I haven't had a cold in over 5 years. Just when I feel as though I coming down with something, the scratchy, sore throat symptoms....gone the next morning! I also use to get these little blisters on the bottom of my right foot. Someone told me they are some sort of herpes virus. Since using the coconut oil I don't get these annoying little things. Usually they would surface in the summer or when the weather turned warm. But I realized this fall that I hadn't been bothered this past summer. I believe that the coconut oil really helps ward off the virus. I also have hepatitis C and my viral counts are so low that they are almost in the undetected category. I don't even worry about this anymore. Nancy

The antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties of the medium chain fatty acids/triglycerides (MCTs) found in coconut oil have been known to researchers since the 1960s. Research has shown that microorganisms that are inactivated include bacteria, yeast, fungi, and enveloped viruses. Much of this research is highlighted in the writings of Dr. Mary Enig Ph.D, and can be found at www.coconutoil.com

There is growing consensus that man-made antibiotics produced by pharmaceutical companies are over-used today, creating a whole new host of problems for modern societies. Michael Murray N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno N.D. write

There is little argument that, when used appropriately, antibiotics save lives. However, there is also little argument that antibiotics are seriously overused. While the appropriate use of antibiotics makes good medical sense, using them for such conditions as acne, recurrent bladder infections, chronic ear infections, chronic sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, and nonbacterial sore throats does not. The antibiotics rarely provide benefit, and these conditions can be effectively treated with natural measures. The widespread use and abuse of antibiotics is becoming increasingly alarming, not only because of the chronic candidiasis epidemic, but also due to the development of "superbugs" that are resistant to currently available antibiotics. According to many experts, such as the World Health Organization, we are coming dangerously close to arriving at a "postnatibitoic era," in which many infectious diseases will once again become almost impossible to treat.¹

To read more about fungal infections like Candida, and how coconut oil can help, click here.

Even if you are not taking antibiotics from your doctor, there is a good chance that you are getting plenty of pharmaceuticals through the foods you eat. There are just as many (if not more) antibiotics sold and given to animals for meat production in the US, as there are for human medicine. You say you're vegetarian? Pesticides used on crops today can also cause mutations in micro-organisms similar to antibiotics. Pharmaceutical companies today produce many of the seeds used in agriculture, and they have pesticides manufactured right into them via genetic modification. Ronnie Cummins of  the Campaign for Food Safety states:

When gene engineers splice a foreign gene into a plant or microbe, they often link it to another gene, called an antibiotic resistance marker gene (ARM), that helps determine if the first gene was successfully spliced into the host organism. Some researchers warn that these ARM genes might unexpectedly recombine with disease-causing bacteria or microbes in the environment or in the guts of animals or people who eat GE food, contributing to the growing public health danger of antibiotic resistance -- of infections that cannot be cured with traditional antibiotics, for example new strains of salmonella, e-coli, campylobacter, and enterococci. EU (European Union) authorities are currently considering a ban on all GE foods containing antibiotic resistant marker genes.....Gene-splicing will inevitably result in unanticipated outcomes and dangerous surprises that damage plants and the environment. Researchers conducting experiments at Michigan State University several years ago found that genetically-altering plants to resist viruses can cause the viruses to mutate into new, more virulent forms. Scientists in Oregon found that a genetically engineered soil microorganism, Klebsiella planticola, completely killed essential soil nutrients. Environmental Protection Agency whistle blowers issued similar warnings in 1997 protesting government approval of a GE soil bacteria called Rhizobium melitoli.²

Instead of relying on man-made pharmaceuticals for everything, many are now turning to natural methods to boost the body's immune system and resist harmful viruses and micro-organisms naturally. Coconut oil is truly one of nature's best "germ fighters."

I too have had major improvement with cold and sinus symptoms. I used to chronically get bronchitis at least 3 times a year. Already this year, I have had 2 bouts of cold symptoms, and increased the amount [of Virgin Coconut Oil] to nearly 6 tbls a day thus averting the yucky sickies. I must say that I am truly impressed with this stuff. I have also seen major improvement my complexion, i.e... blackheads and breakouts. I use it directly on my face twice a day and my skin keeps looking better and better. Cheers to Virgin Coconut Oil!!! Laurie

I have hepatitis C. I was informed some time ago that the coconut oil can be a healing agent for this potentially fatal disease. I had undergone the medical treatment with interferon with no success. I was only real sick form the interfuron treatment, lost my hair, and became severely anemic. That was about 6 years ago. In the last 4 years I began nutritional regiments noted to help/heal hepatitis c. That includes flax seed oil, milk thistle, multi vitamins, and in the last 2 years- coconut oil. My viral load was initially at 5 million- high! In the last 3 years it has gone from that to 1/20th of a million- low! My Dr. is amazed. I feel better, more energy. And most importantly I now have the belief I can watch my grand-children grow up. I believe that the coconut oil was a major ingredient that boosted this healing. It is also yummy! Gay

Lauric Acid

Lauric acid is the most predominant MCT found in coconut oil. Regarding lauric acid, Mary Enig Ph.D writes:

Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria, including listeria monocytogenes and helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid.³

Lauric acid is also prominent in the saturated fat of human breast milk, giving vital immune building properties to a child's first stage of life. Outside of human breast milk, nature's most abundant source of lauric acid is coconut oil.

