Fw: [Mr_Tracys_Corner] The health Benefits Of Coconuts & Coconut Oil Part 1 Of 2

October 14, 2004

- Walt

Tracys

Thursday, October 14, 2004 9:40 AM

[Mr_Tracys_Corner] The health Benefits Of Coconuts & Coconut Oil Part 1 Of 2

SEARCH:HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | BACK ISSUES | ARTICLES | SUBSCRIBE | PRODUCTS |ADVERTISING | WHO, WHAT, WHERE | LINKS | COMMENTS | SURVEYThe Health Benefits of Coconuts & Coconut OilPart 1 of 2Coconuts and coconut oil contain health-promoting saturated fatty acids andderivative compounds which have powerful antimicrobial properties.(Go to Part 2)--Extracted from Nexus Magazine, Volume 9, Number 2 (February-March 2002)PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia. editorTelephone: +61 (0)7 5442 9280; Fax: +61 (0)7 5442 9381From our web page at: www.nexusmagazine.comby Mary G. Enig, PhD, FACN© 1999, 2001DirectorNutritional Sciences DivisionEnig Associates, Inc.12501 Prosperity Drive, Suite 340 Silver Spring, MD 20904-1689, USATelephone: +1 (301) 680 8600Fax: +1 (301) 680 8100Email: marye--(The following is the text of a talk and paper, "Coconuts: In Support ofGood Health in the 21st Century", presented by Dr Mary Enig at the AsianPacific Coconut Community (APCC) meeting held in Pohnpei in the FederatedStates of Micronesia in 1999. Note that it does make several references toanimal experiments, and that NEXUS does not condone animalexperimentation. --Editor)ABSTRACTCoconuts play a unique role in the diets of mankind because they are thesource of important physiologically functional components. Thesephysiologically functional components are found in the fat part of wholecoconut, in the fat part of desiccated coconut and in the extracted coconutoil.Lauric acid, the major fatty acid from the fat of the coconut, has long beenrecognised for the unique properties that it lends to nonfood uses in thesoaps and cosmetics industry. More recently, lauric acid has been recognisedfor its unique properties in food use, which are related to its antiviral,antibacterial and antiprotozoal functions. Now, capric acid, another ofcoconut's fatty acids, has been added to the list of coconut's antimicrobialcomponents. These fatty acids are found in the largest amounts only intraditional lauric fats, especially from coconut. Also, recently publishedresearch has shown that natural coconut fat in the diet leads to anormalisation of body lipids, protects against alcohol damage to the liverand improves the immune system's anti-inflammatory response.Clearly, there has been increasing recognition of the health-supportingfunctions of the fatty acids found in coconut. Recent reports from the USFood and Drug Administration about required labelling of the trans fattyacids will put coconut oil in a more competitive position and may help itsreturn to use by the baking and snack-food industry, where it has continuedto be recognised for its functionality. Now it can be recognised for anotherkind of functionality: the improvement of the health of mankind.I. INTRODUCTION: BENEFITS OF COCONUT OIL SATURATESMr Chairman and members of the Asian Pacific Coconut Community: I would liketo thank you for inviting me once again to speak to this gathering ofdelegates on the occasion of your 36th session as you celebrate the 30thanniversary of APCC.When I addressed the 32nd Cocotech meeting in Cochin, India, I covered twoareas of interest to the coconut community. In the first part, I reviewedthe major health challenge facing coconut oil at that time, which was basedon a supposed negative role played by saturated fat in heart disease. I hopethat my talk was able to dispel any acceptance of that notion. In the secondpart of my talk, I suggested that there were some new, positive healthbenefits from coconut which should be recognised. These benefits stemmedfrom coconut's use as a food with major functional properties forantimicrobial and anti-cancer effects.In my presentation today, I will bring you up to date about the newrecognition of "functional foods" as important components in the diet.Additionally, I would like to review briefly the state of the anti -saturated fat situation and bring you up to date on some of the researchthat compares the beneficial effects of saturated fats with those of omega-6polyunsaturates, as well as the beneficial effects of the saturated fatsrelative to the detrimental effects of the partially hydrogenated fats andthe trans fatty acids. In particular, I will review some of the surprisingbeneficial effects of the special saturates found in coconut oil as theycompare with those of the unsaturates found in some of the other food oils.Components of coconut oil are increasingly being shown to be beneficial.Increasingly, lauric acid and even capric acid have been the subject offavourable scientific reports on health parameters.II. FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF LAURIC FATS AS ANTIMICROBIALSEarlier this year, at a special conference entitled "Functional Foods ForHealth Promotion: Physiologic Considerations" (Experimental Biology '99,Renaissance Washington Hotel, Washington, DC, April 17, 1999), which wassponsored by the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America,Technical Committee on Food Components for Health Promotion, it was definedthat "a functional food provides a health benefit over and beyond the basicnutrients".This is exactly what coconut and its edible products such as desiccatedcoconut and coconut oil do. As a functional food, coconut has fatty acidsthat provide both energy (nutrients) and raw material for antimicrobialfatty acids and monoglycerides (functional components) when it is eaten.Desiccated coconut is about 69% coconut fat, as is creamed coconut. Fullcoconut milk is approximately 24% fat.Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauricacid is a medium-chain fatty acid which has the additional beneficialfunction of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body.Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial and antiprotozoal monoglycerideused by the human (and animal) to destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV,herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria includingListeria monocytogenes and Helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as Giardialamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the freelauric acid.Also, approximately 6 - 7% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are capricacid. Capric acid is another medium-chain fatty acid which has a similarbeneficial function when it is formed into monocaprin in the human or animalbody. Monocaprin has also been shown to have antiviral effects against HIVand is being tested for antiviral effects against herpes simplex and forantibacterial effects against Chlamydia and other sexually transmittedbacteria (Reuters, London, June 29, 1999).The food industry has, of course, long been aware that the functionalproperties of the lauric oils, and especially coconut oil, are unsurpassedby other available commercial oils. Unfortunately in the United States,during the late 1930s and again during the 1980s and 1990s, the commercialinterests of the domestic fats and oils industry were successful in drivingdown usage of coconut oil. As a result, in the US and in other countrieswhere the influence from the US is strong, the manufacturer has lost thebenefit of the lauric oils in its food products.As we will see from the data I will present in this talk, it is the consumerwho has lost the many health benefits that can result from regularconsumption of coconut products.The antiviral, antibacterial and antiprotozoal properties of lauric acid andmonolaurin have been recognised by a small