Coconut Oil

[compsports]

I am wondering if the coconut oil I consumed around dinner caused a histamine reaction because about two hours later, my sinuses felt more clogged up which resulted in my unintentionally taking my mask off which led to horrible sleep? It is listed as being high in histamine so that is why I was wondering.

 

It is so frustrating because I snacked on vegetables and coconut oil to stave off hunger so I could eat dinner later. I am finding if I eat it too early, I want to fall asleep right away which of course messes up my sleep for the night.

 

Sometimes, I feel like I can't win. A big fat sigh!

 

CS

[Barbarannamated]

CS,

 

I tried one capsule of coconut oil recently and it was very stimulating to me, uncomfortably so. I don't know if this is related to histamine or your reaction, but thought I'd throw it in.

[compsports]

CS,I tried one capsule of coconut oil recently and it was very stimulating to me, uncomfortably so. I don't know if this is related to histamine or your reaction, but thought I'd throw it in.

Hi Barb,

 

Taking capsules has had that effect on me and in the past, taking coconut oil in the evening caused insomnia. But this seemed to be a different issue as everytime I have unintentionally taken the mask off, I have had my worst night of sleep.

 

CS

[Altostrata]

Some people have allergic (histamine) reactions to coconut or coconut oil.

[GiaK]

given I'm hanging out with histamine intolerant folks a whole lot lately (being I am one) I can tell you it's not very common to react to the oil...but that doesn't mean that you did not...

[compsports]

It is hard to say as I would have to try it again at night to see what happens which I don't want to do. I am just wondering if my tolerance for histamine heavy foods reaches a limit around the evening based on previous food reactions.

 

The reverse of that is when I ate black beans for dinner last week, I had one of my better nights on the pap machine. Guess what I will be eating tonight to see if history repeats itself?

 

CS

[Altostrata]

Complex carbs such as beans at night can be a good thing -- maintains blood sugar levels.

[compsports]

Well, I had vowed I was going to start eating more low carb and had purchased some coconut butter which is delicious by the way. Yesterday, ate alot of that plus coconut oil.

 

Had one of my worst nights of sleep in days.  Not that it has been great to begin with but on a mask I normally have lasted 3 hours of sleep on, I only lasted one hour and had a very restless short night.

 

I am so bleeping sick of this.

 

CS

[Zoe]

.So sorry that you are having such a rough time. Hang in there. Prayers & hugs being sent your way.

[Barbarannamated]

I tried coconut oil caps one time and it was too stimulating.

[compsports]

Thanks Barb and Zoe.

 

The problem is because of my constant sleep deprivation, it is hard to tell if something is too stimulating until I try to sleep. Live and learn.

 

Zoe, thanks for the prayers and hugs. Didn't get great sleep last night but it was definitely an improvemnt from the night before.

[Meimeiquest]

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/11/07/peanut-butter-coconut-oil-alzheimers-detection.aspx

 

This is about Alzheimers, but a published case report on dietary management of bipolar ll also used "therapeutic doses" of coconut oil.

[bubble]

Thanks for posting, Meimei!

 

It's not only about coconut oil but it meantions other supplements which have been identified on SA as very helpful.

 

Yet another confirmation of what what Alto recommends

[SouthernFreeze]

damn that's a lot of coconut oil to have everyday, doesn't my brain realize how expensive this stuff is?

[westcoast]

I am on coconut oil now and am doing much better, for what it's worth. I am also doing the supplements recommended on this site, including magnesium, taurine, and turmeric. (Not sure turmeric is officially endorsed here, but it is discussed.)

 

If anyone else tries coconut oil, please message me and let me know if it works for you.

[Altostrata]

And post here!

 

I am dubious that coconut oil has any special properties, but it sure tastes good.

 

I use coconut oil and olive oil, with a little grass-fed butter now and then.

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

And to think I ignore all the fallen coconuts around here (they are a witch to open and I don't have an axe or a machete...)

 

Lots of people swear by coconut milk.

[westcoast]

The supposed magic in coconut oil is medium chain triglycerides. I got interested because they seem to be therapeutic in "intractable epilepsy," a diagnosis I received while coming off Effexor and ADHD drugs. I figured whatever physical syndrome I had or have were so epilepsy-like that I might benefit from it. plus I read that they can cause weight loss. So far I have no ill effects since adding the coconut oil and grass fed butter to my coffee in the morning, and the absence of the morning terror is unbelievable. I did not get this result from the various other supplements alone. Of course it could be possible that adding the oils after doing the supplements for a while means they are working together, or that the supplements took a while to start helping me, and the coconut oil isn't really doing anything on its own.

