We received our first bottle of MCT Oil. I've read it is also thought to help in weight loss. Think I will try it too - and maybe help my brain in the process.
Hello and welcome back to The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!
Listen in for this amazing interview on Type III Diabetes, otherwise known as Alzheimer’s Disease. Hear Jimmy interview neonatal specialist Dr. Mary Newport on how she struggled to find a way to stop her husband’s slow mental decline into dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Newport found some little known research on the benefits of coconut oil and one of its derivatives (MCTs–medium chain triglycerides) in the treatment of this cruel disorder. Now she wants to share this information with the world because it has not only arrested the development of her husband’s condition, but it has actually begun to REVERSE it in a mere 7 months of diet change!
The secret is feeding your brain with ketone bodies, something we low-carbers know as the “metabolic advantage” of our healthy, low-carb ketogenic diet! This is one podcast interview you DON’T want to miss!
I have an idea to make the fudge a little easier. Rubbermaid (and probably others) makes a plastic ice cube tray with 16 compartments, the type you can twist to pop out the cubes. When I first bought coconut oil I thought it had to be refrigerated - of course it would take a chisel to get it out of the jar, so I started measuring it out into the ice cube trays. The individual cubes pop out easily with a knife. This could also work for the fudge.
I am very happy to hear about Amelia99's friend. I have been trying to get this information to parents of infants and children with Down's syndrome. They have an extra chromosome that carries some of the Alzhiemer's related genes, so they have three copies instead of two. They begin to accumulate beta-amyloid very early in life. I often wonder if their outcome as children would be different if they could start this right away. There are MCTs in breastmilk and added to infant formulas, but therafter there are very few foods these children would receive it from. I think coconut milk would be a very easy way to give this to infants and children. My grandson loves it. And what child doesn't love fudge? I am going to share this story with Dr. Veech.
Regarding D. Veech's ketone ester, he is going to start human toxicity trials this month that will last about two months. He can make the limited quantity for this study in his lab, however, for the much larger Alzheimer's study he will need a larger facility to crank out considerably more. We were in D.C. for the Public Forums, were pleased to attend the hearing of the Special Committee on Aging. Steve and I visited Dr. Veech's lab where I made a presentation for folks at the NIH and Dr. Veech and others from his division presented their research as well. He also plans to study the ketone with Parkinson's disease. For those who don't know, this is the end product of the coconut oil/MCT oil that acts as an alternative fuel for neurons that cannot take up and use glucose. Dr. Veech is learning through his animals studies that there may be even more to how ketones can help with AD than energy production. It is very exciting research. It will be possible to have much higher levels of ketones without all of the extra oil.
Steve keeps improving. My sister and father, who see him every so often, feel that his conversational skills are steadily improving and Steve announced two days ago that he can read "like he used to," meaning better comprehension. His memory for recent events also seems to be improving. He talks about things that happened when we were in D.C. last week, in specific detail. Three days ago he told me about two articles he had read in Scientific American a couple of hours earlier, one about Einstein and the other about neurons. This has not happened for a very long time, more than two years. He started taking CO about 10 1/2 months ago. He is almost always in a good mood.
I made the fudge today with 1cup white bits and 1 cup coconut oil. It is very good but hard to cut. Going to use the trays next time. I think I can reduce the measurement of chips also. I think it was one of our male posters who posted the recipe last year.
I bought some tray of heart shaped 'cubes' at Dollar Store when they had the Valentines stuff. I now just melt chocolate chips (semi-sweet), mix in Almonds and spread on a plate. After they cool I cut with knife and we have our own almond chocolate candy bars!
After my DH's heart attack, I'm afraid of coconut oil but have been using MCT oil. There has been definite improvement. I've finally got a prescription for Axona and have it ordered. Hope to start him on it this week.
Dr. Newport, are you going to use Axona now that it's available or stick with the coconut/MCT oil?
I am wondering if we 'healthy' caregivers take just a teaspoon a day of MCT oil if it will give us some protection against the future? I do figuring it can't hurt.
We are going to stick with the coconut oil/MCT combination. Also regarding the prevention question, the problem of glucose uptake seems to begin at least 10-20 years before symptoms, so I am using coconut oil/MCT oil also, as our our parents and siblings. I had a grandparent on boths sides and maternal aunt that died of AD so I fiugre I am high risk. I don't take as much as Steve but use one tablespoon for at least 2 meals a day instead of the other oils or butter. At breakfast I put it in oatmeal or hot cereal and at lunch and/or dinner I often put a tablespoon on salad plus a tablespoon of low cal or fat free salad dressing.