number of researchers for nearlyfour decades. This knowledge has resulted in more than 20 research papersand several US patents, and last year it resulted in a comprehensive bookchapter which reviewed the important aspects of lauric oils as antimicrobialagents (Enig, 1998). In the past, the larger group of clinicians and foodand nutrition scientists has been unaware of the potential benefits ofconsuming foods containing coconut and coconut oil, but this is now startingto change.Kabara (1978) and others have reported that certain fatty acids (FAs) (e.g.,medium-chain saturates) and their derivatives (e.g., monoglycerides, MGs)can have adverse effects on various micro-organisms. Those micro-organismsthat are inactivated include bacteria, yeast, fungi and enveloped viruses.Additionally, it is reported that the antimicrobial effects of the FAs andMGs are additive, and total concentration is critical for inactivatingviruses (Isaacs and Thormar, 1990).The properties that determine the anti-infective action of lipids arerelated to their structure, e.g., monoglycerides, free fatty acids. Themonoglycerides are active; diglycerides and triglycerides are inactive. Ofthe saturated fatty acids, lauric acid has greater antiviral activity thancaprylic acid (C-8), capric acid (C-10) or myristic acid (C-14).In general, it is reported that the fatty acids and monoglycerides producetheir killing/inactivating effect by lysing the plasma membrane lipidbilayer. The antiviral action attributed to monolaurin is that ofsolubilising the lipids and phospholipids in the envelope of the virus,causing the disintegration of the virus envelope. However, there is evidencefrom recent studies that one antimicrobial effect in bacteria is related tomonolaurin's interference with signal transduction (Projan et al., 1994),and another antimicrobial effect in viruses is due to lauric acid'sinterference with virus assembly and viral maturation (Hornung et al.,1994).Recognition of the antiviral aspects of the antimicrobial activity of themonoglyceride of lauric acid (monolaurin) has been reported since 1966. Someof the early work by Hierholzer and Kabara (1982), which showed virucidaleffects of monolaurin on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses, was done inconjunction with the Centers for Disease Control of the US Public HealthService. These studies were done with selected virus prototypes orrecognised representative strains of enveloped human viruses. The envelopeof these viruses is a lipid membrane, and the presence of a lipid membraneon viruses makes them especially vulnerable to lauric acid and itsderivative, monolaurin.The medium-chain saturated fatty acids and their derivatives act bydisrupting the lipid membranes of the viruses (Isaacs and Thormar, 1991;Isaacs et al., 1992). Research has shown that enveloped viruses areinactivated in both human and bovine milk by added fatty acids andmonoglycerides (Isaacs et al., 1991) and also by endogenous fatty acids andmonoglycerides of the appropriate length (Isaacs et al., 1986, 1990, 1991,1992; Thormar et al., 1987).Some of the viruses inactivated by these lipids, in addition to HIV, are themeasles virus, herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), vesicular stomatitis virus(VSV), visna virus and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Many of the pathogenicorganisms reported to be inactivated by these antimicrobial lipids are thoseknown to be responsible for opportunistic infections in HIV-positiveindividuals. For example, concurrent infection with cytomegalovirus isrecognised as a serious complication for HIV-positive individuals (Macallanet al., 1993).Thus, it would appear to be important to investigate the practical aspectsand the potential benefits of an adjunct nutritional support regimen forHIV-infected individuals, which will utilise those dietary fats that aresources of known antiviral, antimicrobial and antiprotozoal monoglyceridesand fatty acids such as monolaurin and its precursor, lauric acid.Until now, no one in the mainstream nutrition community seems to haverecognised the added potential of antimicrobial lipids in the treatment ofHIV-infected or AIDS patients. These antimicrobial fatty acids and theirderivatives are essentially nontoxic to man; they are produced in vivo byhumans when they ingest those commonly available foods that contain adequatelevels of medium-chain fatty acids such as lauric acid. According to thepublished research, lauric acid is one of the best "inactivating" fattyacids, and its monoglyceride is even more effective than the fatty acidalone (Kabara, 1978; Sands et al., 1978; Fletcher et al., 1985; Kabara,1985).The lipid-coated (enveloped) viruses are dependent on host lipids for theirlipid constituents. The variability of fatty acids in the foods ofindividuals, as well as the variability from de novo synthesis, accounts forthe variability of fatty acids in the virus envelope and also explains thevariability of glycoprotein expression - a variability that makes vaccinedevelopment more difficult.Monolaurin does not appear to have an adverse effect on desirable gutbacteria but, rather, only on potentially pathogenic micro-organisms. Forexample, Isaacs et al. (1991) reported no inactivation of the commonEscherichia coli or Salmonella enteritidis by monolaurin, but majorinactivation of Hemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus epidermidis and groupB gram-positive Streptococcus.The potentially pathogenic bacteria inactivated by monolaurin includeListeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae,groups A, F and G streptococci, gram-positive organisms, and somegram-negative organisms if pretreated with a chelator (Boddie and Nickerson,1992; Kabara, 1978, 1984; Isaacs et al., 1990, 1992, 1994; Isaacs andSchneidman, 1991; Isaacs and Thormar, 1986, 1990, 1991; Thormar et al.,1987; Wang and Johnson, 1992).Decreased growth of Staphylococcus aureus and decreased production of toxicshock syndrome toxin-1 was shown with 150 mg monolaurin per litre (Hollandet al., 1994). Monolaurin was shown to be 5,000 times more inhibitoryagainst Listeria monocytogenes than is ethanol (Oh and Marshall, 1993).Helicobacter pylori was rapidly inactivated by medium-chain monoglyceridesand lauric acid, and there appeared to be very little development ofresistance of the organism to the bactericidal effects of these naturalantimicrobials (Petschow et al., 1996).A number of fungi, yeast and protozoa have been found to be inactivated orkilled by lauric acid or monolaurin. The fungi include several species ofringworm (Isaacs et al., 1991). The yeast reported is Candida albicans(Isaacs et al., 1991). The protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia is killed byfree fatty acids and monoglycerides from hydrolysed human milk (Hernell etal., 1986; Reiner et al., 1986; Crouch et al., 1991; Isaacs et al., 1991).Numerous other protozoa were studied with similar findings, but these havenot yet been published (Jon J. Kabara, private communication, 1997).Research continues in measuring the effects of the monoglyceride derivativeof capric acid, monocaprin, as well as the effects of lauric acid. Chlamydiatrachomatis is inactivated by lauric acid, capric acid and monocaprin(Bergsson et al., 1998). Hydrogels containing monocaprin are potent in vitroinactivators of sexually transmitted viruses such as HSV-2 and HIV-1 andbacteria such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Thormar, 1999).III. ORIGINS OF THE ANTI - SATURATED FAT, ANTI - TROPICAL OILS AGENDAThe coconut industry has suffered more than three decades of abusiverhetoric from the consumer activist group Centers for Science in the PublicInterest (CSPI), from the