Alzheimers and Coconut oil: Does it help?

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Summary: There has been talk about a recent discovery of Coconut oil like particles caprylic acid, which can be used as energy for the brain. Alzheimer's is the decrease in synaptic response between cells in the brain which could show physical symptoms such as memory and mobility loss. The article is does not specify wether or not they are confirming the effects of coconut oil in regards to Alzheimers, but they do give evidence of it working, and evidence of it just being a coincidence for a select few. To summarize, researchers believe it has show improvements in functioning for some on trial one, but when it came to trial two there was not enough evidence in the effectiveness of coconut oil. Researchers also wanted others to be aware that people who claim coconut oil, or caprylic like medicine has helped with their Alzheimer's are most likely experiencing a placebo effect, meaning they believe it is working so they will "feel" like it is working. Coconut oil is also very fatty so it is not the best type of medicine to consume regularly because it could lead to high cholesterol.

How does it relate to class: Psychology of Aging discussed the favor of coconut oil and its benefits linked to decreasing the symptoms of Alzheimers. A video showing a patient who was able to draw a clock accurately developed this skill just 2 weeks after including coconut oil into his diet.  Prior to reading this article and many other articles it is clear to see how coconut oil is not the best alternative for Alzheimer treatments. The patient who improved probably did not improve because of the coconut oil but because of the repetition of having to draw the same object. The evidence also was more of an external discovery but did not discuss the differences in neurological behavior.


https://www.dementiablog.org/coconut-oil-alzheimers-separating-fact-fiction/



Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 15, 2018 at 9:51 PM

    When coconut oil began to be considered a health food, I read an article which talked about the supposed benefits of it. Coconut oil actually contains a high percentage of a specific type of triglycerides which we spent time speaking about in physiopsych. These triglycerides are transported directly to the liver and burned as fuel thereby increasing metabolic rate. This is the reason that many people believe that coconut oil is healthier than other oils. We also learned in physiopsych that the brain relies on glucose as its form of energy. With Alzheimer's the brain has lost its ability to breakdown glucose and therefore it begins to use the triglycerides instead. However there is not enough of the triglycerides to feed the brain from the coconut oil alone which can be why coconut oil does not in fact significantly improve Alzheimer's.

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