Is Coconut Oil Good for Brain Health?
Can coconut oil treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease? What are the benefits of coconut oil and MCTs for brain health?
There’s a lot of buzz right now about coconut oil being good for your brain. The primary argument is that coconut oil is rich in medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs, which are metabolized a little differently than most types of fat. The MCTs in coconut oil break down into ketones, which can be used by brain cells for fuel. The idea is that supplying the brain with some extra fuel might make it run better.
Under normal circumstances, brain cells use glucose for energy. But because your brain is so important to your survival, there’s a back-up plan. If you run out of glucose, your body starts to convert stored fats into ketones, which are transported to the brain. It’s a little like having a back-up generator for your house. If you lose power during a storm, the back-up generator will kick in to keep the lights on.
Although it’s certainly better than being in the dark, most back-up generators are designed to be used only in emergencies until regular power is restored. Similarly, although they will gladly use ketones when no other energy source is available, healthy brain cells will preferentially burn glucose if it’s available.
So the fact that coconut oil supplies ketones doesn’t necessarily mean that the brain will use them for fuel. And perhaps that’s why I can’t find any studies showing that simply adding coconut oil to the diet leads to improvement in cognitive function in people with normal brain function.
Can Coconut Oil Treat Alzheimer’s Disease?
People with Alzheimer’s disease, on the other hand, do not have normal brain function. In Alzheimer’s disease, brains cells can become resistant to the effects of insulin, meaning that they don’t take up glucose very effectively. This has led some to describe Alzheimer’s disease as “Diabetes of the Brain,” although this is a bit of an oversimplification.
PET scans of Alzheimer’s patients show that areas of the brain that are having trouble utilizing glucose will readily take up ketones. So the idea that coconut oil could help people with Alzheimer’s by providing an alternate source of fuel is completely reasonable. This theory has been popularized by Mary Newport, a physician who gave coconut oil to her own husband, who was suffering from fairly severe Alzheimer’s dementia, and noticed a dramatic improvement in his cognitive function.
Of course, this was only one patient and coconut oil was only one of several alternative therapies Dr. Newport was trying at the same time. So it’s hard to say how much of the effect she observed was due to the coconut oil. It’s also quite possible (as well as completely understandable) that her assessment may have been influenced by her intense emotional involvement in the situation.
Sadly, her husband lost his battle with Alzheimer’s earlier this year. But Dr. Newport continues to promote a protocol involving large amounts of coconut oil and MCTs as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s. However, there are still plenty of unresolved questions—not just about the effectiveness of this therapy, but also about its safety. In a recent review of the evidence published in Current Psychiatry Reports, the authors conclude that “the use of coconut oil is not recommended for those suffering from AD [because]… the potential benefit does not outweigh the risks.”
Nonetheless, many families facing a bleak prognosis have decided that Dr. Newport’s anecdotal experience is all the evidence they need. Newport has now collected a couple of hundred reports from families who felt that coconut oil led to improvement in their family members’ symptoms—although not always as dramatic as the improvement that Dr. Newport reported. One man shared that, after starting the coconut oil, his severely demented wife was able to recognize that she needed to use the bathroom instead of soiling herself. However, he goes on, she still didn’t know where the bathroom was or what to do once she got there.
In terms of solid evidence, all of these anecdotal reports have the same weaknesses as the original: lots of uncontrolled variables, a lack of objective observers and/or measures, and the strong possibility of placebo effect. We also have no idea what percentage of cases these success stories represent, because we are much more likely to hear from those who perceived an improvement than we are from those who didn’t. We also don’t know how many people had to discontinue using coconut oil due to adverse effects.
Fortunately, there have now been a couple of more properly designed studies and there are more on the way. Among the questions being studied are what percentage of patients see improvement in cognitive function with coconut oil (or compounds derived from coconut oil), which types of patients get the best results, how much improvement those people see, how long the improvement might last, how much you have to take to get the best response, and whether there are any side effects or risks at the effective dose.
As those answers become known, you can be sure I’ll let you know.
Finally, some have suggested that coconut oil could protect you from developing Alzheimer’s disease in the first place. Unfortunately, this is sheer speculation. There’s really no evidence one way or the other. In fact, the strongest evidence that we have on dietary patterns that might reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s is for the so-called MIND diet. I’ll talk about that in a future episode, but it does not involve any coconut oil.
Should You Use Coconut Oil?
I don’t see any harm in using coconut oil as one of the sources of fat in your diet. Saturated fats like coconut oil are not the villains we’ve been led to think, and they even have some health benefits.
See also: How Saturated Fat Could Help Your Heart
While I think that coconut can be a healthy addition to your diet, I don’t recommend using coconut oil as your ONLY source of fat. The other types of fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) each provide unique benefits that I wouldn’t want you to miss out on. Getting some of each is probably the best way to maximize your benefits and minimize your risks.
And, as long as we’re on the subject, just as I don’t advise going on a very low-fat diet, I also don’t recommend a diet that is extremely high in fat. At the risk of sounding like Goldilocks, my best advice (which is supported by the preponderance of evidence) is to consume a balance of high quality carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, which you can get simply by eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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About the Author
Monica Reinagel is a board-certified licensed nutritionist, author, and the creator of one of iTunes’ most highly ranked health and fitness podcasts. Her advice is regularly featured on the TODAY show, Dr. Oz, NPR, and in the nation’s leading newspapers, magazines, and websites. Do you have a nutrition question? Call the Nutrition Diva listener line at 443-961-6206. Your question could be featured on the show.
