Does it work?

Can coconut oil help with alzheimer's?

BACKGROUND

A reader contacted us about claims that coconut oil could help people with Alzheimer’s disease. Improvements have been seen when people with early onset Alzheimer’s have started taking coconut oil. As the disease is becoming more prevalent, much research is being conducting to identify ways to prevent and treat the condition. Unfortunately, the results to date have not been great.

Given these challenges, patients and their relatives search widely for help. The internet contains numerous reports about coconut oil, many connecting back to a man in Florida who developed Alzheimer’s disease when he was only 58. The disease has different types, with early onset disease occurring in about 5 per cent of sufferers.

This man’s wife is a physician and tried to get her husband into clinical trials of new Alzheimer’s drugs. She noticed that the main ingredient in one experimental drug was an oil made from medium chain triglycerides (MCT). Coconut oil is a natural source of MCT. Her husband was not accepted into the clinical trial because his condition was too severe. She decided to give him coconut oil and he improved dramatically.

Coconut oil is extracted from the kernels of mature coconuts. In tropical parts of the world, it is one of the main sources of fat, containing over 90 per cent saturated fatty acids. Animal fats are also saturated, and linked with concerns about heart disease, but these are long chain triglycerides. Even though coconut oil contains saturated fats, their chains are of medium length and have a different impact on the body.

EVIDENCE FROM STUDIES

No published research was found in which coconut oil was used to treat Alzheimer’s patients. However, preliminary studies are providing evidence to support how it might be helpful. Alzheimer’s disease arises due to several factors, one of which involves glucose metabolism. Glucose is the normal source of energy for brain cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, the brain’s ability to use glucose can drop by 20 to 40 per cent. At other times when the body is starved of glucose, another system is activated, using what are called ketone bodies. When people are starving, increasing ketone body levels brings cognitive improvements.

This month, a study involving rats given coconut juice found evidence that the juice protected their brains from the type of damage that occurs with Alzheimer’s disease.

However, only one relevant controlled study involving humans was found. In a double-blind study, 20 Alzheimer’s patients were given a drink containing either medium chain triglycerides (MCT) or a placebo. Ninety minutes later, researchers tested their blood for ketone bodies and gave several cognitive tests. The scores on the tests were significantly higher after MCT, but only in some patients. Those with a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (the ApoE4 gene) did not show improvements, while those without this gene showed improvements.

PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS

Coconut oil is generally well tolerated. Very rarely, people have allergic reactions to coconut. While concerns have been expressed about coconut oil promoting heart disease, preliminary evidence does not support these fears.

RECOMMENDATIONS

While the story from Florida is encouraging and hopeful, it is one person’s story. Alzheimer’s is a complex disease with many variations. This man’s condition is one specific and rare type of the disease. As he and his wife stress, much further research is needed before coconut oil or MCT can be generally recommended. Given its safety, and the scarcity of alternatives, it may be worth trying for a short period. Generally, two tablespoonfuls mixed with food are recommended.

Debate exists over the best way to prepare coconut oil. “Virgin” oils are available, but a standard definition for what this means does not exist. Coconut oil can made by a “cold pressed” method, or by using heat, but it is unclear if either method gives a better final product. In picking specific products, it seems to be a matter of taste and affordability.

Dónal OMathúna has a PhD in pharmacy, researching herbal remedies, and an MA in bioethics, and is a senior lecturer in the School of Nursing, Dublin City University.