Just a testimonial. I learned about the purported benefits of coconut oil and lauric acid last summer on the internet. I began taking it because I had, as it turned out, been misdiagnosed, with Herpes 2. My father is a biochemist who taught medical school and graduate school for 35 years before retiring. So before I began taking it, I ran some literature by him. He was impressed so I have been taking it ever since. But my family hasn't. This October, I received a call from my eldest daughter who is in college. She had been diagnosed the day before (by blood tests) that she had mononucleosis. I checked to see if the virus (Epstein-Barr) was lipid enveloped, and found that it was. I got on the internet and found her some Lauricedin pills and had them overnighted to her. She received them on a Wednesday and began taking the prescribed dose daily. Nine days later, a Friday, she called to tell me she was well. Subsequent blood work the following week confirmed that she was. Her other classmates who had gotten mono and had not taken monolaurin, remained sick for weeks and some were not even well by the end of the semester. I told my dad and he was impressed again. Seems like coconut oil should be the prescribed regimen for mono. David, Attorney, Memphis TN

From 1999 - 2000 a study was done at San Lazaro hospital in Manila by Conrado S. Dayrit, MD, and the affect of coconut oil and monolaurin on the viral load of HIV patients. It was found that lauric acid did bring down the viral load of HIV patients. Dr. Dayrit also conducted similar studies on the SARS virus, since the coconut oil consuming Philippines population was relatively unaffected by the recent SARS outbreak in China and other countries.

My roommate has been a herpes carrier for years--not the genital herpes, but my understanding is that all cases of herpes are viral, and that is the important common denominator. Virgin Coconut Oil (VCNO) is an anti-viral and breaks down what is called the "lipid envelope" surrounding the herpes cell. She initially got herpes in her eye many years ago, and it was basically dormant for several years after getting the initial episode under control. About 20 years later, it became re-activated when she acquired another herpes infection doing post mortem care on a patient in the hospital. The patient did not have a known diagnosis of herpes, but my roommate remembers cutting her finger on a piece of metal on the bed frame while giving this care. Perhaps the virus had been dormant for years on the bed. (If that is the case, and we will never know, so much for hospital cleanliness)! This time the herpes affected her spine, and she had a long bout of it, with much pain and suffering. This one was harder to get under control, and she had a few minor flare-ups. Since beginning VCNO, she has not had so much as a cold sore. Only time will tell for sure, but so far it's looking good, and she is getting other very positive results from the oil. Debby

A recent study done in the Philippines found that Virgin coconut oil, added to antibiotic therapy, may help relieve the symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia in kids faster than antibiotic therapy alone:

The current study included 40 children between the ages of 3 months and 5 years old. All had community-acquired pneumonia and were being treated intravenously with the antibiotic ampicillin. Half of the group was randomized to also receive oral virgin coconut oil in a daily dose of 2 milliliters per every kilogram of weight. The oil was given for three days in a row. The researchers found that the respiratory rate normalized in 32.6 hours for the virgin coconut oil group versus 48.2 hours for the control group, according to the study. After three days, patients in the control group were more likely to still have crackles than those in the coconut oil group -- 60 percent of the controls still had crackles compared to 25 percent of the coconut oil group. Those in the coconut oil group also had fevers for a shorter time, had normal oxygen saturation faster, and had shorter hospital stays, but Erguiza said these findings did not reach statistical significance. How might the coconut oil work to ease pneumonia? Erguiza hypothesized that it may boost ampicillin's effectiveness because it contains lauric acid, which is known to have antimicrobial properties, she said.⁴

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References

1. Michael Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine (Prima Publishing, Rocklin, CA 1998) p.301

2.  Ronnie Cummins, "Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops: Why We Need A Global Moratorium " Motion Magazine, August 29, 1999

3. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. “Health and Nutritional Benefits from Coconut Oil: An Important Functional Food for the 21st Century” Presented at the AVOC Lauric Oils Symposium, Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, 25 April 1996

4. Reported in U.S. News and World Report, October 30, 2008. http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2008/10/30/coconut-oil-may-help-fight-childhood-pneumonia.html