Unlike conventional drug treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, coconut oil and water may help resolve some of the root causes of neurodegenerative conditions.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes a food that nourishes a particular organ often looks uncannily similar to it? For instance, the walnut shell and bi-hemispheric flesh look awfully like the skull and brain it is now known to be exceptionally good for. Pomegranate fruit, the actual fruiting ovary of the plant, looks a lot like the mammalian ovary, so too is the case with the head-like coconut, which is increasingly being looked at for preventing and/or improving brain dysfunctions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) due to its wide range of potentially therapeutic properties, such as:1) Increasing energy production in the brain by providing neurons an alternative to glucose, namely, the brain-nourishing metabolites of medium-chain fatty acids known as ketone bodies.
2) Contributing potent antioxidant polyphenols that may reduce oxidative stress, improve brain blood circulation, and reduce neuroinflammation.
3) Inhibiting amyloid-beta plaque-associated neuronal toxicity.
Indeed, a growing number of cell, animal, human, and population-based studies reveal that coconut consumption may provide a natural solution to a growing global epidemic that pharmaceutical drugs have been shown to do nothing to mitigate.
Coconut Water’s Anti-Alzheimer’s Properties
We have reported previously on coconut oil and Alzheimer’s research, but it appears another coconut product: coconut water, which contains no fatty acids of physiological relevance, may also have great value for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
First, coconut water contains a range of essential biomolecules needed for health, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes, growth factors, and other nutrients which have yet to be fully characterized.
Second, one of the more promising classes of phytocompounds in coconut water (and related plants) is known as cytokinins. These plant hormones modulate plant cell division and are believed to have anti-aging properties. One cytokinin known as trans-zeatin has been investigated as a possible new treatment for neuronal diseases including Alzheimer’s disease.
Ultimately, I believe a compelling pattern of evidence points to the use of coconut oil and water as a therapeutic agent in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
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