For DW, I am using MCT FUEL and Nutiva Coconut Oil as well as cumin, cinnamon and today I added the niacinamide 500 mg. I crushed 3 pills up and added it to warm chili that also had MCT FUEL added, and also I made her a cornbread cube with melted coconut oil. DW is more cognitave. She even remembered what I gave her this morning for her non cronic (not always there) back pain, and the day before too.
I am exausted and forgetful (CG) and she remembers stuff I don't.
Truely amazing, and last Neuro visit her Dr said stay on course and wait to try Axona, because DW does not want to be gunea pig with new drug. She offered samples but I forgot...this is helping so we will stay on course. So, what is consensus for this "fudge recipie" I am ready to make this tomorrow, thinking the ice cube trays make sense...
I'm taking MCT oil myself--2-3 teasp. per day. There is AD in my family and I have type 2 diabetes so I figure the arguments for how it works all fit me. I don't know how much it has helped my husband with Lewy Body Dementia, but he has been stable or maybe a little improved cognitively for 6 months now.
I got my MCT Oil in the mail today and have bought the cinnamon and cinnomon capsules and plan to try using them together in things like toast, bisquits, english mujffins and pancakes and waffles and anything else that sounds good. Hope it does some good for my 73 DW in stage 6---7. Bill
I've noticed that Wal-mart has changed what they carry. I was there last week and the coconut oil was discounted to $5 a jar. I use to buy the rexall when they had it but now find they no longer carry it. Rexall use to have fish oil in 2400mg but that stopped too. I think they are going like everyone else - smaller/less product for the same money.
I have a question: I had been giving my dh 5 T of MCT Fuel a day - as worked out by our very much appreciated sunshyne. After about 2 months it seemed to begin to upset his stomach so I reduced it to 3 T. I am now trying to increase it to 4 T - which has been tricky since his stomach has been upset off and on with it. Has anyone else run into this? I give it to him all in the morning as that has given the most improvement in his cognition.
You may have to give the last one late morning or early afternoon. Art has to take it with food and can't take a lot at a time - about 1 tsp. He has both coconut oil and mct oil. He puts the coconut oil on bagels then jam. I will mix the mct into scrambled eggs or other things when I remember. One tbsp a day seems to work well with him. I have started giving him the iron pills that come with my vitamin packet since I can't tolerate iron. It has seemed to help him in the evening of not fading so quickly.
my DH has been low in magnesium a couple of times and it really affected his confusion. we take centrum silver now to make sure he doesnt deplete the minerals needed like magnesium and selenium and b vitamins.. i read sometimes low levels of magnesium can contribute to accumulations of heavy metals in the brain. and heavy metals seem to be a constant in AD brain biopsies at death.. if your spouse gets lab work done you may ask to have them check magnesium levels..divvi
I bought some MCT oil (NOW brand) at the weightlifters supplement/vitamin store here. They were out of that MCT Fuel, so I got the oil.
Tried some myself last night. All I can say is, starting with a teaspoon was too much.... you don't want to know the details LOL -- will try a half teaspoon later today to see if I can acclimate to it more slowly.
Weirdly, though, I noticed that I slept through the night without waking up. That hasn't happened for me in years. Maybe it's coincidence, but..... anybody else tried it themselves and noticed sleep changes?
I bought both MCT Fuel and MCT Oil recently for a dear lady friend who was beginning to complain about forgetting names. Before I could e-mail her suggestions about how much of each to take, and the need to start slowly, she just went ahead and took two Tablespoons of the Oil with an evening meal -- and says she was up until 3:00 a.m. throwing up. But that didn't scare her off completely -- she's still speaking to me and says she's trying to ease into taking it now.
My dh has had no ill effects from the MCT Oil or coconut oil. He takes 1 T. of one or the other. He still takes laxatives. I haven't taken it but I am interested in seeing if it helps with sleep. If so, I am going to try it.
My hb has to take it with food. If by itself he will be sitting on the pot within a half hour. He has a very sensitive system ever since he had GERDS. Start with a teaspoon at a time.
Hi everybody! Life is a little nuts lately so I haven't visited for a while. On the website www.coconutketones.com, I put an update about Steve, his current regimen of MCT and coconut oil, and our trip to Washington D.C. Also, I have PDFs for many of the ketone research papers available so that complete copies of the research can be printed out to read and take to your physicians, etc.
