The Coconut Oil Miracle (13 page)

Even if giardia is diagnosed and treated, it can damage the intestinal lining, causing chronic health problems that persist for years after the parasite is gone. Food allergies, including lactose (milk) intolerance, can develop. Damaged intestinal tissues become leaky. This is often referred to as leaky gut syndrome. Toxins, bacteria, and incompletely digested foods are able to pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, initiating an immune response. Sinus congestion, aches and pains, headaches, swelling, and inflammation—all typical symptoms of allergies—are the result.

Loss of intestinal integrity can lead to the gastrointestinal discomfort known as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Dr. Leo Galland, an expert in gastrointestinal disease, demonstrated that out of a group of 200 patients with chronic diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, and bloating, half were infected with giardia. Most of these patients had been told they had irritable bowel syndrome. He notes that parasitic infection is a common event among patients with chronic
gastrointestinal symptoms, and many people are given a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome without a thorough evaluation.

Another consequence of poor intestinal integrity is fatigue resulting from malabsorption of important nutrients. If the condition persists, it can lead to chronic fatigue syndrome. A giardia infection can be so draining on the immune system that it causes fatigue. Again the cause is often misdiagnosed. A giardia epidemic in Placerville, California, for example, was mysteriously followed by an epidemic of chronic fatigue syndrome. In 1991 Dr. Galland and his colleagues published a study of 96 patients with chronic fatigue and demonstrated active giardia infection in 46 percent. In another study, of 218 patients whose chief complaint was chronic fatigue, Dr. Galland found that 61 patients were infected with giardia. His conclusion is that giardia may be an important cause of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Coconut oil may provide an effective defense against many troublesome parasites, including giardia. Research has shown that, like bacteria and fungi, giardia and possibly other protozoa can’t stand up against MCFAs. By using coconut oil and other coconut products every day, you may be able to destroy giardia before it can establish a foothold. In doing so you also eliminate the possibility of developing food allergies, chronic fatigue, and other related symptoms. If you’re currently troubled with these conditions, coconut oil used liberally with meals may provide a source of relief. Because MCFAs are quickly absorbed by the tissues and converted into energy, it seems logical that those suffering from chronic fatigue would gain a great deal
of benefit. Foods prepared with coconut oil, or even fresh coconut, make a great energy booster without adversely affecting blood sugar.

Another possible use for coconut is for the removal of intestinal worms. In India, in fact, it has been used to get rid of tapeworms and is rubbed into the scalp as a treatment to remove head lice. In one study it was reported that treatment with dried coconut, followed by magnesium sulfate (a laxative), caused 90 percent parasite expulsion after 12 hours. The authors of some pet books apparently have had success with coconut and recommend feeding animals ground coconut as a means of expelling intestinal parasites. Tapeworms, lice, giardia, candida, bacteria, viruses, and germs of all sorts can be eliminated, or at least held in check, with coconut oil; it is one of the best natural remedies you can use.

Tropical diseases such as malaria and yellow fever have plagued humankind for centuries. Throughout history, whenever people from moderate climates have settled or traveled in areas covered by tropical jungles, they’ve been plagued by disease. Even today people who travel in these areas must be cautious.

The curious thing about this is that the people who are living in these areas don’t succumb to disease. Researchers have been unable to find any genetic reason for their resistance. Locals who move out of the area and return several years later are often susceptible to disease just like any other outsider.

I believe the local people are protected because of the type of food they eat, in particular coconuts. It is in these tropical climates that
coconuts grow abundantly and serve as a valuable food source for the local inhabitants. It is as if the coconut were put there on purpose not only to serve as a source of food but to protect people from disease. Dr. Weston A. Price noted in his book
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
that in his studies of African natives, those who consumed traditional local foods did not suffer from insect-borne diseases such as malaria. Tropical climates are breeding grounds for all types of disease-causing organisms, yet indigenous peoples have lived in these places generation after generation without problem. Only those people from other climates, who eat virtually no coconut or other native plants, have a difficult time.

Herbalists have noted for years that in regions where certain diseases are common, medicinal plants grow that can cure these diseases. This is why every culture in the world has a form of traditional medicine based on the use of local herbs. The people who live in the tropics where coconut grows are protected to some extent from malaria, yellow fever, and other common infectious organisms. The people in Panama have discovered the importance of coconut as a means of staying healthy. When they feel an illness coming on they increase their consumption of coconut, particularly coconut milk and oil. Likewise, Africans in tropical areas will drink palm kernel oil whenever they get sick.

Before the onset of World War II, American contractors went to the Panama Canal to build airstrips, submarine bases, and barracks for the military. Workers from the city, as well as natives from the jungles of Central America and the Caribbean, came in to provide the labor. Coconut was an important source of food for these natives. In 1940 many of them still lived a relatively isolated existence. Many
spoke neither Spanish nor English. Local labor was preferred, because over the years it was noticed that indigenous people were more resistant to disease and worked harder. One of the contractors, William Bockus, Jr., observed: “There were two striking differences between these Indians and the majority of the other workers. They were never sick and they were slim and trim. These guys would work steadily all day long in the swamps in mud and rain without complaint. Foremen had to tell them to take rest periods, believe it or not. They also never missed a day’s work.” This is a far cry from the situation just a few decades earlier, when malaria and yellow fever devastated the French and American workers who built the Panama Canal.

