Articles

Coconut Oil: Nature’s Only Naturally Ketogenic Superfood

Coconut Oil Miracle Front Cover TC

As research continues, the number of health benefits associated with coconut oil continues to grow. New research shows coconut oil can prevent and reverse a wide range of chronic and degenerative diseases and even slow aging.

 When I was in the process of writing my first book on coconut oil back in the late 1990s, I read every published research study I could find on the topic. I read through hundreds of medical and nutritional studies learning about the amazing health benefits associated with coconut oil and its medium chain triglycerides (MCTs).  read more

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Ancestral Diets and the Miracle of Keto Cycling

In ages past, infections, starvation, and trauma were the major causes of ill health and death. Today it is chronic, degenerative disease, many of which were rare or unheard of among our ancestors. The first heart attack death was reported in the 1870s and remained a very rare occurrence until the 1920s. By 1950 it had become the most common cause of death and remains our number one killer today. Obesity in the US has tripled over the past 50 years, diabetes has increased by 700 percent. Alzheimer’s disease wasn’t even recognized until 1906. The incidence of cancer, arthritis, glaucoma, asthma, and other chronic diseases have skyrocketed over the past 100 years. read more

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Exogenous Ketones

Exogenous KetonesIn recent years the ketogenic diet has become the latest diet trend. In contrast to the conventional low-fat, high-carb diet, the ketogenic diet is just the opposite—very low-carb and high-fat.

The secret behind the ketogenic diet is that it shifts the body from burning sugar (glucose) to burning fat as its primary source of fuel. Excess body fat is burned off, promoting weight loss. The key feature of the diet is the production of ketones—primarily beta-hydroxybutyrate or BHB—an alternative form of fuel produced by the liver from fatty acids.

The ketogenic diet provides many health benefits including weight loss, increased energy levels, improved mental function, better blood sugar control, improved cardiovascular health, and protection from cancer, to name a few. read more

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Four Weeks Consuming Coconut Oil Lowers Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke: Study Shows

A new study has the AHA up in a tizzy, just months earlier they issued a “presidential” report outlining their stand against saturated fats. This new study casts doubt on the validity of their dietary recommendations. Evidence is mounting that following the AHA’s dietary advice is the quickest way for you to die of cardiovascular disease, not prevent it.

There is a love-hate relationship between coconut oil and the medical community. Many doctors and nutritionists extol it for its many healthy benefits. Bestselling author Dr Joseph Mercola claims that coconut oil is the healthiest oil you can eat.  read more

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New Study Links Nonnutritive Sweeteners to Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease

A growing body of evidence is demonstrating that sugar substitutes may be worse for our health than sugar.

According to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal individuals who routinely consume nonnutritive sweeteners may have an increased risk for long-term weight gain, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Evidence also suggests nonnutritive sweeteners could have negative effects on metabolism, alter gut bacteria, and increase appetite (promoting increased calorie consumption). read more

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The Dark Side of Stevia Extract

Evidence keeps mounting on the potential dangers of stevia.

Stevia is promoted as a harmless herbal sweetener that can be used as a healthy replacement for sugar. Since the FDA approval of purified stevia extract as a sweetener and food ingredient in 2008, stevia has found its way into hundreds of food products, medications, and dietary supplements. Many people use stevia as a sweetener in place of sugar and other sweeteners. Others may consume it without realizing it as an ingredient in commercial products. In recent years, stevia’s healthy image has taken a hit as health concerns have surfaced. Doctors and nutritionists are seeing health problems disappear when they instruct patients to discontinue their use of stevia. One such doctor is Joseph Nelson, MD. He began investigating stevia after he began using it and discovered it raised his PSA levels—a marker for prostate cancer. When he discontinued using stevia his PSA levels dropped back to normal. read more

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The Anti-Aging Effects of Ketones and Coconut Oil

Whether ketones come from eating a very low-carb ketogenic diet, or from coconut oil (coconut ketones), their therapeutic effects are the same. Ketones have been shown to improve all of the health markers doctors’ measure when evaluating a patient’s health status. Ketones do the following:

