Has anyone had a good result from using coconut oil in treating the symptoms of Alzheimers, dementia, or Parkinsons?

Carol: I think this is a very worthwhile topic. I am reposting my comment from the other thread:

Your experience was similar to that of Dr. Mary Newport, MD. Her husband had developed early stage Alz. and his doctors suggested placing him in a nursing home. She conducted research on certain fats and ketones. I am still sifting through the articles online, but find this promising....at least the side effects of coconut oil are minor...any excessive oil in the body would cause the same. Her husband received an immediate, positive response as well which was documented by medical testing.

A few years ago, scientist discovered a little village in Italy where people seemed to live long healthy lives. They found this astounding...no drug companies in the area, no FDA, no massive facilities for seniors with Alz. Researchers found that their remarkable health and longevity was due to diet, stress-free lifestyle, and clean environment. Duh! "...they seem to be able to eat fatty meats, cheeses and cream sauces without suffering the most serious consequences. Preliminary results have found cholesterol levels of LDL -- the so-called "bad" cholesterol -- that are much lower than those of most Italians, and HDL levels -- the so-called "good" cholesterol -- that are much higher." Their family members, who moved to the US, had significantly higher incidents of illness.

I am not anti-western medicine, but I do think that we need to introduce naturopathy as a "complimentary" discipline in medical schools. There is so much arrogance within the medical community and it is costing us our health. We also need to allow more time for testing of drugs...they are more potent now because the market demands a "quick fix" to every ailment.

I am not a believer in the "pill" mentality of most Western medicine. And no single natural remedy is a magical cure either. That is why a holisitic approach to health is most beneficial: diet, exercise, clean air and water.... The difficult thing for most Americans is the "maintenance" of health. Most natural approaches take time and persistence. Whereas we "perceive" that popping a pill is so much easier. I often wonder how many people even ask their doctors about a new Rx or do research online....it is frightening.

There are complaints that natural supplements do not go through the scrutiny of the FDA trials. I have noticed so many TV ads for recalls and lawsuits for FDA approved prescription medications. Several years ago drug companies started pushing bone density drugs on post-menopausal women. Now I understand that many of those drugs actually cause brittle bones and other side effects such as "jaw death" which the drug company describes as "dental problems." Same with some of the Alz. drugs.

Also, we need to be good consumers as we are in every other area of our lives. Ask your doctor about any new Rx and don't let them load you up with "samples" that they received from the drug companies. Research the side effects (if one of them is "may cause death" pass on it.) Decide if the benefits outweigh the risks. And look for natural alternatives.

I am especially interested for my Mom who has PD tremors...coconut oil seems to show promise there as well. As with any remedy, natural or not, it may work for some and not for others. But, it is definitely worth investigation.

Here is another resource that I have used for many years: "Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements" by Phyllis A. Balch. It has been my health and nutrition guide and was recommended by my naturopath when I lived in the west. It is especially great for minor illnesses that docs don't even want to deal with.

The reason that we do not have a "vocabulary" when it comes to natural remedies is because there is no profit motive in it. Wellness would just put too many people out of business. ;o)

coconut oil is good for many things . i am a true believer on that ,
theyre good for dry skin . fungus in toe nails . dad has very dry skin on his face , it helps soften the skin , i do put some oil in his scramble eggs and along with his food . easier to have bm too . it is great for many things .
my cat has had ear mites , i put some of it in his ear , vet was so concerned cuz he couldnt find any mites . lol .
if it works for the elders then shall keep elders on it . :-)

linda...glad you mentioned the kittys...my pup has had skin allergies forever and just scratches constantly. I read where coconut oil works for pets. I hope it works for him because the Vet's solution is always cortisone shots...ugh...

I was telling my Mom about coconut's use for PD tremors and it's laxative side effects. She said, "great, I'll kill two birds with one stone!" heh, heh

lili-ur mom is a smart lady ! lol .
oh u shall try that on ur pup . save ya bunch vet bills .
i just put some of it on dad s feet , massages it , ahhh feels good . he says .
off to the store now . xoxo

My 100 year old grandfather has improved cognition and a better personality when he eats a tiny bit of coconut oil each day. However, these improvements fade if he stops eating it for a month.

tptop, I am so glad to hear that it is helping your grandfather. I know that we would never risk taking Bruce off the coconut oil as long as we are able to buy it.

How do you dispense it and how much each day? Does it taste like coconut?
My moms face and scalp is so dry I hope this helps. But also internally she does have some tremors occasionally which I blamed on breathing treatments.
Can you put it in oatmeal and how much? This is very interesting.

You can use it just as you would use butter or oil. The cheaper cold pressed kind is flavorless but the virgin coconut oil tastes wonderful, just like eating coconut. It doesn't need to be refrigerated, and becomes very hard when chilled. At room temperature it is like butter but if it gets warmer than 75 f it turns to clear liquid.
I give my husband at least 3 tablespoons a day in his food. If he starts feeling shaky he takes more.

My mother has advanced Alzheimers and I too have noticed improvement when I put coconut oil in her food. If only she'd eat more food! After reading other people's experiences I think I will start increasing her intake. And maybe use it on her skin instead of the Neem Leaf oil, which while good, isn't very long lasting and smells kind of strong.

PCVS, Putting it on her skin is a good idea. Also, if your mom eats chocolate take some coconut oil and add some cocoa and a bit of maple syrup to it. Spread it out like a chocolate bar on some wax paper and refrigerate it until hard. It's really tasty and healthy too. Let me know if this helps.

She does indeed eat chocolate. I'll give that candy recipe a try, thank you! :)

Where can you buy coconut oil? Someone mentioned side effects, what are they?