In my opinion, the coconut is one of God’s greatest health foods and, when consumed as part of your regular diet, can protect you against a host of infectious illnesses. Eating coconuts and coconut oil can provide you with some degree of protection from a wide variety of disease-causing organisms. Coconut oil may not be able to cure all disease, but it can help prevent many illnesses, relieve stress on the immune system, and allow the body to resist disease better. A person who is aware of the health benefits of coconut oil but doesn’t use it is like the person who doesn’t wear a seat belt when driving. You’ve got a seat belt that can protect you from a number of nasty diseases. It would be foolish not to take advantage of it.

The world’s population is growing—
at the waist. More people are overweight now than ever before. The number of overweight people has greatly increased over the past few decades, and particularly over the last 10 years. According to the CDC, the number of obese people in the United States has exploded over the past decade from 12 percent of the total population to 17.9 percent. In the United States, 55 percent of the population is overweight; one in four adults is considered obese. As much as 25 percent of all teenagers are overweight. Even our kids are becoming fatter. The number of overweight children has more than doubled in the past 30 years.
Figures (and waistlines) are increasing in the UK, Australia, and many other affluent countries.

A person is considered obese if his or her weight is 20 percent or more above the maximum desirable weight. Over the past decade obesity has increased by 70 percent among people aged 18 to 29. For those 30 to 39 years old, it has increased 50 percent. All other age groups have likewise experienced a dramatic increase in weight.

Medical problems can escalate the battle of the bulge into a full-scale war. Being overweight increases risk for gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and early death. If you are overweight, losing some pounds could be one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself.

If you are like most people, you’ve noticed a gradual increase in your waistline over the years. Most of us do. I’m no exception. I never considered myself exactly fat, just a little pudgy here and there. For several years I tried to lose some of this excess weight, and I believed that I could. For years I kept several pairs of my favorite pants that were too small for me. I knew I would lose enough weight to fit back into them.

Well, I tried. I reduced my fat intake, ate less food, and was hungry all the time. I thought I ate healthfully. My meals were well balanced with the different food groups. I avoided saturated fat and used the so-called healthy oils like margarine and liquid vegetable oil for all food preparation needs. The only thing dieting accomplished was to make me miserable. My stomach rumbled and complained constantly. I felt denied. It was depressing. Finally, I just gave up on weight-reducing diets; it wasn’t worth the trouble. I came to the conclusion
that I would never lose any weight permanently. I gathered up all the clothes that wouldn’t fit me and tossed them out.

But as I learned more about diet, health, and coconut oil, I realized I was eating the wrong kinds of oil. Instead of going on another diet, I replaced the processed vegetable oils I was eating with coconut oil. I used butter instead of margarine. I ate fewer sweets and more fiber. I didn’t reduce the amount of food I was eating, and I probably ate more calories than I had before because I began eating more fat, in the form of coconut oil.

A strange thing happened. I didn’t expect it to happen, and I didn’t even notice it until months later. My pants were becoming looser. I was able to cinch my belt up tighter. I hadn’t weighed myself for some time, but when I stepped back on the scale, I found that I had lost about 20 pounds. I was shocked because I wasn’t dieting. I wasn’t trying to lose weight, I was just trying to eat healthier. The weight had just come off on its own. I regretted that I’d tossed out all my favorite pants.

I have been eating this way now for several years. I don’t feel deprived. I eat foods cooked in fat. I eat desserts containing fat. But the fat I eat is almost exclusively coconut oil. The 20 pounds are still gone. I am at my ideal weight for my height and bone structure. I found a way of eating that wasn’t like a weight-loss diet because it worked without my trying. It was great. I look better and feel better about myself.

This chapter is for all who want to lose unwanted weight permanently without struggling with weight-reducing diets. You don’t need to diet to lose weight; instead you need to make wise food choices.
Your food can be just as tasty and satisfying yet still be healthy and weight-reducing.

What makes people fat? Basically it’s consuming more food than our bodies need. The food we eat is converted into energy—measured in calories—which powers metabolic functions and physical activity. Any excess calories are converted into fat and packed away into fat
cells to produce the cellulite on our legs, the spare tire around our middle, and the oversized seat cushions on our backsides. So the more we eat, the bigger we get.

The rate at which the body uses calories for these maintenance activities is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR). It is equivalent to the number of calories a person would expend while lying down, inactive but awake. Any physical activity, no matter how simple, would require additional calories. At least two-thirds of the calories we use every day go to fuel basic metabolic functions.

Each of us has a different BMR. Many factors determine your BMR and the amount of calories your body needs and uses. Young people require more calories than older people. Physically active people use more than less active ones. People who are fasting, starving, or even dieting use
fewer
calories. Overweight people use fewer calories than lean or muscular people. These last two situations are unwelcome news to people who are overweight and dieting. It means they have to eat even less to see a change.