  • Reduce blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity
  • Reduce blood insulin levels
  • Raise HDL cholesterol
  • Reduce blood triglycerides
  • Increase large, beneficial LDL cholesterol
  • Reduce small, dense, potentially harmful cholesterol
  • Reduce body weight and body mass index (BMI)
  • Reduce waist circumference (reduce abdominal or visceral fat)
  • Normalize blood pressure  read more

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Overcoming Adult Epilepsy with the Ketogenic Diet

By Jade Nelson

Chugging down the track, you overtook me, minding my own business, doing eight year old things, it was like you zapped me inside my tiny little body. I became extremely dizzy; the right side of my body went limp and impossible to use.

You pushed me backwards and the hard floor caught me. A scream came from deep inside me but it was trapped inside my brain unable to escape my lips. You caused me to be alone, you taught me what true loneliness is. You forced me down a dark tunnel where I could hear but I was silenced. There was nothing but blackness all around me I could hear you Epilepsy…..the sound of a train in the distance, it was you and you were coming fast. Lying in the darkness, I felt you run through me. The Train…yes you Epilepsy came to a painful stop, leaving me with a pounding sledge hammer in my head. Emerging from the tunnel, I heard my mom’s voice say, “Jade, it’s okay now.”  read more

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Ketone Therapy

How to Reverse Chronic Disease Naturally

“I’m 71 years old,” says Andre Morel. “About 20 years ago during a routine checkup the doctor found two small kidney stones in my left kidney. Since the stones were very small he decided not to do anything about it. Of course, they never went away but grew larger. Eventually I had to have surgery to remove the stones. Since then I’ve had recurring stones every few years. I asked the surgeon what was I eating that led to the recurrences, he said he didn’t know. His answer didn’t surprise me, doctors never seem to have any helpful advice to prevent these types of things, only drugs or surgery to treat them after they have occurred.  read more

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The Stevia Myth

Stevia May Not Be So Good After All

Warning: the information in this article may be objectionable to some readers blinded by marketing propaganda and misconceptions. Only those sincerely seeking the truth should consider reading further.

When I first learned about stevia years ago, I was excited. Finally, here was a sweetener derived from an herb rather than from some chemist’s laboratory. It was a product of nature and not of man, so it had to be good. Since it contained no sugar, it was believed to have no effect on blood sugar levels and could be safely used by diabetics. It was many times sweeter than sugar so you only needed a tiny amount to give foods the same sweetness as sugar but without all the calories. It seemed like a dieter’s dream. read more

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Ketogenic Recipes: Real or Fake?

Look Out for Fake Ketogenic Recipes

In 2014 I published a book titled The Coconut Ketogenic Diet. The focus of the book was how to use a coconut oil based ketogenic diet to lose excess weight and improve overall health. Within a few weeks after my book appeared on Amazon.com, a copycat book with a very similar title and cover design was posted. Unlike my book, this other book was a cookbook devoted entirely to ketogenic recipes. The author of the book intended to make it appear like his book was a companion volume to mine.

It was a Kindle book and didn’t cost much so, being curious, I ordered a copy. It was more of a booklet than a book. It contained only 21 recipes. Shockingly, none of the recipes were actually ketogenic ... read more

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Coconut Sugar and the Ketogenic Diet

Sometimes I am asked if coconut sugar is allowed on a ketogenic diet. My answer is maybe. Let me explain how it might be used in a ketogenic diet and its limitations.

Our bodies use glucose, fatty acids (fats), and ketones as their primarily sources of fuel. We get glucose primarily from the carbohydrates in our foods. When you eat a meal, these carbohydrates are converted into glucose and released into the bloodstream. As a consequence, your blood sugar (glucose) levels rise.

