing that dietary coconut oil raises blood cholesterol and increases the possible risk of heart disease were poorly conceived because the essential fats were not included in the diet. Populations with high levels of coconut oil consumption always include other oils from vegetables and fish for a more balanced diet.
Both “scientific” and political propaganda by the American Soybean Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (or is it their own?) have joined forces in a campaign to replace tropical oils with polyunsaturated soybean oil from American farmers. Because of this campaign, food processors and restaurant and theater chains have switched from coconut to polyunsaturated oils. Even dietetic and medical spokespersons, blinded by negative publicity, have supported the switch to polyunsaturated oils as heart healthy. This campaign has condemned all saturated fats as generically “poison.” Both the lay and scientific press fail to mention the fact that certain subgroups of saturated fats have positive health benefits.
The abundance of documented scientific facts reviewed for this book will tell, as Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story.” As the story unfolds, the reader can better appreciate the fact that “saturated fats” are classified into two primary categories: (1) long-chain fats and (2) short-and medium-chain fats. Each subgroup has markedly different biological effects. It will be shown that the overconsumption of polyunsaturated fats in our diet is more detrimental to our health than the saturated fats found in tropical oils.
Not only is coconut oil not a “dietary poison,” but it contains a remarkable fat called monolaurin. This medium-chain fat, first discovered in my laboratory, represents one of the most exceptional and inspiring groups of fats found in nature. This unique fat, available naturally from mother’s milk and coconut oil, is now commercially available as Lauricidin®. Monolaurin (Lauricidin®) is currently being tested in clinical trials
as a treatment for genital herpes, hepatitis C, and HIV. Early clinical results have been very promising and show exciting possibilities for an important new weapon in alternative medicine.
Dr. Bruce Fife should be commended for bringing together in this very readable book the positive health benefits of coconut oil and especially monolaurin. The inquiring reader will have a new and more balanced view of the role of fat, and especially saturated fats, in our diet.
JON J. KABARA, PH.D.
Professor Emeritus, Chemistry and Pharmacology
Michigan State University
THE COCONUT OIL MIRACLE
INTRODUCTION
Some years ago when I was in a meeting with a group of nutritionists, one of the members of the group made the statement “Coconut oil is good for you.” We all gasped in disbelief. Coconut oil healthy? Preposterous, we thought. Everywhere we go we’re told how bad coconut oil is because it is a source of “artery-clogging” saturated fat. How could coconut oil be good?
She knew we would doubt her statement and explained, “Coconut oil has been unjustly criticized and is really one of the good fats.” She cited several studies proving to us that it wasn’t the evil villain it was made out to be and that it actually provided many valuable health benefits. I learned that for several decades it has been used in hospital IV solutions to feed critically ill patients and that it is a major component of baby formula because it provides many of the same nutrients as human breast milk. I learned that coconut oil could be used to treat a number of common illnesses and is considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be a safe, natural food. (It’s on the FDA’s exclusive GRAS list, which means it is “generally regarded as safe.”)
After the meeting I was intrigued. I had learned a lot, but it brought up many questions that troubled me. For instance, if coconut oil was good, why is it so often portrayed as being unhealthy? If the health benefits are for real, why haven’t we heard of them before? Why don’t we hear about the use of coconut oil in hospitals, baby formula, and elsewhere? If it’s good for the sick and the very young, why wouldn’t it be good for us as well? Why would the government include it on its list of safe foods if it were dangerous or unhealthy? Why aren’t the studies on coconut oil better publicized? Why have we been misled…or have we? Perhaps coconut oil is bad, and hospital patients and parents of formula-fed babies are being deceived. These and many more questions filled my mind. I had to find the answers.
I began a search to find out anything and everything I could about coconut oil. The first thing I discovered was that very little has been written about coconut oil in magazines and books. Even my nutritional textbooks were relatively silent on the subject. No one seemed to know much about it. Almost everything I came across in the “popular” health literature was critical, stating that coconut oil is bad because it is high in saturated fat. Each author seemed to parrot the others, giving no further explanation. It was almost like a royal decree had been sent out to all authors stating that they must say the exact same thing about coconut oil in order to be politically correct (but not necessarily accurate). Saying anything different was against the rules, and that was that. I did find a few—a very few—authors who stood up to this rhetoric and stated bluntly that coconut oil wasn’t bad, but they didn’t give much detail either. It seemed that nobody really knew anything about it.
The only place I could find cold, hard facts was in often-ignored research journals. Here I found a gold mine of information, and the answers to all my questions. This was the best place for me to search, because these journals report the actual results of studies and are not simply people’s opinions, as is most of the material in popular magazines and books. There were literally hundreds of studies published in dozens of the most respected scientific and medical journals. What I learned was absolutely amazing. I found out that coconut oil is one of the most remarkable health foods available. I felt as if I had rediscovered an ancient health food that the world had almost forgotten about. I also learned why coconut oil has been maligned and misunderstood (I will get to that later, and the answer may shock and even anger you).