American Soybean Association (ASA) and othermembers of the edible oil industry, and from those in the medical andscientific community who learned their misinformation from groups like CSPIand ASA. I would like to review briefly the origins of the anti - saturatedfat, anti - tropical oil campaigns and hopefully give you some usefulinsight into the issues.When and how did the anti - saturated fat story begin? It really began inpart in the late 1950s, when a researcher in Minnesota announced that theheart disease epidemic was being caused by hydrogenated vegetable fats. Theedible oil industry's response at that time was to claim it was only thesaturated fat in the hydrogenated oils that was causing the problem. Theindustry then announced that it would be changing to partially hydrogenatedfats and that this would solve the problem.In actual fact, there was no change because the oils were already beingpartially hydrogenated and the levels of saturated fatty acids remainedsimilar, as did the levels of the trans fatty acids. The only thing thatreally changed was the term for "hydrogenation" or "hardening" listed on thefood label.During this same period, a researcher in Philadelphia reported thatconsuming polyunsaturated fatty acids lowered serum cholesterol. Thisresearcher neglected, however, to include the information that the loweringwas due to the cholesterol going into the tissues such as the liver and thearteries. As a result of this research report and the acceptance of this newagenda by the domestic edible oils industry, there was a gradual increase inthe emphasis on replacing "saturated fats" in the diet and on consuminglarger amounts of the "polyunsaturated fats".As many of you probably know, this strong emphasis on consumingpolyunsaturates has backfired in many ways. The current adjustments, beingrecommended in the US by groups such as the National Academy of Sciences,replace the saturates with mono-unsaturates instead of with polyunsaturatesand replace polyunsaturates with mono-unsaturates.Early promoters of the anti - saturated fat ideas included companies such asCorn Products Company (CPC International), through a book written byJeremiah Stamler in 1963, with the professional edition published in 1966 byCPC. This book took some of the earliest pejorative stabs at the tropicaloils. In 1963, the only tropical fat or oil singled out as high in saturatedfats was coconut oil. Palm oil had not entered the US food supply to anyextent, had not become a commercial threat to the domestic oils and was notrecognised in any of the early texts.The editorial staff of Consumer Reports noted that "...in 1962...one writerobserved, the average American now fears fat [saturated fat, that is] 'as heonce feared witches"'.In 1965, a representative of Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals told theAmerican Heart Association to change its diet/heart statement to remove anyreference to the trans fatty acids. This altered official documentencouraged the consumption of partially hydrogenated fats. In the 1970s,this same Procter & Gamble employee served as nutrition chairman in twocontrolling positions for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute'sLipid Research Clinic (LRC) trials and as director of one of the LRCcentres. These LRC trials were the basis for the 1984 NIH CholesterolConsensus Conference, which in turn spawned the National CholesterolEducation Program (NCEP). This program encourages consumption of margarineand partially hydrogenated fats, while admitting that trans should not beconsumed in excess. The official NCEP document states that "coconut oil,palm oil, and palm kernel oil...should be avoided".In 1966, the US Department of Agriculture documents on fats and oils talkedabout how unstable the unsaturated fats and oils were. There was nocriticism of the saturated fats. That criticism of saturated fats was tocome later to this agency when it came under the influence of the domesticedible fats and oils industry and when it developed the US DietaryGuidelines. These Dietary Guidelines became very anti - saturated fat andremain so to this day. Nevertheless, as we will learn later in my talk,there started some reversal of the anti - saturated fat stance in the worksof this agency in 1998.In the early 1970s, although a number of researchers were voicing concernsabout the trans fats, the edible oil industry and the US Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) were engaging in a revolving-door exchange that wouldpromote the increasing consumption of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils,condemn the saturated fats and hide the trans issue. As an example of this"oily" exchange, in 1971 the FDA's general counsel became president of theedible oil trade association, the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils(ISEO), and he in turn was replaced at the FDA by a food lawyer who hadrepresented the edible oil industry.From that point on, the truth about any real effects of the dietary fats hadto play catch-up. The American edible oil industry sponsored "information"to educate the public, and the natural dairy and animal fats industries wereinept at countering any of that misinformation. Not being domestically grownin the US, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil were not around todefend themselves at that time. The government agencies responsible fordisseminating information ignored those protesting "lone voices", and by themid-1980s American food manufacturers and consumers had made major changesin their fats and oils usage - away from the safe, saturated fats andheadlong into the problematic trans fats.Enig and Fallon (1998 - 99) have reviewed the above history in "The Oilingof America", published in Nexus Magazine [see 6/01 - 2]. This article can beviewed and downloaded from the NEXUS website atwww.nexusmagazine.com/articles/oilingamerica.1.html andwww.nexusmagazine.com/articles/oilingamerica.2.html.IV. THE DAMAGING ROLE OF THE US CONSUMER ACTIVIST GROUP CSPISome of the food oil industry members - especially those connected with theAmerican Soybean Association and some of the consumer activists(particularly the Centers for Science in the Public Interest and also theAmerican Heart Savers Association) further eroded the status of natural fatswhen they sponsored the major anti - saturated fat, anti - tropical oilscampaign in the late 1980s.Actually, an active anti - saturated fat bias started as far back as 1972 atthe CSPI. But beginning in 1984, this very vocal consumer activist groupstarted its anti - saturated fat campaign in earnest. In particular at thistime, the campaign was against the "saturated" frying fats, especially thosebeing used by fast-food restaurants. Most of these so-called saturatedfrying fats were tallow-based, but also included was palm oil in at leastone of the hotel/restaurant chains.Then, in a critical "News Release" in August 1986 - "Deceptive Vegetable OilLabeling: Saturated Fat Without The Facts" - CSPI referred to "palm, coconutand palm kernel oil" as "rich in artery-clogging saturated fat". CSPIfurther announced that it had petitioned the Food and Drug Administration tostop allowing labelling of foods as having "100% vegetable shortening" ifthey contained any of the "tropical oils". CSPI also asked for the mandatoryaddition of the qualifier, "a saturated fat", when coconut, palm or palmkernel oil was named on the food label.In 1988, CSPI published a booklet called "Saturated Fat Attack". Thisbooklet contains lists of processed foods "surveyed" in Washington, DC,supermarkets. The lists were used for developing information about thesaturated fat in the products. Section III is entitled "Those TroublesomeTropical