If you don’t eat for a period of time or if you don’t eat carbohydrate-containing foods, your blood glucose levels become low. In order to supply the energy your cells need, stored fat is released as fatty acids. Some of these fatty acids are converted into alternative forms of fuel known as ketones.  read more

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Foods Fight Dementia

Ratatouille, from Dr. Fife's Keto Cookery by Bruce Fife

Dementia is a major concern among the elderly. Alzheimer’s is by far the most common cause of dementia. Approximately 5.4 million Americans and 30 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s disease. The number of people affected is steadily growing. Alzheimer’s is not a disease that just affects the brain, it is a terminal illness. The brain controls the action of all the other organs, when it fails, so do all of the other organs. Recent estimates suggest that Alzheimer’s has become the third leading cause of death in the United States, just behind heart disease and cancer.1

Current treatments for Alzheimer’s have been a dismal failure.  read more

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Artificial Sweeteners Make You Fat!

Do you eat foods and beverages sweetened with sugar substitutes to avoid sugar and help control calorie intake to manage your weight? Do you drink diet soda in place of regular soda? Honestly, have these measures ever helped you lose any weight? If you are like most people, the answer is “No.”

Oddly enough, replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners does not help with weight loss. It in fact, promotes greater weight gain! When artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose were introduced, they were accompanied with great fanfare and promises that they would reduce calorie intake and promote weight loss. In theory it makes sense. In reality it doesn’t work. read more

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Protect and Restore Your Vision with Coconut Oil

If you are concerned about losing your eyesight to diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, or other age-related degenerative eye disorders, coconut oil may provide a solution for you.

Vivian was diagnosed with diabetes 20 years ago at the age of 58. "To be quite honest," says Vivian, "when I was first diagnosed I don’t really remember what I was told. I think I was so shocked to realize I was falling prey to diabetes, a disease I thought I would never get. I was always a healthy person&mdashnever sick." Today Vivian manages her condition with four injections a day: two of insulin and two of Byetta—a drug to help control blood sugar. read more

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New Study Shows Low-Fat Diets Don’t Work

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight on a low-fat diet you know how difficult it can be. Not only is total food intake severely restricted, but every morsel of fat is to be avoided at all costs. Fatty chicken skin is removed, any fat on lean cuts of meat is carefully trimmed off, fat-free egg whites are chosen over whole eggs and low-fat and non-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese become your preferred choice. You carefully count every calorie that passes through your lips. Foods devoid of fat taste bland and unappetizing, so they are often enriched with additional sugar to make them more palatable.

 After months of struggling and suffering with hunger and lack of energy and feelings of depravity, you eventually end your diet. Before long you have regained all the weight you had lost and added on a few extra pounds to boot.  read more

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Is There a Cure for Glaucoma?

A New Coconut Oil-Based Therapy Offers Promise

Joe Lovett was floored when he received the news from his doctor—glaucoma. At that point his world was shaken. Glaucoma is a degenerative eye disease characterized by the gradual loss of peripheral vision that can progress to tunnel vision and eventually complete blindness.

Joe was a successful director and filmmaker living in New York City. In the 1980s he was the producer for ABC News 20/20 program with Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters. After leaving ABC News in 1989, he founded his own company, Lovett Productions, producing documentaries highlighting social ... read more

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Low-Fat Diets Make You Fat

Low-fat diets promote weight gain while high-fat diets can help you lose excess weight.

 The prevailing belief over the past 30 years or so has been that the only effective way to lose weight is through a low-fat, calorie restricted diet. Fat has been pegged as the primary villain in our fight against flab because it is believed to be the most fattening component of our food. It is generally believed that the fat in our diet is somehow automatically absorbed directly into our fat cells, so the less fat we eat, the better. This belief has been pounded into us by the media, bestselling diet books, doctors, weight loss gurus, and even government agencies. We've been avoiding fat for the past 3 decades and where has it gotten us?  We are fatter now than ever before. read more

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There Should Be No Dietary Limit on Fat Intake, Says Researchers