It has been 11 months now since we started this with Steve and he continues to improve still. Lately we are seeing more and more improvement in his recent and short term memory and he feels his reading comprehension is also improving. He used to be an avid reader but gave up completely a couple of years ago, partly related to comprehension, but mostly because of a visual disturbance which caused the words to "shake" or move erratically - this disappeared several months after starting the oil, but comprehension was still a problem until very recently. He is volunteering now at the hospital where I work helping in the warehouse and feels useful again. He would like to have a real job, but still needs to work with someone to actually get things to happen right, so he is not ready for that yet. He would need a very understanding employer.
Regarding the diarrhea problem, for those who can't seem to get past 1/2 or 1 teaspoon, you might try it in the form of grated or flaked coconut, such as with coconut macaroons. It would be digested more slowly and not cause the "dumping" syndrome. I add about 4 tablespoons of grated unsweetened coconut to oatmeal or other hot cereal - could add it to cold cereal also. Each tablespoon of grated coconut has about 3 grams of the coconut fat or oil in it. One tablespoon of oil is about 14 grams. I have even added it to scrambled eggs or frittata (vegetables and eggs) and stir fry. I do this more for myself than Steve, who seems to have a very high tolerance for the MCT and coconut oil. The fiber also seems to help keep one "regular!" There is one brand of macaroons called Jenny's that has all of it's fat in the form of the oil in grated coconut. The large ones are 16 grams and the small ones are 7 grams each of fat (oil). Or you can make them yourself. I have a recipe on the website with the "Diet Guidelines."
It is very gratifying to me that this is helping other people as well. I spend a great deal of time trying to get the message out, so feedback from all of you makes me feel it is time well spent.
I meant to comment on emulsification. It is a process that makes the fat or oil globules smaller and theoretically more will then be absorbed. It is usually done by adding egg lethicin or soy lethicin to foods, but can be done by adding fresh or cooked egg yolk. For example, if you make a smoothie, you could blend melted coconut oil with the egg, then add the other ingredients (this could be easier said than done.) I am not especially comfortable using raw eggs, so, if I add them to a smoothie, I microwave them for about 15 seconds to kill any bacteria, but the egg is still liquid and blends in very easily.
I started my wife on coconut oil a few months ago, then switched to MCT Fuel, then MCT oil. She did have some loose stools, but nothing we couldn't handle. This week I tried Axona. After each dose she said her stomach felt terrible. This usually lasted for 1/2 to 1 hour. After the third time I stopped the Axona and went back to MCT oil. Today she felt fine. On the down side, I have not noticed any improvement. Actually, she is slowly getting worse. (or maybe not so slowly as I think about things we could do last year that we can't this year)
This thread started in October of last year. Quite a few went out and started one level or another of MCT or coconut oil, and for the most part they reported good results. After a couple of months. But now six months in, how do you feel your spouse is doing? I'm getting the sense that a number of us old-timers (6+ months) are seeing declines, or stasis, even though their spouse was taking the oil.
I did NOT start the coconut oil, but by chance did start him on a med new to him at the same time. He has not declined in those six months and indeed has improved, amazingly so, really. He's reading cartoons and flipping through magazines again, which he didn't do for a year or so, he's seldom up in the night, he's watching and to some degree understanding what is going on with movies. Not to say that he doesn't get less "with it" towards the end of the day, but in general I'd say he's doing well. Note, this WITHOUT coconut oil.
So I wonder how much of the improvement isn't the - oh, teachers, what's the effect called? Not quite placebo effect, but maybe that is the best way to describe it.
Swarfmaker, I cannot believe a Neurologist would have said those words. How harsh and unfeeling. - Re: Marsh's wife...you do know he is a retired physician himself, so I'm confident she has been diagnosed correctly. I spent two years trying to find another diagnosis for my husband after I heard AD for the first time. I had a very hard time accepting the fact that it was Alzheimer's. Not my husband.. no way.. Way!
briegull - I have been giving the coconut oil/MCT since Oct. but only 1 T. a day. To me and to our kids, he has better cognative and various other things than he did. I kind of look at our situation with it the same as the Aricept/Namenda. We think it is helping keep him stable somewhat more so than before the oil. If we did not think so we would have discontinued before now. I think each person is effected differently with the disease and each person reacts differently to meds so keeping that in mind we just have to do the best we can. He is going down a path with no end and if I took away his meds he would accelerate to bed pretty quickly. I have always been one to not stay with meds if they don't appear to be helping after a reasonable length of time.