Oils" and it contains statements encouraging pejorative labelling.There were lots of substantive mistakes in the booklet, including errors inthe description of the biochemistry of fats and oils and completelyerroneous statements about the fat and oil composition of many of theproducts.At the same time that CSPI was conducting its campaign in 1986, the AmericanSoybean Association began its anti - tropical oils campaign by sendinginflammatory letters, etc., to soybean farmers. The ASA took outadvertisements to promote a "[tropical] Fat Fighter Kit". The ASA hired aWashington, DC, "nutritionist" to survey supermarkets to detect the presenceof tropical oils in foods.Then, early in 1987, the ASA petitioned the FDA to require labelling of"tropical fats". In mid-1987 the Soybean Digest was continuing an active andincreasing anti - tropical oils campaign.At about the same time, the New York Times (June 3, 1987) published aneditorial, "The Truth About Vegetable Oil", in which it called palm, palmkernel and coconut oils "the cheaper, artery-clogging oils from Malaysia andIndonesia" and claimed that US federal dietary guidelines opposed tropicaloils, although it is not clear that this was so. The "artery-clogging"terminology was right out of CSPI.Two years later, in 1989, the ASA held a press conference with the help ofthe CSPI in Washington, DC, in an attempt to counter a press conference heldon March 6 by the palm oil group. The ASA "Media Alert" stated that theNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Research Council"recommend consumers avoid palm, palm kernel and coconut oils".Only months before these press conferences, millionaire Phil Sokolof, thehead of the National Heart Savers Association (NHSA), purchased the first ofa series of anti - saturated fats and anti - tropical fats advertisements inmajor newspapers. No one has found an overt connection between Sokolof (andhis NHSA) and the ASA, but the CSPI bragged about being his adviser.V. USE OF COCONUT OIL IN THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF HEART DISEASEThe research over four decades concerning coconut oil in the diet and heartdisease is quite clear: coconut oil has been shown to be beneficial incombatting/reducing the risk factors in heart disease. This research leadsus to ask the question, "Should coconut oil be used both to prevent andtreat coronary heart disease?" This is based on several reviews of thescientific literature concerning the feeding of coconut oil to humans.Blackburn et al. (1988) reviewed the published literature of "coconut oil'seffect on serum cholesterol and atherogenesis" and concluded that when "fedphysiologically with other fats or adequately supplemented with linoleicacid, coconut oil is a neutral fat in terms of atherogenicity".After reviewing this same literature, Kurup and Rajmohan (1995) conducted astudy on 64 volunteers and found "no statistically significant alteration inthe serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDLcholesterol/total cholesterol ratio and LDL cholesterol/HDL cholesterolratio of triglycerides from the baseline values". A beneficial effect ofadding the coconut kernel to the diet was noted by these researchers.Kaunitz and Dayrit (1992) reviewed some of the epidemiological andexperimental data regarding coconut-eating groups and noted that the"available population studies show that dietary coconut oil does not lead tohigh serum cholesterol nor to high coronary heart disease mortality ormorbidity".They noted that, in 1989, Mendis et al. reported undesirable lipid changeswhen young adult Sri Lankan males were changed from their normal diets bythe substitution of corn oil for their customary coconut oil. Although thetotal serum cholesterol decreased 18.7% from 179.6 to 146.0 mg/dL and theLDL cholesterol decreased 23.8% from 131.6 to 100.3 mg/dL, the HDLcholesterol decreased 41.4% from 43.4 to 25.4 mg/dL (putting the HDL valuesvery much below the acceptable lower limit of 35 mg/dL) and the LDL/HDLratio increased 30% from 3.0 to 3.9. These latter two changes are consideredquite undesirable.Mendis and Kumarasunderam (1990) also compared the effect of coconut oil andsoy oil in normolipidemic young males, and again the coconut oil resulted inan increase in the HDL cholesterol, whereas the soy oil reduced thisdesirable lipoprotein.As noted above, Kurup and Rajmohan (1995), who studied the addition ofcoconut oil alone to previously mixed fat diets, had reported no significantdifference from baseline.Previously, Prior et al. (1981) had shown that islanders with high intakesof coconut oil showed "no evidence of the high saturated fat intake having aharmful effect in these populations". When these groups migrated to NewZealand, however, and lowered their intake of coconut oil, their totalcholesterol and LDL cholesterol increased and their HDL cholesteroldecreased. Statements that any saturated fat is a dietary problem is notsupported by evidence (Enig, 1993).Studies that allegedly showed a "hypercholesterolemic" effect of coconut oilfeeding usually only showed that coconut oil was not as effective atlowering the serum cholesterol as was the more unsaturated fat to whichcoconut oil was being compared. This appears to be in part because coconutoil does not "drive" cholesterol into the tissues as do the morepolyunsaturated fats. The chemical analysis of the atheroma showed that thefatty acids from the cholesterol esters are 74% unsaturated (41% of thetotal fatty acids is polyunsaturated) and only 24% are saturated. None ofthe saturated fatty acids was reported to be lauric acid or myristic acid(Felton et al., 1994).There is another aspect to the coronary heart disease picture. This isrelated to the initiation of the atheromas that are reported to be blockingarteries. Recent research shows that there is a causative role for theherpes virus and cytomegalovirus in the initial formation of atheroscleroticplaques and the reclogging of arteries after angioplasty (New York Times,January 29, 1991). What is so interesting is that the herpes virus andcytomegalovirus are both inhibited by the antimicrobial lipid monolaurin,but monolaurin is not formed in the body unless there is a source of lauricacid in the diet.Thus, ironically enough, one could consider the recommendations to avoidcoconut and other lauric oils as contributing to the increased incidence ofcoronary heart disease.Chlamydia pneumoniae, a gram-negative bacterium, is another of themicro-organisms suspected of playing a role in atherosclerosis by provokingan inflammatory process that would result in the oxidation of lipoproteinswith induction of cytokines and production of proteolystic enzymes - atypical phenomenon in atherosclerosis (Saikku, 1997). Some of the pathogenicgram-negative bacteria with an appropriate chelator have been reported to beinactivated or killed by lauric acid and monolaurin as well as capric acidand monocaprin (Bergsson et al., 1997; Thormar et al., 1999).However, the micro-organisms which are most frequently identified asprobable causative infecting agents are in the herpes virus family andinclude cytomegalovirus, type 2 herpes simplex (HSV-2) and Coxsackie B4virus.The evidence for a causative role for cytomegalovirus is the strongest(Ellis, 1997; Visseren et al., 1997; Zhou et al., 1996; Melnick et al.,1996; Epstein et al., 1996; Chen and Yang, 1995), but a role for HSV-2 isalso shown (Raza-Ahmad et al., 1995).All members of the herpes virus family are reported to be killed by thefatty acids and monoglycerides from saturated fatty acids ranging from C-6to C-14 (Isaacs et al., 1991), which include approximately 80% of the fattyacids in coconut oil.In spite of what has been said over the past four or more