Staying Well: 1. Coconut Oil
Update: 03.25.24
The following series was written in 2020. Since that time, I have learned a lot from Dr. Tom Cowan and Sally Fallon Morell’s book The Contagion Myth, as well as Dr. Cowan’s Breaking the Spell on the work of former virologist Stefan Lanka. I invite you to read them. I also invite you to incorporate the following foods into your life in order to help you Be Well.
Want to stay well? Let’s work with food, folks. Let food be thy medicine…and nutrient-dense food, at that (because all disease is the effect of malnutrition). As Dr. Royal Lee wrote on Epidemics in 1957, “the better foods we eat the more resistant we are and the less trouble we’ll have with epidemics.[M1] ”) I will be writing a series of short articles about things you can eat in order to stay well. I hope they serve you!
1. Coconut Oil
How can eating coconut oil keep you well? Coconut oil is full of medium chain fatty acids, or MCFAs. Why do we love MCFAs? Because they all have some anti-viral properties! MCFAs make the lipid envelope more soluble, which can cause the virus to disintegrate and die (are there viruses? Do they die?). According to Bruce Fife, ND, coconut oil consists of 63 percent MCFAs, 50% of coconut oil is the medium chain fatty acid, lauric acid. Lauric acid is by far the most potent antiviral of all MCFAS. It is also anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. BTW, lauric acid is found in just a few places: small amounts in butter, goat and cow milk. In large amounts in coconut oil and coconut, palm oil. It is also found in breast milk!
So…coconut oil every day! Organic, raw, unrefined if possible. Go for the good ole jar of coconut oil—and spoon it out for yourself. Liquid coconut oil, or “MCT oil” does not contain any lauric acid, so skip that one! (I’d even suggest that if you like to “bulletproof” your coffee, use coconut oil, not MCT oil.)
How much is enough to stay well? For children, start with 1 teaspoon 2x a day. For adults, start with 2 teaspoons, 2x a day, and work your way up to a total of 2- 3 tablespoons a day, or more if you can tolerate it. (I say “work your way up” because if you are not used to consuming this much fat, you may need to gradually acclimate your gall bladder and liver to doing so. A sign that you need to slow down or lessen the amount you are consuming for a while is nausea. No problem, just back down the amount for a few days and then increase it from there. The good news is that coconut oil’s MCFAs do not need to be digested by bile salts, while longer chain fatty acids do. [M2] That makes coconut oil the poster child for those who have had their gallbladder removed.)
How best to consume coconut oil?
An easy way is to put it into a hot beverage-tea, stock, coffee… (No coffee for the kids of course, and best for your adrenals to keep your caffeinated beverage consumption on the low or no side.)
Other options: add to any soup or stew or hot food you are eating; just stir it in before you eat. Cook with coconut oil-fry your pastured eggs in it. Use it in baked goods. Make coconut oil treats for you and your children by combining coconut oil and raw honey 2/3 : 1/3 or less—whatever tastes good to you, and freezing little balls of it.
What about coconut, coconut milk, coconut cream or coconut flour?
Yep, they all contain some lauric acid, but it is in its highest concentration in coconut oil. Certainly include some coconut milk or cream in your diet. You will want to make your own whenever you can, for quality control and to prevent unwanted fillers like guar gum and xanthan gum, or the potentially toxic linings of cans, etc. (To learn more about making your own coconut flour-very easy- see my article on Selene River Press “Coconut Flour is Not Allowed on the GAPS Diet”.
Stay tuned for 2. Lard
[M1]Lectures of Dr. Royal Lee, Volume II, Selene River Press
[M2]Eat Fat, Lose Fat p. 48
Here are some resources used for this article:
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Lauric-acid
Inactivation of enveloped viruses and killing of cells by fatty acids and monoglycerides. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3032090/
Membrane-disruptive effect of human milk: inactivation of enveloped viruses. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3491166/
https://www.tuscany-diet.net/lipids/list-of-fatty-acids/lauric/
Saturated Fats: A Perspective from Lactation and Milk Composition https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2950926/
https://chriskresser.com/coconut-milk-this-is-your-comprehensive-guide/
Here are some books you may enjoy reading with more great info on the health benefits of coconut oil:
Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, Eat Fat, Lose Fat, The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats
Bruce Fife, The Coconut Oil Miracle and Coconut Oil, The World’s Most Powerful Superfood
Affiliate links for books above.