Virgin coconut oil
wins the war of oils
Posted:3:34 AM (Manila Time) | Jun. 16,
2004
By Cesar C. Villariba Jr.
Inquirer News Service
AN AMERICAN health expert is amazed that more than 80 million people who
live in a veritable coconut paradise planted to 300 million trees have
not fully utilized the healthiest dietary oil on earth.
For opening the eyes of many people, including nutritionists and
skeptical medical professionals in the United States, to the scientific
fact that virgin coconut oil's unique and abundant antimicrobial
properties makes it superior to any other oil, naturopathic physician
Bruce Fife has been dubbed "Dr. Coconut."
When Fife, a certified nutritionist from Colorado Springs, first learned
that coconut oil was being used in hospital formulas to feed critically
ill patients and was a major component in baby formulas, he was
intrigued.
The more he researched on the much maligned oil in the American diet,
the more he unearthed a wealth of health-saving information dusting away
in scientific journals since the turn of the century.
He brought them to life in a readable book, "The Healing Miracles of
Coconut Oil," that is creating ripples in the nutrition scene.
And the ripples have reached these coconut shores. Upon the invitation
of the Center for International Trade Exposition and Mission (CITEM),
Fife stirred a country still hurting from years of coconut bashing by
the US soybean and Malaysian palm oil lobbies to the fact that it had an
oil find far better than any other.
Twenty years ago, just when the discovery of its remarkable healing
properties was pushing coconut oil forward, so was Filipino
pharmacologist Dr. Conrado Dayrit testing the dietary oil on
HIV-positive patients. It was the first clinical study that confirmed
anecdotal reports on coconut oil having anti-HIV (human immunodeficiency
virus) properties.
The study excited the research world for its preventative possibilities,
but it lay buried from public knowledge by the "war of oils" waged by
Big Business -- until Fife came along.
Fife corroborates Dayrit's findings by citing a recent TV interview of
Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The former National Basketball Association (NBA)
Most Valuable Player, who now plays with the Globetrotters, attributed
his rebound from being HIV-positive to a significantly reduced viral
load to "the coconut diet."
Dayrit's findings encouraged him to test the powerful antiviral
properties of coconut oil on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
coronavirus which, he says, has the same lipid (fat)-coated membrane as
the HIV.
It was this bold initiative by Dayrit that drew the nation's interest
and woke up a sleeping industry on the healing potential of virgin
coconut oil.
The two coconut experts are one in telling health seekers and medical
doctors that if virgin coconut oil can hold its own against deadly
viruses, it can effectively protect against heart and infectious
diseases.
From his researches and naturopathy practice, Fife witnessed virgin
coconut oil remove precancerous skin lesions, speed recovery from flu,
stop bladder infections, protect from ulcers, lung infections, herpes
and other diseases.
Dayrit affirms that virgin coconut oil is better than antibiotics, which
work only against bacteria. The wonder oil destroys both bacteria and
viruses, including those associated with artherosclerosis.
Its high antimicrobial content known as monolaurin is the same as that
in human mother's milk that protects infants from infectious illnesses
when their immune systems are still immature.
Fife's visit has galvanized local physicians into pursuing more dynamic
therapeutic applications.
Dr. Arturo Ludan, a Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee in
pediatrics, is looking into maximizing the immune booster properties in
a palatable blend for children, and the amino acids content of young
coconut water's effects on growth hormones.
Lowers cholesterol
In a recent symposium, Fife cited scientific data to debunk the
saturated fat-heart disease link. "Natural coconut oil is
heart-healthy," he said. In fact, it is one of only two dietary oils
(the other is omega-3 oil) that reduces blood stickiness that leads to
heart disease.
Fife's researches reveal that plant-derived saturated coconut oil does
not raise blood cholesterol. It actually helps lower cholesterol levels
because of its ability to stimulate metabolism -- in effect, promoting
weight loss.
He validates traditional folk medicine: Applied topically, virgin
coconut oil alleviates eczema and other skin ailments. As a moisturizer,
it prevents premature aging and wrinkles, protects against skin cancer
while keeping the skin soft and smooth. It is used to treat hair and
scalp conditions.
Doctors prescribe 3-4 tablespoonfuls of virgin coconut oil a day, taken
straight, in salad dressing or blended in a fruit drink. The
concentrated oil is equivalent to taking half a nut of fresh shredded
coconut meat, or a glass of coconut milk. Taking more than the dose
makes coconut oil a good detoxifying laxative.
Virgin best
The naturopath says that for food to work best as medicine, it has to be
taken in its most natural state.
When cold-pressed in low or no heat from freshly harvested mature
coconut meats, the natural process retains vital nutrients and
antioxidants that retard spoilage, producing clearer, more nutritious
and potent virgin oil.
Technically called white oil, it is transparent liquid in room
temperature and solid in pure white butter in lower temperature. It is
sold as coconut butter in US health food stores.
If sealed properly to prevent moisture, oxidation and direct sunlight
exposure, virgin coconut oil stays potent with a maximum shelf life of
two years.
Oil extracted from coconut milk using heat in the traditional kitchen
process may no longer be as virgin, but the natural oil is a grade
better than refined cooking oil.
Commercial coconut cooking oil is mechanically processed from aged,
dried copra and extracted at high temperatures. Losing its natural
preservatives, it is further refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD).
With essential antimicrobials retained, RBD coconut oil is a health
product only if it is not chemically altered with hydrogenation and
preservatives.
The most important piece of information from Fife is the exclusive use
of coconut oil for cooking, as it is the only oil that does not turn
rancid in oxidation and heat, even when cooked up to 67 degrees Celsius
(152.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Unlike cooked fats, such as butter, margarine, canola, corn and soybean
oils, only coconut oil (aside from palm oil) does not form dangerous
trans-fatty acids toxic to the body.
In the war of oils, the consumer is the loser, according to Fife. By
replacing the healthy tropical oil with hydrogenated soybean (or other
unsaturated) oil, the processed food industry produced a health risk
worse than its unfounded fear of heart disease because hydrogenated oil
in any amount has been found to be toxic to the body.
Regaining country's health With the renewed interest in coconut oil,
Fife saw the Philippines, which used to be the world's top coconut oil
exporter, regaining its health.
He urged local producers to develop cold-pressing techniques, from
community level to continuous production, to meet the challenge for "the
health food of the 21st century."
Local producers and traders have taken the initiative of setting a
quality assurance scheme for virgin coconut oil that meets scientific
standards. They have banded together to avoid the "nata de coco tragedy"
that brought down the lucrative export to Japan because of unscrupulous
short-cut methods employed by a few.
Official certification
Fife is lending a hand to the newly organized VCNO Philippines to ensure
that the public gets the prescribed coconut oil, be it virgin or natural
white oil.
While official certification is under way, consumers are enjoined to
read the label to match Doctor Coconut's prescription. They may source
direct from accredited producers (email: vcnophilippines@yahoo.com or
call 751-3498, 826-7571, 727-3768 or 724-7987).
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