 

But it is so night and day since starting the coconut oil and butter that I think they must be doing something. I suppose I could discontinue them and see what happens. But I can't risk another hell-helmet cortisol morning. No sirree bob!

 

Epilepsy study:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23515148

[westcoast]

There is a new kind of coconut milk at Costco in the US. Too expensive, but the sample I had was incredibly delicious. It tasted like it just came out of a coconut. Puts the other brands to shame. Here it is for sale on a web site. I saw it at Whole Foods yesterday and looked at it wistfully. It is by Harmless Harvest. I was afraid to buy one small bottle for fear I go back for more and go broke

 

http://www.vitadigest.com/groc-859078002092.html

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Hey! Whatever works! And I have friends that use it all the time, my neighbor is always collecting coconuts as well as my gf.

[westcoast]

I'm envious that you Floridians can grow coconuts! At least we in SoCal can manage avocados, a gift from the Gods. I have a rule: never live somewhere too cold for citrus and avocado trees. in other words, oranges, not apples!

[justwanttobefree]

I have been experiencing severe brain fog for the past few days and decided to try a quarter of a tsp of coconut oil in my tea. WOW, all of a sudden the fog lifted significantly! Does anyone else have positive things to say about coconut oil during WD?

[Faithbarelysurviving]

http://www.cognivance.com/2-reasons-coconut-good-brain/

[westcoast]

My posts previous to yours...anyone else tried coconut oil? Trader Joe's has it.

 

I did it because at one point in WD I was told I had intractable epilepsy for which a ketogenic diet is recommended. (see http://www.epilepsyandbrainmapping.com/)

 

 

I have been experiencing severe brain fog for the past few days and decided to try a quarter of a tsp of coconut oil in my tea. WOW, all of a sudden the fog lifted significantly! Does anyone else have positive things to say about coconut oil during WD?

[Iamfine]

Coconuts...yum...

[westcoast]

An article about ketogenic diets, which can accommodate a lot of coconut oil.

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201104/your-brain-ketones

 

Ketogenic diets, which are very high in fat and low in carbohydrate and protein, have been prescribed for seizures for a long time.

Ketosis for the body means fat-burning. For the brain, it means a lower seizure risk and a better environment for neuronal recovery and repair.

 

 

Emily Deans, M.D., is a board certified adult psychiatrist practicing in Massachusetts.  She graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 2000 and from the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency in 2004, and was a Chief Resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.  She is currently an Instructor in Psychiatry, Part-Time at Harvard Medical School. 

[Altostrata]

I'm not sure about coconut oil. It's quite the fad now. I've added some flaked coconut to my oatmeal in the morning for the purported benefits of lauric acid, etc.
 
However, I think Andrew Weil's opinion is probably right:

 

New View of Coconut Oil? - Ask Dr. Weil

[westcoast]

He's getting rigid.

 

On weight loss, he describes a silly study that failed:
 

The one study that carefully examined the effects of coconut oil on weight loss was a small one, with only 40 women participating. Half of them used two tablespoons of coconut oil for cooking daily while the others used soybean oil. All the participants cut 200 calories from their daily diets and exercised four days a week. After three months, the women in both groups had each lost about two pounds.

 

Did they fry with it or eat it? Dose too low, and study equalized calorie reduction and exercise. Let the product do its thing.

 

Then he dismisses the ones that succeeded:
 

In other studies, dieters who used MCT-rich oil extracted from coconut lost more weight than those who used vegetable oil, but the losses reported were modest.

 

 

How modest? Modest sounds okay to me. 2 pounds? 5 pounds? In what amount of time? He gave more attention to the doomed study, which he calls "the one study that carefully examined."

I can't find either one online.

From a blog:

 

Two researchers at McGill University published a review of the literature on MCT and LCT and their effects on weight loss in the March 2002 issue of the Journal of Nutrition. The review of these preliminary studies suggested that MCT oils produced an increase in energy expenditure and resulted in a decrease in food intake, both of which provide the potential for weight control.  More recent studies conclude that MCT oil (but not necessarily coconut oil) may improve weight loss when part of an overall weight loss plan, compared to olive oil (LCT).

