Coconut Oil vs. Alzheimers
Spring, 2015
February 26, 2014

Coconut oil vs. Alzheimers
With the elderly population increasing, there has also been a rise in Alzheimers. According to statistics from 2013 more than 500,000 seniors die each year because they have Alzheimer's (http://www.alz.org). In the America, it is the sixth leading cause of death and 5th for those 65 and older. It has increased sixty-eight percent from 2000 to 2010 and, even though, there is a handful of drugs to help relieve symptoms of Alzheimer's. The medications do nothing to stop the disease's progression and, eventually, lose their effectiveness for most people.
Cognitive issues are natural when we age, occasionally forgetting something or becoming absent-minded, but there is nothing natural about Alzheimers disease. AD is considered a progressive disease that causes brain cells to atrophy and die. A brain with Alzheimers will have fewer nerve cells and synapses than a healthy brain. Within this brain, there will be Plaques and Tangles that will spread through the cortex in a somewhat predictable pattern. When this occurs, the synapse is lost between the neurotransmitters, and we start to have memory loss, learning and communication deficits. But what does all this have to do with non-hydrogenated coconut oil? What do these items have in common? Brain cells, specifically neurons, have very limited energy sources that can be used for them to function and stay alive. Glucose is the main source of energy used for synapses to occur between the neurons. But during Alzheimers, the neurons in certain areas of the brain are unable to take in glucose and slowly start to die off. Ketones are the other energy source for neurons. Depending not only the type of fat but where this fat is broken down will determine the production of ketones. Normally, fat taken into your body must be mixed with