Tag: brain

Is Coconut Oil Healthy?

Short answer is, “Yes, it is”.   Some people are taking it as a supplement.  Great for brain health.  And many people consider it to be the best cooking oil to use.

Here are some references to why coconut oil is healthy….

  • In the question and answer section of an Hawthorn University webinair (which you can watch on YouTube linked here), Jeanne Wallace says she is favorable of coconut oil. Because coconut oil is already medium chain triglycerides that the body can readily use, the body does not need to metabolize it as much as other fats. So it can be a quick source of energy.
  • There are doctors who believed in the health benefits of coconut oil. Dr. Mercola’s and Dr. Howard Talbot’s YouTube videos are just a couple.
  • Dr. Mercola wrote on HuffingtonPost an article with references about all the benefits of coconut oil. For cooking, Dr. Mercola uses coconut oil exclusively.
  • Dr. Mary Newport uses coconut oil to treat her husband’s Alzheimer. [reference YouTube]
  • UCHealth talks about use of coconut oil in Alzheimer’s.
  • Article on NaturalNews.com by Dr. David Jockers writes that …
    “Coconut oil is considered one of the best fuels for healthy brain function.”
  • There are a few anecdotal testimonies on YouTube here and there about how coconut oil has eliminated brain fog and enabled clearer and sharper thinking.
  • A study found that “Elevation of plasma ketone body levels through an oral dose of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) may improve cognitive functioning in older adults with memory disorders.” [reference]
  • video of a discussion of a panel on the benefits of coconut oil on the brain.
  • Essay by Stephanie Seneff writes …”Coconut oil, a saturated fat, has been shown to benefit Alzheimer’s patients”

What about the saturated fat?

Saturated fat has gotten a bad rap.  Many people now believe that saturated fat is not as bad as they once were told.

Mary Enig writes article New Look at Coconut Oil which says …

“coconut oil is at worst neutral with respect to atherogenicity of fats and oils and, in fact, is likely to be a beneficial oil for prevention and treatment of some heart disease.”

And she further states that coconut oil may have antimicrobial and anti-cancer properties.

Dave Asprey’s recipe on how he drinks coffee is that he adds butter and MCT oil to his coffee and eats 50% of his calories from fats.

We do not have free will

We do not have free will.  Our mental construct of our self makes us think we do.  At least that is what neuroscientist Julian Keenan says when he talked with Ann Strainchamps on the radio episode titled “You and Your Brain” on NPR’s To The Best Of Our Knowledge.

You can listen to this enlightening episode in the above link.

Experiments showed that when you reach for a cup, you hand moves before your brain is aware.  When the brain catches up, it then comes up with the reason as to why it “decided” to move the hand.

Another experiment used electromagnets to bias a subject’s decision one way or the other.  But the subject will come up with a “rational” explanation of why he/she decided that way when in fact the magnet biased the subjects decision.  And the subject will not believe that the decision was influenced by anything else beside self.