 

McGill is one of North America's best med schools

 

 

Medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) are readily oxidized in the liver. Animal and human studies have shown that the fast rate of oxidation of MCFA leads to greater energy expenditure (EE). Most animal studies have also demonstrated that the greater EE with MCFA relative to long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) results in less body weight gain and decreased size of fat depots after several months of consumption. Furthermore, both animal and human trials suggest a greater satiating effect of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) compared with long-chain triglycerides (LCT). The aim of this review is to evaluate existing data describing the effects of MCT on EE and satiety and determine their potential efficacy as agents in the treatment of human obesity. Animal studies are summarized and human trials more systematically evaluated because the primary focus of this article is to examine the effects of MCT on human energy metabolism and satiety. Hormones including cholescytokinin, peptide YY, gastric inhibitory peptide, neurotensin and pancreatic polypeptide have been proposed to be involved in the mechanism by which MCT may induce satiety; however, the exact mechanisms have not been established. From the literature reviewed, we conclude that MCT increase energy expenditure, may result in faster satiety and facilitate weight control when included in the diet as a replacement for fats containing LCT.

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/3/329.full
Physiological Effects of Medium-Chain Triglycerides: Potential Agents in the Prevention of Obesity1

Marie-Pierre St-Onge and Peter J. H. Jones2

 

For Alzheimer's, he's equally negative, and offers no sources:
 

I've read recent claims that coconut oil benefits Alzheimer's disease patients. It is true that MCT-rich oil from coconuts has been studied in Alzheimer's patients, but this treatment has not led to improvements of the patients' scores on cognitive tests. All told, I think the jury is still out on coconut oil, and without stronger evidence for it, I hesitate to recommend eating it in quantity. (Weil)

 

There is nothing in pubmed, so I wonder what studies he is talking about.

Closest is this:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21114897(2011)
Young coconut juice, a potential therapeutic agent that could significantly reduce some pathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease: novel findings.

"This is a novel study demonstrating that YCJ could have positive future implications in the prevention and treatment of AD in menopausal women."

 

Mary Newport's book on coconut oil and Alzheimer's has 183 reviews on Amazon. I collected them and counted those by families who tried it and got nothing, and those that had genuine results with dementia or improved relevant bloodwork (two of those).

Score: 5 with no result and 18 with positive results, some glowing. Impresses me, because normally when something doesn't work people rant and complain.

http://pastebin.com/U4YTeJjE

 

Not to mention this, being done at Univ of S Florida

Coconut Oil for Alzheimer's Disease

https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/clinical-trials/coconut-oil-alzheimers-disease

Plus, it worked a miracle for me in 10 days, and a few others in this thread got help from it too.

Does the opinion of celebrities who have no data matter?

[Fresh]

I've been getting into it seriously after reading in many place that we need omega 3's to help our brains regrow , 

I'm loving a teaspoon added to my coffee twice a day , and have switched to coconut oil for cooking and using as a carrier oil with essential oils.

This is a good summary of health benefits:  http://draxe.com/coconut-oil-uses/

 

I've been doing it for about 3 weeks and feeling better - perhaps it's the coconut oil.  I'm sticking with it , good to know it's helping others on here.

[Tilly]

I use coconut oil for oil pulling / oral and gum health. My dentist has been impressed with the results on my gum health. I find coconut oil too heavy in drinks, but will try to incorporate it into salad dressings. I also use coconut oil as a skin cleanser, moisturiser and intensive hair conditioner to replace face, body & hair lotions with unknown / unsavoury ingredients.

 

Fad or not. This oil works for me in many ways

 

I use organic, extra virgin, raw oil.

[Wildflower0214]

I used to love coconut oil, and used it in the ways Tilly described above before I was in WD.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot tolerate it in any form right now. I made the mistake of using it on my face as a moisturizer and became very overstimulated about two hours afterwards.

 

Hopefully, I will be able to use it in the future.

[JanCarol]

I am a big fan of coconut products.  Of course, there are the histamine issues, but since I can't eat wheat or dairy now, coconut seems to be in "safe land" and so I use coconut chips, oil, milk, cream, water.  

 

I've made coconut whipped cream (no, it doesn't have peaks) and wish I could get coconut cheese.

 

We do all cooking with coconut, and not only is it yummy, unlike other vegetable oils, it's burn point is so high that you never cook that hot - it never burns.  

 

yes, my cholesterol is high, but I don't think that is the problem.