decades about theculpability of the saturated fatty acids in heart disease, they areultimately going to be held blameless. More and more research is showing theproblem to be related to oxidised products. The naturally saturated fatssuch as coconut oil are one protection we have against oxidised products.Go to Part 2--About the Author:Dr Mary G. Enig holds an MS and PhD in Nutritional Sciences from theUniversity of Maryland in the USA. She is a consulting nutritionist andbiochemist of international renown and an expert in fats/oils analysis andmetabolism, food chemistry and composition and nutrition and dietetics.Dr Enig is Director of the Nutritional Sciences Division of Enig Associates,Inc., President of the Maryland Nutritionists Association and a Fellow ofthe American College of Nutrition. She is also Vice President of the WestonA. Price Foundation and Science Editor of the Foundation's publication. DrEnig has many years of experience as a lecturer and has taughtgraduate-level courses for the Nutritional Sciences Program at theUniversity of Maryland, where she was a Faculty Research Associate in theLipids Research Group, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Universityof Maryland. She also maintains a limited clinical practice for patientsneeding nutritional assessment and consultation.Dr Enig has extensive experience consulting and lecturing on nutrition toindividuals, medical and allied health groups, the food processing industryand state and federal governments in the US. She also lectures and acts as aconsultant to the international health and food processing communities.Since 1995 she has been invited to make presentations at scientific meetingsin Europe, India, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Micronesia.Dr Enig is the author of numerous journal publications, mainly on fats andoils research and nutrient/drug interactions. She also wrote the book KnowYour Fats (Bethesda Press, Silver Spring, MD, May 2000). She is a popularmedia spokesperson and was an early critic speaking out about the use oftrans fatty acids and advocating their inclusion in nutritional labelling.One of Dr Enig's recent research topics dealt with the development of anutritional protocol for proposed clinical trials of a non-drug treatmentfor HIV/AIDS patients. Her articles, "The Oiling of America" and "Tragedyand Hype: The Third International Soy Symposium", written with nutritionist/researcher Sally Fallon, were published in NEXUS 6/01 - 2 and 7/03respectively.References: a.. Aveywardena MY and Charnock JS. Dietary lipid modification ofmyocardial eicosanoids following ischemia and reperfusion in the rat. Lipids1995;30:1151-1156. b.. Awad AB. Effect of dietary lipids on composition and glucoseutilization by rat adipose tissue. Journal of Nutrition 1981;111:34-39. c.. Bakker N, Van't Veer P, Zock PL. Adipose fatty acids and cancers ofhte breast, prostate and colon: an ecological study. EURAMIC Study Group.International Journal of Cancer 1997;72:587-591. d.. Bergsson G, Arnfinnsson J, Karlsson SM, Steingrimsson O, Thormar H. Invitro inactivation of Chlamydia trachomatis by fatty acids andmonoglycerides. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 1998;42:2290-2294. e.. Bibby DC, Grimble RF. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha and endotoxininduce less prostaglandin E2 production from hypothalami of rats fed coconutoil than from hypothalami of rats fed maize oil. Clinical Science (Colch)1990;79:657-62. f.. Bierenbaum JL, Green DP, Florin A, Fleishman AI, Caldwell AB.Modified-fat dietary management of the young male with coronary disease: afive-year report. Journal of the American Medical Association1967;202:1119-1123. g.. Blackburn GL, Kater G, Mascioli EA, Kowalchuk M, Babayan VK, BistrianBR. A reevaluation of coconut oil's effect on serum cholesterol andatherogenesis. The Journal of the Philippine Medical Association1989;65:144-152. h.. Boddie, RL and Nickerson, SC. Evaluation of postmilking teatgermicides containing Lauricidin, saturated fatty acids, and lactic acid.Journal of Dairy Science 1992;75:1725-1730. i.. Castelli WP. Editorial: Concerning the possibility of a nut. Archivesof Internal Medicine 1992;152:1371-2. j.. Cha YS, Sachan DS. Opposite effects of dietary saturated andunsaturated fatty acids on ethanol-pharmacokinetics, triglycerides andcarnitines. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1994;13:338-343. k.. Chen A, Li W, Yang Y. [Detection of human cytomegalovirus DNA invascular plaques of atherosclerosis by in situ hybridization] (translationfrom Chinese). Chung Hua I Hsueh Tsa Chih 1995;10:592-593, 638. l.. Cleary MP, Phillips FC, Morton RA. Genotype and diet effects in leanand obese Zucker rats fed either safflower or coconut oil diets. Proceedingsof the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 1999;220:153-161. m.. Clevidence BA, Judd JT, Schaefer EJ, Jenner JL, Lichtenstein AH,Muesing RA, Wittes J, Sunkin ME. Plasma lipoprotein (a) levels in men andwomen consuming diets enriched in saturated, cis-, or trans-mono-unsaturatedfatty acids. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 1997;17:1657-1661. n.. Cohen LA, Thompson DO, Maeura Y, Choi K, Blank M, Rose DP. Dietary fatand mammary cancer. I. Promoting effects of different dietary fats onN-nitrosomethylurea-induced rat mammary tumorigenesis. Journal of theNational Cancer Institute 1986;77:33. o.. Cohen LA, Thompson DO, Choi K, Blank M, Rose DP. Dietary fat andmammary cancer. II. Modulation of serum and tumour lipid composition andtumour prostaglandins by different dietary fats: Association with tumourincidence patterns. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1986;77:43. p.. Crouch AA, Seow WK, Whitman LM, Thong YH. Effect of human milk andinfant milk formulae on adherence of Giardia intestinalis. Transactions ofthe Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 1991;85:617-619. q.. Dave JR, Koenig ML, Tortella FC, Pieringer RA, Doctor BP, Ved HS.Dodecylglycerol provides partial protection against glutamate toxicity inneuronal cultures derived from different regions of embryonic rat brain.Molecular Chemistry and Neuropathology 1997;30:1-13. r.. Dodge JA and Sagher FA. Antiviral and antibacterial lipids in humanmilk and infant formula. Archives of Disease in Childhood 1991;66:272-273. s.. Ellis RW. Infection and coronary heart disease. Journal of MedicalMicrobiology 1997;46:535-539. t.. Enig MG. Diet, serum cholesterol and coronary heart disease, in MannGV (ed): Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense. JanusPublishing, London, 1993, pp 36-60. u.. Enig, MG. Lauric oils as antimicrobial agents: theory of effect,scientific rationale, and dietary applications as adjunct nutritionalsupport for HIV-infected individuals. In Nutrients and Foods in AIDS (RRWatson, ed), CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1998, pp 81-97. v.. Enig MG, Atal S, Sampugna J and Keeney M. Isomeric Trans Fatty Acidsin the US Diet. