( MALASSEZIA YEAST ) - COCONUT OIL ARTICLE
A long time back when i had just started going through the initial rounds of different sites
and forums -including a short lived subscription of Dr Mercola’s articles- trying to find info
about products that may help me combat the unknown devil that had intruded my life
with maniacal ferocity, i had landed in many places where there was wide mention
of the Coconut Oil and its alleged merits.
Somehow, my gut feeling kept screaming a loud No!...
especially after researching about the ways it was extracted, heat treated, etc.
Since then the mention of this ‘miraculous’ oil of which i still remain highly sceptical
and have difficulty believing in any of its benefits of doing good in regards to curing
malassezia yeast, keeps coming back.
This instils a hint of doubt in my mind about my judgement but i keep reminding myself
that for near 8 years i kept ignorantly cultivating the yeast on my toe
by feeding it day and night with Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Paw Paw Ointment,
Comfrey Ointment and a variety of other ‘Oily’ substances that contributed to
keeping the yeast happy and flourishing and me home bound
with a constantly, red, hot, swollen, painful toe that would burn and throb, and spew pus
and its nail destroyed right to the root, time and time again.
And then the recently ultimate experience of the ‘Oil experiment’
–for those who have read the entry- as well as its causing another Toe re-infection
after a complete and total recovery, have finally put a seal for me in the word ‘Oil’
after a complete and total recovery, have finally put a seal for me in the word ‘Oil’
and anything that contains it in it.
Yet, i have been highly intrigued by a few questions that keep coming back in my mind
challenging for an answer:
1) Why there are so many people talking about it and its supposedly being so good
... yet... it has not been firmly established as a one definite cure
2) If the Virgin Coconut Oil is so good as alleged to be,
then why there are still so many people still searching for (more) answers
for their problem -after their first impression / belief that ‘it’ ‘finally’... ‘helps’?
3) How can anyone claim with certainty that taking it internally for x amount of time
can have an effect - yet they are still looking for additional products and /or answers
instead of ' It' being declared as the SOLUTION we are so desperate for???
Well... Finally some of the questions -and many more in my mind- have now
been answered by way of an article i happened to spot a few days back
in the “Fluff’ section of news on the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ site
complete with some very confirming – to me– sensible comments!
For example:
- How it is heat treated during extraction which destroys many of its natural
-possibly beneficial qualities- and must be enzyme treated in order to deliver
some of the alleged benefits
- How it has beed so widely spoken by being linked and promoted
by financially $nvested celebrity users and other invested
and / or deriving financial benefits, parties.
by financially $nvested celebrity users and other invested
and / or deriving financial benefits, parties.
How people keep getting hooked on and repeating ‘lollypop’ terms such as
the Dr Mercola infamous:
“lauric acid, a ‘miracle’ compound that your body converts into monolaurin,
which has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties...”
without knowing or truly understanding what this really means
and whether there is any truth, relevance or substance to
it
generally or especially in regards to the specific area of
interest,
thus perpetuating the ‘Coconut’ Brain Wash word, etc.
And of course there is no cheaper nor better
advertising
than the word of mouth aided by the convenience of the
internet
and multiplicity it allows.
I have held it back wondering whether i should share it or not with the visitors
of this site - and in the end still half heated about it- i decided to after all do so
as an extra informative piece on the matter.
I have colour highlighted the
parts that attracted my attention and express much
of my sentiment and thoughts and have included it complete and
with its links
so that Each Interested Reader can make their Own mind.
So here it goes:
Coconuts: all they're cracked up to be?
Date
September 17, 2012 - 8:31AM
Once much-maligned, coconuts may have a wealth of health-boosting properties, experts say.
A new study showing that coconut oil prevents tooth decay has added to the recent enthusiasm for all things coconut – not that Miranda Kerr, who is a committed devotee, needs reminding.
The model last year piqued public interest in virgin coconut oil when she revealed that she will not go a day without it.
"I personally take four teaspoons per day, either on my salads, in my cooking or in my cups of green tea" she said.
But, as much as many have flocked to health-food shops with the hope of tapping into Kerr’s secret weapon, do new health claims about the once-maligned coconut oil and its trendy sibling, coconut water, stand up to scrutiny?
Researchers at the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland say coconut oil treated with enzymes attacks Streptococcus bacteria – a major cause of tooth decay.
"Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives," Dr Damien Brady last week told the Society for General Microbiology conference at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
The study also found that enzyme-modified coconut oil was active against the yeast Candida albicans, which can cause thrush and other health problems.
After decades of warnings about its alleged artery-clogging properties, recent studies suggest that coconut oil may in fact be heart friendly and could have many other health benefits.
"For more than 60 years, health officials and the media have warned that saturated fats are bad for your health and lead to a host of negative consequences, including high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease," says best-selling author and Huffington Post blogger, Dr Joseph Mercola.
"It may surprise you to learn that the naturally occurring saturated fat in coconut oil is actually good for you and provides a number of profound health benefits, including improving heart health, supporting your immune system, boosting your thyroid and improving your skin.
