I had been ill for 10 years with mercury poisoning, chemical sensitivities, fatigue, and allergies. Frustrated and broke, I gave up on "conventional cures" and turned to nutrition. After six months of taking coconut oil, cod liver oil, cultured vegetables and probiotic liquids, I began to get stronger and my allergic reactions eventually disappeared. I recovered completely and I did it with food.

We all underestimate the healing power of food and have even demonized fat. For me, food was and is the key to creating and maintaining health. One of these important foods is coconut.

Healing Power of Coconut

Coconut water is unique, full of minerals and nutrition and has been used for the very ill. "It's a natural isotonic beverage with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's the fluid of life, so to speak," says Mr. Morton Satin, Chief of FAO's Agricultural Industries and Post Harvest Management Service.1

Tender coconut water contains most of the minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorous, iron, copper, sulphur and chlorides. Among these minerals, more than half is potassium.

Coconut meat is a nutritious food that is also used to make coconut oil and coconut milk. The fiber is great for stopping diarrhea and calming other bowel disorders. It soaks up toxins and helps the body eliminate them. The medium chain fatty acids in coconut kill off bad bacteria and yeast in the colon, aiding digestion and nutrient absorption.

Virgin Coconut oil is used by the body as energy and not stored as fat. It helps the body absorb vitamins and minerals, prevent depression, ease muscle and joint pain, kill off bad bacteria and protect the heart from disease. It aids in the production of hormones (some of which relieve allergy symptoms), helps to protect the intestine from leaky gut syndrome (which can cause allergies) and kills candida and parasites. Brushing your teeth with coconut oil can help prevent cavities and plaque.

(Virgin coconut oil is made using a natural fermentation method vs. chemicals and processing.)

Coconut oil got a bad reputation when the vegetable industry wanted a share of the market. Virgin coconut oil is not hydrogenated, and is trans fat free. In the 1950's coconut oil was used in all kinds of cookies and processed food. After the market share battle with vegetable oils, it was replaced with trans fats, which are dangerous. Butter, another healthy fat, was replaced by margarine, a trans fat.

"A trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil--a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats.

Trans fat, raises the LDL cholesterol that increases your risk for coronary heart disease." -Quote from the FDA

Oxidized fats and refined oils, which have been stripped of natural antioxidants, are popular in today's modern diet, especially processed vegetable oils, which have been found to accumulate arterial plaque. We take antioxidants to counteract them but it is hard to get enough. Coconut oil is stable, does not oxidize easily, is resistant to free radical attack and can act as an antioxidant, helping to prevent the oxidation of other oils. Coconut oil protects the heart and arteries from being injured by viruses, bacteria or free radicals.

The big diet trend was to claim that fat makes you fat. That is true of vegetable oils but not coconut oil. Coconut oil is used as energy; the body does not store it. Virgin Coconut oil even helps the body absorb Omega 3 fats that are so critical for health.

There are a few rules about cooking with fat, they are simple; don't use vegetable oils (heat destroys them), cook with low heat and use coconut oil or butter. Coconut and butter are less likely to be damaged by heat while vegetable oils are very fragile.

Benefits of Coconut Oil:

Coconut oil boosts the metabolism, lowers cholesterol and can reduce the risk of heart disease. It helps with diabetes, thyroid and Chronic Fatigue, is easy to digest and helps those with ulcers, Colitis, Crohns and IBS.

Coconut oil helps reduce inflammation and immune responses, caused by allergies, and promotes beautiful skin by protecting against the free radical damage that causes aging. Topically, it rejuvenates skin, prevents wrinkles and helps to heal wounds and reduce acne.

The medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic and kill fungus and yeast (Candida). They also boost the immune system, and can help with HIV.

Fat is Misunderstood

Not all saturated fat is bad. Some are as essential to the health of the body as fish oil.

Fat is key in the production of major hormones. Hormones that are essential for controlling allergic reactions and many other important bodily functions. Fat can be hard to digest, except for coconut oil and butter, which don't have to be digested by the liver/gallbladder.  Bad fats and transfats interfere with fat digestion.  Introduce good fat slowly.

Know Your Food Supply

Healing with food is the only way to create long-term health. Medication is usually just a band-aid directed at symptoms. Most disease gets a foothold because of some type of nutritional deficiency, which will manifest again, unless it is resolved. Good health is not a mystery reserved for scientists. It is available to everyone, via whole nutritious food, grown organically, in nutrient dense soil. Meat should come from animals eating natural nutrient dense food instead of processed meal and grains.

Food crops fertilized with chemicals and sprayed with pesticides do not have all of the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy. Many chemicals actually cause nutrient deficiencies in both plants and the soil. Food that has been irradiated and sterilized no longer contains the beneficial enzymes and bacteria that the body needs to maintain digestive flora. Crops grown in nutritionally deficient soil lack the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to create health.

The quality of our food supply depends on our being knowledgeable enough to demand the best and to understand and question where our food comes from and how it is grown. Nutrition in the soil = nutrition in the food = nutrition for the body.

I was surprised that I could get strong again. I am still so amazed when spring hits and I have no allergic reactions. I can go out in our polluted world and not be overwhelmed with chemical sensitivities, I can go to the gym and work out for 2 hours when only a couple of years ago, I couldn't lift my leg to put it in my jeans! And the best part is, I did it with food.

Note: This is not a recommendation or medical advice. This information has not been approved by the FDA.

References:

• http://coconutboard.nic.in/cdb.htm
• Coconut Oil Miracle, by Bruce Fife.

Beverly Hartsfield
www.earthincommon.com

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