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1990;9:471-486. w.. Epstein SE, Speir E, Zhou YF, Guetta E, Leon M, Finkel T. The role ofinfection in restenosis and atherosclerosis: focus on cytomegalovirus.Lancet 1996;348 Supplement 1:S13-17. x.. Eraly MG. IV. Coconut oil and heart attack. Coconut and Coconut Oil inHuman Nutrition, Proceedings. Symposium on Coconut and Coconut Oil in HumanNutrition, 27 March 1994. Coconut Development Board, Kochi, India, 1995, pp63-64. y.. Felton CV, Crook D, Davies MJ, Oliver MF. Dietary polyunsaturatedfatty acids and composition of human aortic plaques. Lancet1994;344:1195-1196. z.. Fletcher RD, Albers AC, Albertson JN, Kabara JJ. Effects ofmonoglycerides on Mycoplasma pneumoniae growth. In The PharmacologicalEffect of Lipids II (JJ Kabara, ed), American Oil Chemists' Society,Champaign, IL, 1985, pp 59-63. aa.. Florentino RF, Aquinaldo AR. Diet and cardiovascular disease in thePhilippines. The Philippine Journal of Coconut Studies 1987;12:56-70. ab.. Garfinkel M, Lee S, Opara EC, Akkwari OE. Insulinotropic potency oflauric acid: a metabolic rational for medium chain fatty acids (MCF) in TPNformulation. Journal of Surgical Research 1992;52:328-333. ac.. Gerster H. Can adults adequately convert alpha-linolenic acid(18:3n-3) to eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid(22:6n-3)? International Journal of Vitamin and Nutrition Research1998;68:159-173. ad.. Gottesman S. Making Sense of Shortenings. Baking Buyer August 1998,pp 45-49. ae.. Grundy SM. Cholesterol metabolism in man, Western Journal of Medicine128:13;1978. af.. Halden VW, Lieb H. Influence of biologically improved coconut oilproducts on the blood cholesterol levels of human volunteers. Nutr Dieta1961;3:75-88. ag.. Hargrove JL, Hwang J, Wickwire K, Liu J. Diets with corn oil orsoybean oil increase acute acetaminophen hepatotoxicity compared to dietswith beef tallow. The FASEB Journal 1999;13:A222, Abstract 204.1. ah.. Hashim SA, Clancy RE, Hegsted DM, Stare FJ. Effect of mixed fatformula feeding on serum cholesterol level in man. American Journal ofClinical Nutrition 1959;7:30-34. ai.. Hegsted DM, McGandy RB, Myer ML, Stare FJ. Quantitative effects ofdietary fat on serum cholesterol in man. American Journal of ClinicalNutrition 1965;17:281-295. aj.. Hernell O, Ward H, Blackberg L, Pereira ME. Killing of Giardialamblia by human milk lipases: an effect mediated by lipolysis of milklipids. Journal of Infectious Diseases 1986;153:715-720. ak.. Hierholzer, J.C. and Kabara, J.J. In vitro effects of monolaurincompounds on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses. Journal of Food Safety1982;4:1-12. al.. Hodgson JM, Wahlqvist ML, Boxall JA, and Balazs ND. Can linoleic acidcontribute to coronary artery disease? American Journal of ClinicalNutrition 1993;58:228-234. am.. Holland KT, Taylor D, Farrell AM. The effect of glycerol monolaurateon growth of, and production of toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 and lipase byStaphylococcus aureus. Journal of Anti-microbial Chemotherapy 1994;33:41-55. an.. Hornstra G, van Houwelingen AC, Kester AD, and Sundram K. A palmoil-enriched diet lowers serum lipoprotein(a) in normocholesterolemicvolunteers. Atherosclerosis 1991;90:91-93. ao.. Hornung B, Amtmann E, Sauer G. Lauric acid inhibits the maturation ofvesicular stomatitis virus. Journal of General Virology 1994;75:353-361. ap.. Hostmark AT, Spydevold O, Eilertsen E. Plasma lipid concentration andliver output of lipoproteins in rats fed coconut fat or sunflower oil.Artery 1980;7:367-383. aq.. Huang SC, Frische KL. Alteration in mouse splenic phospholipid fattyacid composition and lymphoid cell populations by dietary fat. Lipids1992;27:25-32. ar.. Isaacs CE, Thormar H. Membrane-disruptive effect of human milk:inactivation of enveloped viruses. Journal of Infectious Diseases1986;154:966-971. as.. Isaacs CE, Thormar H. Human milk lipids inactivated envelopedviruses. in Breastfeeding, Nutrition, Infection and Infant Growth inDeveloped and Emerging Countries (Atkinson SA, Hanson LA, Chandra RK, eds)Arts Biomedical Publishers and Distributors, St John's, NF, Canada, 1990. at.. Isaacs CE, Thormar H. The role of milk-derived antimicrobial lipidsas antiviral and antibacterial agents. In Immunology of Milk and the Neonate(Mestecky J, et al., eds), Plenum Press, New York, 1991. au.. Isaacs CE, Schneidman K. Enveloped Viruses in Human and Bovine Milkare Inactivated by Added Fatty Acids (FAs) and Monoglycerides (MGs). FASEBJournal 1991;5, Abstract 5325, p A1288. av.. Isaacs CE, Kashyap S, Heird WC, Thormar H. Antiviral andantibacterial lipids in human milk and infant formula feeds. Archives ofDisease in Childhood 1990;65:861-864. aw.. Isaacs CE, Litov RE, Marie P, Thormar H. Addition of lipases toinfant formulas produces antiviral and antibacterial activity. Journal ofNutritional Biochemistry 1992;3:304-308. ax.. Isaacs CE, Kim KS, Thormar H. Inactivation of enveloped viruses inhuman bodily fluids by purified lipids. Annals of the New York Academy ofSciences 1994;724:457-464. ay.. Jones PJH. Regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis by diet in humans.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997;66:438-446. az.. Judd JT, Clevidence BA, Muesing RA, Wittes J, Sunkin ME, and PodczasyJJ. Dietary Trans Fatty Acids: Effects on Plasma Lipids and Lipoproteins ofHealthy Men and Women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1994;59:861-868. ba.. Kabara JJ. Fatty acids and derivatives as antimicrobial agents: Areview. In The Pharmacological Effect of Lipids (JJ Kabara, ed), AmericanOil Chemists' Society, Champaign IL, 1978. bb.. Kabara JJ. Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus. In ThePharmacological Effect of Lipids II (JJ Kabara, ed), American Oil Chemists'Society, Champaign IL, 1985, pp.71-75. bc.. Kaunitz H. Toxic effects of polyunsaturated vegetable oils. InSymposium on the Pharmacological Effect of Lipids (JJ Kabara, ed), AmericanOil Chemists' Society, Champaign, IL, 1978, pp 203-210. bd.. Kaunitz H, Dayrit CS. Coconut oil consumption and coronary heartdisease. Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine 1992;30:165-171. be.. Keys A, Anderson JT, Grande F. Prediction of serum-cholesterolresponses of man to changes in the diet. Lancet 959;1957. bf.. Khosla P and Hayes KC. Dietary trans-mono-unsaturated fatty acidsnegatively impact plasma lipids in humans: critical review of the evidence.Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1996;15:325-339. bg.. Kohlmeier L, Simonsen N, van't Veer P, Strain JJ, Martin-Moreno JM,Margolin B, Huttunen JK, Fernandez-Crehuet Navajas J, Martin BC, Thamm M,Kardinaal AF, Kok FJ. Adipose tissue trans fatty acids and breast cancer inthe European Community Multicenter Study on Antioxidants, MyocardialInfarction, and Breast Cancer. Cancer Epidemiology and Biomarkers Prev1997;6:705-10. bh.. Kramer JK, Sauer FD, Farnworth ER, Stevenson D, Rock GA.Hematological and lipid changes in newborn piglets fed milk-replacer dietscontaining erucic acid. Lipids 1998;33:1-10. bi.. Kurup PA, Rajmohan T. II. Consumption of coconut oil and coconutkernel and the incidence of atherosclerosis. Coconut and Coconut Oil inHuman Nutrition, Proceedings. Symposium on Coconut and Coconut Oil in HumanNutrition, 27 March 1994. Coconut Development Board, Kochi, India, 1995, pp35-59. bj.. Lim-Sylianco CY. Anticarcinogenic effect of coconut oil. ThePhilippine Journal of Coconut Studies 1987;12:89-102. bk.. Lu Z, Hendrich S, Shen N, White PJ, Cook LR. Low linolenate andcommercial soybean oils diminish serum HDL cholesterol in young free-livingadult females. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1997;16:562-569. bl.. Macallan DC, Noble C, Baldwin C, Foskett M, McManus T, Griffin GE.Prospective analysis of patterns of weight change in stage IV hulmanimmunodeficiency virus infection. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1993;58:417-24. bm.. Mann GV. A short history of the diet/heart hypothesis. In Mann GV(ed), Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense. JanusPublishing, London, 1993, pp 1-17. bn.. McWhinney VJ, Pond WG, Mersmann HJ. Ontogeny and dietary modulationof 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase activities in neonatal pigs.Journal of Animal Science 1996;74:2203-10. bo.. Melnick JL, Adam E, DeBakey ME. Cytomegalovirus and atherosclerosis.Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis (Wroclaw) 1996;44:297-302. bp.. Mendis S, Kumarasunderam R. The effect of daily consumption ofcoconut fat and soyabean fat on plasma lipids and lipoproteins of youngnormolipidaemic men. British Journal of Nutrition 1990;63:547-52. bq.. Mendis S, Wissler RW, Bridenstine RT, Podbielski FJ. The effects ofreplacing coconut oil with corn oil on human serum lipid profiles andplatelet derived factors active in atherogenesis. Nutrition ReportsInternational 40:4, Oct 1989. br.. Mensink RP and Katan MB. Effect of Dietary Trans Fatty Acids onHigh-Density and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in HealthySubjects. The New England Journal of Medicine 1990;323:439-445. bs.. Monserrat AJ, Romero M, Lago N, Aristi C. Protective effect ofcoconut oil on renal necrosis occurring in rats fed a methyl-deficient diet.Renal Failure 1995;17:525-537. bt.. Nanji AA, Sadrzadeh SM, Yang EK, Fogt F, Maydani M, Dannenberg AJ.Dietary saturated fatty acids: a novel treatment for alcoholic liverdisease. Gastroenterology 1995;109:547-554. bu.. Nelson GJ. Dietary fat, trans fatty acids, and risk of coronary heartdisease. Nutrition Reviews 1998;56:250-252. bv.. Nelson SE, Rogers RR, Frantz JA, Ziegler EE. Palm olein in infantformula: absorption of fat and minerals by normal infants. American Journalof Clinical Nutrition 1996;64:291-296. bw.. New York Times, Medical Science, Tuesday, January 29, 1991. Commonvirus seen as having early role in arteries' clogging (byline SandraBlakeslee). bx.. Ng TKW, Hassan K, Lim JB, Lye MS, Ishak R. Nonhypercholesterolemiceffects of a palm-oil diet in Malaysian volunteers. American Journal ofClinical Nutrition 1991;53:1015S-1020S. by.. Oh DH and Marshall DL. Antimicrobial activity of ethanol, glycerolmonolaurate or lactic acid against Listeria monocytogenes. InternationalJournal of Food and Microbiology 1993;20:239-246. bz.. Oliart-Ros RM, Torres-Marquez ME, Badillo A, Guerrero OA. Effects ofdietary polyunsaturated fatty acids on sucrose-induced cardiovascularsyndrome in rats. 89th AOCS Annual Meeting Abstracts, H & N 5: General Healthand Nutrition II, p 76, Chicago, IL, May 10-13, 1998. ca.. Petschow BW, Batema RP, Ford LL. Susceptibility of Helicobacterpylori to bactericidal properties of medium-chain monoglycerides and freefatty acids. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 1996;40:302-306. cb.. Pietinen P, Ascherio A, Korhonen P, Hartman AM, Willett WC, AlbanesD, Virtamo J. Intake of fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease in acohort of Finnish men. The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer PreventionStudy. American Journal of Epidemiology 1997;145:876-887. cc.. Portillo MP, Serra F, Simon E, del Barrio AS, Palou A. Energyrestriction with high-fat diet enriched with coconut oil gives higher UCP1and lower white fat in rats. International Journal of Obesity and RelatedMetabolic Disorders 1998;22:974-9. cd.. Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z. Cholesterol,coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapukaand Tokelau Island studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1981;34:1552-1561. ce.. Projan SJ, Brown-Skrobot S, Schlievert PM, Vandenesch F, Novick RP.Glycerol monolaurate inhibits the production of beta-lactamase, toxic shocktoxin-1, and other staphylococcal exoproteins by interfering with signaltransduction. Journal of Bacteriology 1994;176:4204-4209. cf.. Ravnskov U. Quotation bias in reviews of the diet-heart idea. Journalof Clinical Epidemiology 1995;48:713-719. cg.. Raza-Ahmad A, Klassen GA, Murphy DA, Sullivan JA, Kinley CE,Landymore RW, Wood JR. Evidence of type-2 herpes simplex infection in humancoronary arteries at the time of coronary artery bypass surgery. CanadianJournal of Cardiology 1995;11:1025-1029. ch.. Reddy BS, Maeura Y. Tumour promotion of dietary fat inazoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis in female F 344 rats. Journal ofthe National Cancer Institute 1984;72:745-750. ci.. Reiner DS, Wang CS, Gillin FD. Human milk kills Giardia lamblia bygenerating toxic lipolytic products. Journal of Infectious Diseases1986;154:825-832. cj.. Saikku P. Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis - an update.Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases Supplement 1997;104:53-56. ck.. Sircar S, Kansra U. Choice of cooking oils - myths and realities.Journal of the Indian Medical Association 1998;96:304-307. cl.. Sands JA, Auperin DD, Landin PD, Reinhardt A, Cadden SP. Antiviraleffects of fatty acids and derivatives: lipid-containing bacteriophages as amodel system. In The Pharmacological Effect of Lipids (JJ Kabara, ed),American Oil Chemists' Society, Champaign, IL, 1978, pp 75-95. cm.. Smit MJ, Wolters H, Temmerman AM, Kuipers F, Beynen AC, Vonk RJ.Effects of dietary corn and olive oil versus coconut fat on biliarycholesterol secretion in rats. International Journal of Vitamin andNutrition Research 1994;64:75-80. cn.. Smith RL. The Cholesterol Conspiracy. Warren H Green Inc., St Louis,Missouri, 1991. co.. Sugano M, Ikeda I. Metabolic interactions between essential andtrans-fatty acids. Current Opinions in Lipidology 1996;7:38-42. cp.. Sundram K, Hayes KC, Siru OH. Dietary palmitic acid results in lowerserum cholesterol than does a lauric-myristic acid combination innormolipemic humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994;59:841-846. cq.. Tappia PS, Grimble RF. Complex modulation of cytokine induction byendotoxin and tumour necrosis factor from peritoneal macrophages of rats bydiets containing fats of different saturated, mono-unsaturated andpolyunsaturated fatty acid composition. Clinical Science (Colch)1994;87:173-178. cr.. Tholstrup T, Marckmann P, Jespersen J, Sandstrom B. Fat high instearic acid favorably affects blood lipids and factor VII coagulantactivity in comparison with fats high in palmitic acid or high in myristicand lauric acids. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994;59:371-377. cs.. Thormar H, Isaacs EC, Brown HR, Barshatzky MR, Pessolano T.Inactivation of enveloped viruses and killing of cells by fatty acids andmonoglycerides. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 1987;31:27-31. ct.. Trautwein EA, Kunath-Rau A, Dietrich J, Drusch S, Erberdobler HF.Effect of dietary fats rich in lauric, myristic, palmitic, oleic or linoleicacid on plasma, hepatic and biliary lipids in cholesterol-fed hampsters.British Journal of Nutrition 1997;77:605-620. cu.. Visseren FL, Bouter KP, Pon MJ, Hoekstra JB, Erkelens DV, DieperslootRJ. Patients with diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis; a role forcytomegaloviorus? Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice (Limerick)1997;36:49-55. cv.. Wan JM, Grimble RF. Effect of dietary linoleate content on themetabolic response of rats to Escherichia coli endotoxin. Clinical Science(Colch) 1987;72:383-385. cw.. Wang LL and Johnson EA. Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by fattyacids and monoglycerides. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 1992;58:624-629. cx.. Willett W. Editorial: Challenges for public health nutrition in the1990s. American Journal of Public Health 1990;80:1295-1298. cy.. Witcher KJ, Novick RP, Schlievert PM. Modulation of immune cellproliferation by glycerol monolaurate. Clinical and Diagnostic LaboratoryImmunology 1996;3:10-13. cz.. Zhou YF, Buetta E, Yu ZX, Finkel T, Epstein SE. Human cytomegalovirusincreases modified low-density lipoprotein uptake and scavenger receptormRNA expression in vascular smooth muscle cells. Journal of ClinicalInvestigation 1996;98:2129-The homepage and the place to sign up for Tracy's Corner is: Mr_Tracys_CornerFor complaints or assistance contact xootsuit26