"Nearly 50 percent of the fat in coconut oil is of a type rarely found in nature called lauric acid, a ‘miracle’ compound that your body converts into monolaurin, which has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties," says Dr Mercola.
Thomas Brenna, a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University, agrees. He told The New York Times: "Most of the [earlier] studies involving coconut oil were done with partially hydrogenated coconut oil, which researchers used because they needed to raise the cholesterol levels of their rabbits in order to obtain certain data".
Partial hydrogenation creates harmful trans fats and destroys many essential fatty acids and antioxidants present in virgin coconut oil, says Dr Brenna.
"Virgin coconut oil, which has not been chemically treated, is a different thing in terms of health perspective," says Dr Brenna.
A recent study by Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research (GIMR) found that a diet rich in coconut oil reduces the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by protecting against “insulin resistance” and avoiding the buildup of body fat.
"These findings are important because obesity and insulin resistance are major factors leading to the development of Type 2 diabetes," say GIMR researchers Dr Nigel Turner and Associate Professor Jiming Ye.
"Coconut oil has dragged itself out of the muck of vast misrepresentation over the past few years but still rarely gets the appreciation it truly deserves," according to Sayer Ji, founder of US natural medicine database GreenMedInfo.com.
"Coconut oil has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, analgesic and fever-reducing properties, is an exceptional healing agent and is fat-burning," says Ji.
While coconut oil and coconut milk are extracted from the kernel or meat of mature coconuts harvested from the coconut palm, coconut water is the liquid found inside young green coconuts.
The coconut water craze - backed by celebrity investors including Madonna, Demi Moore and Matthew McConaughey - has snowballed in the US and Europe with sales doubling to $US265 million last year and expected to double again this year.
More than 15 brands have been launched on the Australian market in the past 12 months and bottles, cans and Tetra Paks of coconut water are increasingly visible on supermarket shelves.
"There are few beverages on this planet as biocompatible to the human body and its hydration needs as coconut water,” says Ji, who notes that coconut water has even been used for intravenous hydration of critically ill patients in remote areas.
"While some are concerned about the sugar content of this slightly sweet beverage, recent research shows that it actually exhibits blood sugar lowering properties," Ji says.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson and dietician Andrea Giancoli explains: "The big deal about coconut water is that it packs a potassium punch, and potassium is important for heart health, regulating blood pressure and other body systems".
But coconut water is not "magical," Giancoli told National Public Radio, "and there’s plenty of potassium in a healthy diet."
New industry body Coconut Water Australia says coconut water is "the purest liquid second only to water itself…choc-full of electrolytes, calcium, potassium, magnesium: everything that is good for you for only around 60 calories per serve."
However, consumer rights group Choice remains unconvinced by what it describes as "the latest health fad."
"While the marketing on the packages claims coconut water is a nutritional goldmine," Choice found that dietary consultants believed very differently: "…the only real goldmine is for those selling the product."
Dietician Tania Ferraretto told the watchdog that coconut water has been promoted as a source of minerals such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, "but it only contains small amounts of these and other nutrients."
Instead, Ferraretto recommends plain water: "It’s the best drink to hydrate the body and it’s free, unlike coconut water, which can cost up to $4 a bottle."
People’s comments:
(I have selected only a couple below that i agreed with but have included links for more )
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No actual scientist would use the phrase "supports the immune system". It is meaningless.
Commenter
PB
Location
Sydney
Date and time
Sep 17, 2012, 10:20AM
· Yep, agreed.
A prominent part of Dr Mercola's Web site is the "products" section (http://products.mercola.com/) where visitors are invited to buy things, transactions which (I assume) Dr Mercola will get $$ from.
Gosh, I wonder why the existence of that part of his site does not surprise me...
From the original article:
"lauric acid, a **‘miracle’** compound that your body converts into monolaurin, which has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties," says Dr Mercola [my emphasis]."
"lauric acid, a **‘miracle’** compound that your body converts into monolaurin, which has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties," says Dr Mercola [my emphasis]."
"Miracle" is a word that biomedical scientists (like me) are reluctant to use in a professional context. On the other hand, "miracle" could well be a helpful word in attracting readers to the "products" section of Dr Mercola's Web site...
A quick PubMed search (recommended to all who might like to check out the *peer-reviewed* literature related to claims for the benefits of putatively therapeutic products) shows nothing convincing about the alleged "anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties" of monolaurin.
Commenter
Dr Kiwi
Location
Date and time
Sep 17, 2012, 03:27PM
Any article that quotes Dr Joseph Mercola as an authority needs to be viewed with a fair degree with scepticism. Dr Mercola has been warned by the FDA in 2005 and 2006 to stop making illegal claims about his Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil amongst other things.
Dr Mercola is a well known internet quack and should be viewed with caution and not held up as an authority. I am surprised that Graham Osborne, the reporter for this piece, did not do more through research in this area.
Commenter
brog
Location
Date and time
Sep 17, 2012, 01:06PM
(Links Included above may have been archived by the original sites and therefore unavailable or on request)