We've been warned about the dangers of eating too much fat and cholesterol for years, and as a result have been avoiding them like the plague. This blind avoidance of fat, however, may have brought on a plague, a plague of increasing poor health and obesity. Scientists are now beginning to change their minds about fat. The theory that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease has now been clearly disproven. The belief that fats and fatty foods promote obesity is now being seriously challenged. After years of study, fats are being exonerated from wrongdoing and the real culprit is coming to light—carbohydrates.  read more

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Artificial Sweeteners May Cause Diabetes and Obesity

Home of Sweet 'N Low

Artificial sweeteners have long been recommended as healthier alternatives to sugar. When artificial sweeteners were invented they seemed like a dream come true. They have no calories so there is nothing to be converted into fat to increase body weight and because they don't contain any actual sugar, they don't raise blood sugar levels—a major concern for diabetics. Artificial sweeteners allowed weight conscious individuals, diabetics, and others the freedom to eat the same sweet foods and beverages they always enjoyed without worry.

However, recent research from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, says that there is cause for concern. These artificial sweeteners may actually be contributing to our growing epidemic of diabetes and obesity.  read more

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You Can Prevent Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's is an ugly disease. Few other diseases can elicit the fear and sense of hopelessness that comes with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Ever since it was first identified by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906 there has been little hope for those who have the disease.

The gradual decline in mental function associated with Alzheimer's often begins with barely noticeable lapses in memory followed by losses in the ability to plan and execute familiar tasks, and to reason and execute judgment. Eventually, memory loss increases in severity until it is incapacitating. The ability to articulate words correctly and changes in mood and personality may also be evident.  read more

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Uses for MCT Oil

Coconut oil has been described as the "healthiest oil on earth." I agree with this statement. No other dietary oil provides as many health benefits as coconut oil. Coconut oil is different from most other oils because it is composed predominately of a unique group of fat molecules known as medium chain triglycerides, otherwise referred to as MCTs.

Triglycerides are made of fatty acids—the basic building blocks of all fats and oils. Fatty acids come in different sizes. Some are long, some are short, and some are in between. Approximately 96 percent of the fats and oils in our diet consist of long chain fatty acids. Coconut oil is unique in that its triglycerides are composed predominately of medium chain fatty acids. read more

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The Coconut Oil Story

Secretary Yapp, President Arroyo, Leslie and Bruce Fife.

An Interview with Dr. Bruce Fife

For several decades coconut oil and other coconut products were villainized by the medical profession and the media. Today coconut is undergoing a revitalization. This once scorned fruit is now being hailed as one of nature's finest health foods. Much of the credit for this transformation can be given to Dr. Bruce Fife, the author of numerous books on coconut. What most people don't know is how coconut oil, the bad boy of dietary fats and oils was transformed seemingly overnight into the "world's healthiest oil." In this interview, Dr. Fife tells us the rest of the coconut story.  read more

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Immune System Regeneration

Ketone therapy offers potential as an immune system booster and as a possible cure for autoimmune disease (multiple sclerosis, diabetes type 1, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, etc.).

Immune Stem Cell Activation

The immune system involves a host of cells, biological structures, and processes that protect us from disease and ill health caused by microorganisms, parasites, toxic chemicals, and diseased cells (cancer). The workhorse of the immune system is the army of white blood cells that guard and constantly patrol the body, seeking out and destroying foreign invaders and diseased cells.  read more

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The Autism Solution

By Bruce Fife, ND

At the age of two Elleanna spoke only a few words, wouldn’t respond to her name, didn’t laugh or giggle like other children, and obsessively opened and closed drawers throughout the house. She would often fly into a rage at seemingly minor incidents. Concerned with her odd behavior, her parents consulted a specialist. Elleanna, they discovered, had autism.

Autism is a severe developmental disorder that is characterized by social withdrawal, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors. Children with autism may also experience motor function disturbances, vision or hearing defects, hyperactivity disorder, mental retardation, or epilepsy.

There are no blood or biologic tests for autism, so diagnosis is based solely on behavior.  read more

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