October 14, 2004

Thanks for this IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION.

I just learned alot from this clarification.

Just me... Jan

=======================================

On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 09:51:54 -0400 Walt <kortron writes:

(Moderator's Note) Coconut oil is beneficial especially for certain

conditions and I don't have a problem regarding it, what I do not care

for is the people who sell it, because they mislead consumers by only

giving part of the needed information about it's use and almost non of

the information about it's limitations. The main problem is when it is

touted as a main cooking oil to the exclusion of others. The problem is

that it contains ZERO essential fatty acids and that is what so many

people are already ill from, a lack of certain essential fatty acids.

Coconut oil will do nothing to correct any defeciency of essencial fatty

acids. F.)

-

Walt

Thursday, October 14, 2004 9:40 AM

[Mr_Tracys_Corner] The health Benefits Of Coconuts & Coconut Oil

Part 1 Of 2

The Health Benefits of Coconuts & Coconut Oil

Part 1 of 2

Coconuts and coconut oil contain health-promoting saturated fatty acids

and

derivative compounds which have powerful antimicrobial properties.

(Go to Part 2)

--------------------------

----

Extracted from Nexus Magazine, Volume 9, Number 2 (February-March 2002)

PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia. editor

Telephone: +61 (0)7 5442 9280; Fax: +61 (0)7 5442 9381

From our web page at: www.nexusmagazine.com

by Mary G. Enig, PhD, FACN

Nutritional Sciences Division

Enig Associates, Inc.

12501 Prosperity Drive, Suite 340 Silver Spring, MD 20904-1689, USA

Telephone: +1 (301) 680 8600

Fax: +1 (301) 680 8100

Email: marye

........... SNIP ..........

========

..

October 14, 2004

You're are welcome just me. Wink Walt

-

creativesources

Thursday, October 14, 2004 12:52 PM

Fw: [Mr_Tracys_Corner] The health

Benefits Of Coconuts & Coconut Oil Part 1 Of 2