Page 49 - Winter2008

vegetable oils had far more wrinkles than those According to Oz, “Sat fat doesn’t do pretty
who used traditional animal fats. things for your memory, either. It decreases a
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chemical known as brain-derived neurotrophic
COCONUT OIL FOR THE BRAIN factor [BDNF], which is responsible for recall
Oz then mentions a study carried out at and learning.”
Medical University of South Carolina which BDNF is a growth stimulus for neurons and
compared rats fed diets of coconut oil and soy- some studies indicate that lowered BDNF is as-
bean oil. “[T]he rats who scarfed down the chow sociated with depression. However, lowering of
laced with coconut oil not only developed more BDNF does not always lead to depressive effects.
inflammation in their gray matter, but they also It would appear that BDNF has depressive effects
made more mistakes in memory tests.” This study in some parts of the brain and anti-depressive
was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Dis- effects in others.
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ease, June 14, 2008. In the study, rats were fed a It would indeed be strange if saturated fats
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diet of 10 percent fully hydrogenated coconut oil depressed brain function since the brain contains
and 2 percent purified cholesterol were compared more saturated fat than almost any other organ in
to a control group fed 12 percent soybean oil. the body.
Those on the saturated fat diet commited more
memory errors and showed signs of inflammation THE AMAZING STORY OF MR. NEWPORT
in certain areas of the brain. What is not strange is the fact that Dr. Oz’s
It is important to explain why so many attack, with its specific emphasis on brain func-
animal studies get negative results for coconut tion, follows the amazing story of a case involv-
oil. The coconut oil used in laboratory studies ing coconut oil and recovery from Alzheimer’s
is usually fully hydrogenated coconut oil. The disease, widely reported in newspapers and on It would
process of full hydrogenation gets rid of all the the Internet. indeed be
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unsaturated fatty acids in coconut oil. Research- The story is a report by Dr. Mary Newport, strange if
ers began using fully hydrogenated coconut oil a neonatologist and medical director of the new-
to study the effects of essential fatty acid defi- born intensive care unit at Spring Hill Regional saturated fats
ciency—they used coconut oil because it is the Hospital in Florida. About six years ago, her depressed
only fat that can be fully hydrogenated and still husband, an accountant who worked at home, be- brain
be soft enough for rats to eat. The poor results gan struggling with daily tasks. His deterioration
obtained in these studies—such as the mental progressed and he was eventually diagnosed with function since
impairment cited by Oz—are due to essential early onset Alzheimer’s. Dr. Newport searched the brain
fatty acid (EFA) deficiency and not the fault of the Internet for clinical drug trials that would contains more
the saturated fats in coconut oil. It is extremely accept her husband and discovered that a drug
deceitful for commentators to blame coconut oil containing medium-chain triglycerides, the kind saturated fat
in studies such as these—as they often do. of fat in coconut oil, had achieved remarkable than almost
In the study quoted by Oz, the rats were results—not just slowing the progression of the any other
also fed 2 percent purified cholesterol. This will disease but providing real improvement.
speed up the onset of EFA deficiency if the diet She decided to give her husband coconut organ in the
is devoid of EFA. (See sidebar, page 51.) oil, two tablespoons per day, and her husband body.

HOW DID COCONUT OIL SUDDENLY GET SO POPULAR?
According to Dr. Oz, “Once trans fats were exposed as the nutritional bad boys they are, food manufacturers started
turning to tropical oils like coconut and palm oil to take their place. These plant oils have many of the same qualities that
made trans fats so good at preserving the shelf life and flavor of processed foods. So naturally, the food industry (not to
mention the diet book industry) would like us to think they’re healthy.”
Oz has it wrong once again. Food manufacturers used tropical oils like coconut oil before the trans fats came on the
scene. The vegetable oil industry then embarked on a long campaign of demonizing their competition, namely natural
saturated fats like butter, tallow and coconut oil. With the recent revelations about the dangers of trans fats, food manu-
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facturers are simply returning to the fats they used to use.
WINTER 2008 Wise Traditions 49