 

I'd rather be feeding my brain with yummy coconut products, and it feels safe, so I pursue it.  

 

In WW2, when all the Pacific wounded were in hospitals, they ran out of IV fluid, so they took the water from coconuts and used it as IV fluid replacement.  It contains electrolytes, and is sterile out of the coconut.  It has properties of being antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal, as well as anti-inflammatory (especially when applied to skin or mucous membranes - I've had a friend with Post Prozac PSSD, horrible irritation, and coconut oil healed her inflamed parts.).  When my cat has a herpes outbreak (On cats, this is an eye thing, caused at birth), we melt a q-tip full of coconut oil in her eye and it is better within a day (when we use the vet medicine, it sometimes takes weeks to clear, and often won't clear at all on the vet ointments).  

 

I've oil pulled with coconut, and it was amazing, but I had to quit because I cook and use so much coconut oil for other things, that the oil pulling made me associate the coconut oil in my food, with the gross stuff in my mouth.  That was a bit nauseating.

 

Naturally, if you have a negative reaction it's not for you.  But during the "low fat era" my Mom and practitioners steered me away from this "dangerous oil" that I've come to discover is one of the more wholesome things I can be doing.  BUT - in moderation!  A bulletproof coffee every day is probably more fat than we're meant to handle.  I do like to have one now and then, though, when I feel especially ragged, but want the caffeine - it makes the caffeine more gentle, less spiky, and you come down off of the caffeine in a gentle curve, not a spike.

 

and Histamine intolerance - it is a nut, after all - is probably not good for use of coconut.  Do I feel smarter?  Probably.  But I can still be as dense as a box of rocks.  It hasn't "cured" my cog fog, and it hasn't made my moods impervious to my usual annoyances and angers.  But it has helped.

[Petunia]

I tried using coconut oil in earlier withdrawal, but didn't tolerate it well, my symptoms would increase for the next day or two, just like when I tried fish oil supplements. But now I'm fine with it, although I haven't noticed any particular benefits, I just like the taste.

 

The link Fresh posted above has a lot of great ideas for ways to use it, apart from as food.

[leahy]

I have tapered down to 10 mg of Remeron and 1 mg of xanax at the insistence of my pdoc. She's an idiot. I do know that. But I thought I'd try. 

 

Strangely I have had better success with this drop. I am sleeping well for a change. I don't want to rock the boat but it is perplexing to me that I feel better.

 

I have been trying to think what could be different. The only thing I can pinpoint is my recent consumption of coconut oil. Whether or not this is truly the helpful piece, I do not know.

 

But I'm not interested in changing anything while I am able to cut and sleep at the same time. I take 3 tablespoons full of extra virgin organic coconut oil I bought at BJs for around $10.00 for a 1.125 quart size. I am able to fast intermittently which I have not been able to do while on mirt. I am also losing weight. 

 

I'll take it.

[Terry4949]

Interesting reading , I have bottle of coconut oil on my shelf and I have never opened it , I purchased it a while back as it was recommended to me for cooking with , but not got round to trying it , here in the uk it is very popular for its soothing and healing properties , I may try some see if I feel any benefits , but like everything it normally takes a few days before you see or feel the benefits,

[leahy]

I had this coconut oil in my cabinet, too, for a long time. At about the same time I was cutting I started to eat it. Around February 15th. I had come across several articles and videos of ppl suffering from Alzheimers. I wanted to help my Aunt Betty who has dementia ( she's such a delight) and had called my cousin to tell her about coconut oil. I doubt she would believe me but what's the risk? I immediately wanted to make coconut cupcakes or something sweet Aunt Betty might like. And watch for her to call me by name. 

 

Anyway, I thought well why not try IT myself? It's good for thyroid they say and my brain certainly could use some help...

 

I still am not sure this is the reason but I have not felt this good since last year Feb 12, 2015. I didn't say 'great' remember I said 'good' AND I'm sleeping.

 

The first night I slept well I had put coconut oil and cinnamon on toast for a snack before bed. I slept incredibly well. So I keep taking it. Just in case...

 

When I sleep well I am able to put off eating. I don't eat breakfast and eat lunch at 1 or 2 pm. I read about how fasting might be helpful. Plus, I want to lose weight.

 

http://www.ewao.com/a/neuroscientist-shows-what-fasting-does-to-your-brain-why-big-pharma-wont-study-it/

 

I also read this.

 

L