The only side effect that may be unwanted is looser bowl movements if you are not used to taking fats. Some people use it to keep from being constipated. I did not find it made a difference with me.

You should be able to buy it at any health food store and even some grocery stores that sell organic foods.

could you supply us with the amounts you gave him; did you give him by the spoonful in his mouth of mix it in with foods. I just saw the lard type at Whole Foods; their 365 brand claims to be good enough to spread on toast. Then, someone also showed me they have coconut butter! The guy showing it to me eats it and loves it; don't know how much coconut is in something like that. I did buy 2 types of coconut water; my mom needs to be continually hydrated so I thought I would start there until I got some coconut ways of cooking.

the water is an excellent rehydrater, but it comes from a different part of the coconut. the oil is what is for the brain. I have been using coconut oil for all my cooking and take a tbl myself daily as a preventive. my mom lives in assisted living and unfortunately cannot remember to take her oil, so i will be making some of that candy-can't believe i did not think of that, she loves chocolate and will remember to eat that.

I bought some for my wife about a month ago along with some of the coconut butter. It might have been a little much as the butter has a high level of fat and she had problems with incontinence that day. I will try a small amount again today and see what happens.
I saw the biggest improvement when I eliminated soy from her diet at the end of last year. At that point she was down 22 pounds and her doctor said I should feed her more. Told the doc she was eating more than I did. It took over a month for her to start gaining weight again but she has been gaining about a pound a week since the first of the month.
The other thing that bothers her is lactose, so finding products that are soy free and lactose is difficult. I found out that even most canned tuna is packed in a soy sauce.

thanksfor explaining the water comes from a different part of the coconut. Well, it wont hurt. When you say you take a tbl for preventative, ick it looks so greesy. Do you mix it with anything or just right out of the jar?

I would love to have any coconut oil receipes.

Simply use it anywhere you would use butter or oil.

Interesting. I think my husband had dementia because of the statins he has had to take to supposedly avoid another heart attack.

I've read that the coconut oil increases the absorption of other medications so I am concerned about the effects it might have on my father's prescriptions. Has anyone seen such an effect or response?

Bruce was eventually able to go off all his medications. The only thing that could happen is that he will need less. That shouldn't be a problem unless the doctor is in the pharmaceutics pocket.

This is great! I have found putting minerals in my mother's tea really helps her not to have colds so much. The memory loss medicine she was on was making her nauseous and dizzy. I took her off of it and those things disappeared. She too eats so little, but she always has. The coconut oil sounds great. I put some all over my body and had an allergic reaction to it. My mentor in these things said it was perhaps making the toxins in my body come out. Always take it slowly with naturopathic substances. They can be quite strong. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Low-Grade Lymphoma Cancer 6 years ago and have done all natural regime of treatment with the concept that disease cant live in an alkaline base (in this case a person's body). Yes i cheat at times but, i learn more and more each day about the way we can live quite healthily if we just learn how to live outside of the toxic physical, mental and environmental environments that surround us. I tell people their first step is to get a shower filter to filter out chlorine that they breathe in from the steam and what goes directly into their bodies as they take a shower. Ok, i could go on all day, i am so excited to hear you are thinking and doing some things in that direction. You will be so glad you did.

I too have thought my wife's dementia was caused by medications she took previously. When I first took over her medications she was taking everything from high blood pressure pills, gout pills, and a ton of other things. After a while I asked the doctors if we could take her off everything and then get her back on the medications she needed. The neurologist was kind of ticked that I thought I could do better than she could but she outlined how to get her off the pills as did our GP. It took almost a year to get her off everything and everytime I took her off something there was an almost immediate improvement. When I finally got her off everything the neurologist said she didn't think she could help us any longer so we have just been working with the GP the past 5 or 6 years. Judy did better off the meds (only thing the GP put her back on was the thyroid pill) than she did on it for 4 or 5 years and has just recently begun to decline more.
Getting away from the point. I talked to the GP about it on our last visit and she was all for it and was even able to tell me what brand I should buy. I tried it and she seemed to be in the bathroom more often (I have to help her each time) and I backed off for a week or so. I started it again almost a week ago, half a teaspoon at a time, the first few days I noticed the increased urinations the first couple days but that seems to have slacked off the past few days. It is probably too early to tell, but I think there are a couple instances where she seems to have figured things out a little better than usual. I will add another half teaspoon to her oatmeal in the morning in a few days and try that for a week or so.

Do you think Coconut oil would help someone with Essential Benigh Tremors? My husband suffers from this and although the hand termors can be controled somewhat with meds the head tremors have not improved even with botox injections in his neck.

A lot of things have happened since I posted the last time. Judy has FTD (Cortical basal degeneration) and she ended up in the hospital after I increased the dose of coconut oil to a half teaspoon. She took off running and ended up on her face on the ground, busted her glasses and I had to call 911 to get her up and to the emergency room.
She spent a couple nights in the hospital and they sent her on to a nursing home where she stayed for 22 days. I have had her home about 2 weeks now and she is regaining her strength. I would be interested in knowing if anybody else with an FTD has tried the coconut oil.

I bought a container of coconut oil, think it was non hydrogenated (never remember which it was), the "better"one. Husband was so good...I put 1 or 2 teaspoons in his coffee in the morning, and he would take another 3 teaspoons on his own! As is, not mixed in anything. Went thru two containers. Sorry, I didnt notice anything different. After two jars, wouldnt I have noticed a change in his Alzheimers? Or was 3 to 4 teaspoons not enough? Maybe I didnt have the right one. But it did taste good, and I do NOT like coconut.

Every person is different to some degree, bio-chemically. That's why different foods and meds act differently for any given person.

And thats why I try ANY mineral vitamin oil whatever that might help even a little. What harm can I do!!