I started using coconut oil myself and began recommending it to my clients (I am a certified nutritionist and naturopathic physician). I’ve seen it get rid of chronic psoriasis, eliminate dandruff, remove precancerous skin lesions, speed recovery from the flu, stop bladder infections, overcome chronic fatigue, and relieve hemorrhoids, among other things. In addition to this, the scientific literature reports its possible use in treating dental caries (cavities), peptic ulcers, benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate), epilepsy, genital herpes, hepatitis C, and HIV/ AIDS. Yes, as incredible as it sounds, I learned that coconut oil can be used to fight AIDS—a dreadful disease that has been considered incurable! Many AIDS patients have already benefited. Another remarkable benefit of coconut oil is its ability to prevent heart disease. Yes, I said prevent heart disease. While for years we’ve been led to believe that coconut oil promotes this condition, recent research proves otherwise. In fact, in the near future it may gain wide acceptance as a powerful aid in the fight against heart and other cardiovascular diseases.
I’ve continued to research coconut and other oils. I’ve been so impressed with the potential health benefits available from coconut oil that I felt an obligation to share what I’ve learned with the rest of the world. That’s why I’ve written this book. Before I go any further, let me state right here that I do not sell coconut oil or have any financial interest in the coconut industry. My purpose in writing this book is to dispel myths and misconceptions and reveal to you some of the many healing miracles of coconut oil. What you will learn in this book may sound incredible, at times maybe even too incredible, but I didn’t make this stuff up. Every statement I make in this book is verified by published scientific studies, historical records, and personal experience. If you want to check them out, references and additional resources are listed in the back of this book.
Whenever I talk about coconut oil, the first thing people think is “Isn’t that bad for you?” This may have been your reaction when you first saw this book. Stop and think about it for a minute. All you need to do is use a little common sense, and you will see how ridiculous it is to think of coconut oil as being harmful. Coconuts (and coconut oil) have been used as a major source of food for thousands of years by millions of people in Asia, the Pacific Islands, Africa, and Central America. Traditionally these people have had much better health than those in North America and Europe who don’t eat coconut. Before the introduction of modern foods, many of these people depended almost entirely on coconut to sustain life. They didn’t suffer from heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and other modern degenerative diseases, at least not until they abandoned their traditional coconut-based diet and began eating modern foods. It should be, or soon will become, obvious to you that coconut oil isn’t the evil villain it has been generally considered to be.
1
THE TRUTH ABOUT COCONUT OIL
If you were to travel the world looking for a people who enjoy a degree of health far above that found in most nations, a people who are relatively free from the crippling effects of degenerative disease, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the natives who inhabit the islands of the South Pacific. These people in their tropical paradise enjoy a remarkable degree of good health, relatively free from the aches and pains of degenerative disease that plague most of the rest of the world. These people are robust and healthy. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis are almost unheard-of—at least among those who continue to live on the traditional native diets.
Researchers have long noted that when these island people start to abandon their traditional diets in favor of Western foods, their health deteriorates. The more westernized the people become, the more their diseases mimic those commonly found in the West. Ian Prior, M.D., a cardiologist and director of the epidemiology unit at the Wellington Hospital in New Zealand, says this pattern has been very
clearly demonstrated by Pacific Islanders, and that the further the Pacific natives move away from the diet of their ancestors, the more frequently they experience degenerative disease such as gout, diabetes, atherosclerosis, obesity, and hypertension.
What is the miracle food these people eat that protects them from degenerative disease? What is this mysterious food that has been used throughout the tropical island cultures in the Pacific yet is relatively uncommon in Western diets? A survey of the types of foods common among these people would include bananas, mangoes, papayas, kiwi, taro, sego palm root, and coconut. While all of these are common in the tropics, only a few are widely dispersed and used as staple food sources by millions of island inhabitants. Mangoes, for example, are found only in limited locations and are not an important food source in most island populations. Bananas, likewise, are abundant in some areas but relatively rare in others and do not contribute much, if at all, to the diets of the people in other localities.
The most universally eaten foods among the Polynesian and Asian communities around the Pacific are the roots of the taro and sego palm and the fruit of the coconut tree. Taro and sego palm roots are rich sources of fiber and carbohydrate and form the staple diet of many island populations, much as rice or wheat do in other parts of the world. Nutritionally, however, these foods are inferior to rice and wheat, containing fewer vitamins and minerals per volume. Such foods could hardly be the secret of the islanders’ good health.