At this time we plan to stay with the coconut oil and MCT Oil. No axona.
I am glad your dh has been pretty stable with the meds he is taking. Be interesting to hear from others.
Swarfmaker, I heard something along the same lines the first time a neurologist looked at my husband's MRI....I asked him what he suggested that we do...he reached across the desk took both my hand and my husband's hand in his and said that his recommendation was to "go home and have the best life you can have." You know, I appreciated that....I already suspected that my husband had AD at the tender age of 50 and I knew what we were facing. I didn't need to hear platitudes and I already knew there was no drug or known therapy so what was he going to say.
So, that is what we did for the next couple of years....those first years were great...my husband couldn't work so he was stress free and thought his "retirement" at the age of 50 was just great. Luckily, he had taken out a private disability policy a few years earlier and that, coupled with his social security disability payment every month afforded us a wonderful income. Of course, all good things come to an end and he went downhill and the rest is history....
If he were still alive, I would have tried the coconut oil stuff...what would we have to lose? None of the drugs like Aricept or Exelon ever worked for him...his descent into hell was pretty steady. But, I enjoy reading of the new "therapies" on the horizon and hope every day to wake up to news that a cure or a vaccine has been discovered.
i felt i needed to try the MCT oil again only half a teaspoon yesterday just to give it another shot. nope, loose stools yesterday and today even with the tiny dose.. we are back on plain ole coconut oil..now i know what to give it he gets constipated..:) coconut oil is working well for us and i see a difference without it. divvi
Sandi-you were both fortunate to have gotten an early wake up call and heeded the message. I hope you will always remember those last few years together before the descent.
divvi, have you tried Axona? DH has been on it for over a week now with no problems. I think it's supposed to have something in it to help with digestive problems and it may have advantages over the MCT/coconut oil. Seems he is remembering more and is always alert and awake during the day.
no dazed, i am holding off for now. the myoclonous jerks that imohr DH had has me leary of giving it to mine -he has them and its scary i dont want to give ANYTHING that could cause an increase. will wait and see. divvi
Discovered a new way to take the MCT Oil. Use it in popcorn. I bought a new microwave popcorn and you can use oil in it, the old one I couldn't. I put a T. of MCT oil in, add salt and 1/4. cup of Orville Ret. popcorn and it is delicious. Coconut oil would work too if you like the coconut flavor in your popcorn. My DH is not a popcorn eater but I am so I have been having the MCT Oil myself now every evening as a bedtime snack.
Just want to hand out some encouragement for those who are using coconut oil, MCT or Axona. Steve had testing today at a research center with the ADAS-COG, a 75 point memory test, and had a nine point improvement from when he had the test July 2008, which was already 2 months after he started taking coconut oil. This took him from the severe to the moderate range. He also improved on the Activities of Daily Living compared to 9+ months ago. I knew that his short term / recent memory has been improving noticably the last couple of months, but it is nice to have an independent, unsubjective person confirm this. Needless to say we are both very happy about this. He told me this evening he no longer feels he is in "gumbo land." I am not sure where that is, but I am glad to have him back!
On May 21, 2009, it will be one year since Steve started taking the coconut oil, and for those who don't know, we later added MCT oil combined with CO and he gets this three times a day. For those who don't know, I have a website with an update, his current regimen, a number of scientific articles about ketones that can be printed out and other information about AD, www.coconutketones.com. This website has information only on it, nothing to sell.
If you are not seeing an improvement in your spouse or parent, hang in there, try increasing the amount if tolerated. In the Axona studies nearly half improved and the other half declined minimally over the study period. They were giving this just once a day. Consider keeping a journal of current symptoms and things that you notice about your loved one for comparison later. Jot down any improvements or declines. This will help you decide months down the road if the person is at least stabilizing. I can't believe how fast the past year has gone and when I look back and look at my notes from last May, it is truly amazing how much better things are this year. I thought I would be a widow before age 60 (I am 57), and now I am much more hopeful that we still have some good years ahead.
marynewport, that is great news and I am thrilled for you and Steve. I am doing the MCT/coconut oil but only doing 1T a day. I have noticed improvement here and there but nothing great like your news, but then again I am not giving as much as you are. I may try to up our dosage to 2 T. a day. When we first started last fall there was a definite improvement on his clock drawing, much like your husbands in just a couple of days. Thank you for letting us know about your recent test.