About 40 years ago, the powers-that-be started telling Americans that polyunsaturated fatty acids — like corn, canola, or sunflower oil — were the healthy choice. We were also advised to avoid oils with saturated fats for cooking. So we stopped using saturated fatty acids like coconut oil and switched to polyunsaturated oils.
What has been the consequence of this change? We have more cancer and chronic illness, and we still have high levels of heart disease.
I believe one of the main reasons we have not made much of a dent in chronic illnesses is due to the misinformation about which oils are healthy and which are not. In fact, coconut oil is one of the best substances to cook with. Fats are classified as short-, medium-, or long-chain based on the number of carbon molecules they contain. Most of the saturated fat in coconut oil is short- and medium-chain fats. Approximately 50 percent of the fatty acid content in coconut oil is a medium-chain fat called lauric acid. In our body, lauric acid is converted into a substance called monolaurin. Medium-chain fats, like monolaurin, have a number of antibacterial, antiviral, and antiparasitic properties.
Another medium-chain fatty acid found in coconut oil is capric acid, which is converted into monocaprin in the body. This also has been shown to have antiviral and antibacterial properties. In fact, the antimicrobial properties of coconut oil has been recognized for more than 50 years. Short- and medium-chain fats are not found in polyunsaturated oils like corn, sunflower, soy, or canola oil. Many different viruses can be inactivated by coconut oil including:
- Cytomegalovirus
- Herpes simplex
- HIV
- Measles
Patients suffering from chronic infections can benefit from adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into their diet. Unfortunately, many people are reluctant to add coconut oil into their diet because they have been told that coconut oil causes atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only does coconut oil not cause heart disease, it can help reverse it.
To Your Healht!
~Dr. David Brownstein
To learn more about coconut oil click on the link: Dr. Brownstein’s Healthy Fats Book & Coconut Oil Set
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