Coconut Oil and Candida

(Carl Keller) #1

I am a huge fan of coconut oil and I keep learning new ways how CO can help the human body. Keep in mind, none of the studies linked below say CO cured candida but they do say CO significantly helped:

Researchers have established that coconut oil is an effective anti-fungal. Studies indicate that coconut oil may be effective against Candida albicans , a type of fungus that is most commonly responsible for fungal infections.

One disclaimer in this article:

Coconut oil is a fat and ingesting it may cause diarrhea or stomach upset and, over time, will cause weight gain, just like any other fat.

… the part where it says CO will “cause weight gain, just like any other fat” is incorrect. I have no doubt the author believes this… but there is no science to support that part of the statement.

(Laurie) #2

Thanks for the link, @CarlKeller. I’m a fan of coconut oil too, but I urge anyone who’s interested to gather more information before trying these suggestions. I suspect that the article was written by a “health journalist” who is not an expert and has never actually used the stuff.

I’m no expert either, but I’ve done some research and I use coconut oil for many things. Some thoughts:

Coconut oil is indeed an antimicrobial. Whether or not this is a good thing is debatable. For example, it might affect the gram positive “good bacteria” in the vagina. Probiotics might help counteract this. Also, be aware that coconut oil can cause irritation.

The methods outlined in the article involve some unnecessary fussing around. For example, you don’t need to melt coconut oil in the microwave. It melts at 76 F (24.5 C), so it will melt in your mouth (or vagina, etc.). It can also be applied to the skin in its solid form; it will melt immediately on the skin unless it’s rock hard (e.g., if you store it in the fridge).

Likewise, there’s no need to melt coconut oil and apply it to a tampon. Just stick some solid coconut oil in the vagina and lie down for an hour or so. If your activities don’t allow you to lie down, you can still insert the solid oil and then insert a tampon (or, wear a pad or just an extra set of underwear, depending on how much oil you use).

I’m not sure that holding coconut oil in the mouth for 30 seconds would help much. Twenty minutes of “oil pulling” might be more effective.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

In fact the opposite is true. A study in India found that men who did nothing to their diet except adding 2 T of coconut oil daily lost an average of 2” in waist size in a year. The Keto Diet itself should starve out candida growth. Coconut oil will stop nail fungus if you apply it twice daily religiously. It doesn’t actually kill the fungus but makes it impossible to spread to new growth in the toenail. As the nail grows out the healthy part will remain uninfected and eventually the infection will be gone when the nail grows out enough.

I believe in probiotic vegetable ferments as being the best way to get your gut flora corrected. I make my own and consume them daily, approximately 1/2 of the veggies I eat now and I have had some great improvement in my gut health and digestion.

I don’t know if I had a candida issue before keto but I do know that bloating, gas and belching are in the past for me now. Candida thrives on sugars.

(Carl Keller) #4

Very good point! I have found one article (it took a lot of searching) that suggests CO does in fact kill good and bad bacteria in the gut but that probiotics, fermented foods and omega-3s help restore good gut health. It’s interesting about the omega-3s to me because I have read a lot of articles/studies about CO use in Pacific Islander nations where CO is a very large part of their diet… and where obesity, stroke and heart disease are almost unheard of. Unfortunately, no studies on CO Pacific Islanders that I have found talked about their overall health… ie did they have leaky guts and the symptoms that come along with that:

It can affect metabolism, mood, energy, and eating patterns. It can create pain and anxiety, hormonal imbalances, and particularly auto-immunity, where your body starts attacking itself.

Furthermore, I wonder how these island peoples would have survived for so many eons on a diet that consistently destroyed their good stomach bacteria. Is it because of their high ingestion of omega-3s or have they co-evolved in some way that protects them from leaky gut?

I suppose the best current advice is to make sure you are getting plenty of fermented foods, omega-3s and possibly probiotics (these should be diet inclusive anyway!) if you plan to make CO a part of your regular diet and that if you experience symptoms of leaky gut (posted above) then you might want to back off of CO.