Study: Coconut Oil Could Protect Brain Cells from Amyloid Plaques Associated with Dementia
Could simply eating food help protect the brain from amyloid plaques associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease? While one’s study results may not go quite that far, it did find that coconut oil could play a role in protecting brain cells from amyloid plaque damage.
A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease supports existing evidence that coconut oil may help to alleviate the neurodegenerative effects of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s. Tiled “Coconut Oil Attenuates the Effects of Amyloid-β on Cortical Neurons In Vitro,” the study helps shine light on a way to use coconut oil to reduce amyloid plaques, also known as (Aβ) peptides in the brain. (Note that it’s an in vitro study.)
Researchers looked into dietary supplements to see if they can help with the challenges of aging and brain diseases. In this initial study, they examined how coconut oil affects brain cells that were exposed to amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide, a substance linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
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The findings suggest that coconut oil can help these brain cells survive better when they’re exposed to Aβ. The coconut oil also seemed to reduce some of the negative changes in the cells caused by Aβ. These early results suggest we should study coconut oil further to understand how it might protect brain cells.
It turns out that coconut oil “rescued” Aβ-treated neurons from mitochondrial damage caused by their toxicity. Coconut oil also seemed to change the circulation of mitochondria, as well as their size.
One theory concerning Alzheimer’s is that amyloid plaques build up in the brain in much the same way that plaques can build up in our arteries, causing the neural pathways to be slowed and damaged. Entire sections of the brain can start to shut down if these plaques are allowed to grow without intervention.
The brain benefits could be attributed to the medium chain triglycerides found in coconut oil.
Revealing the coconut oil and Alzheimer’s connection – here is just one example of an Alzheimer’s case turnaround using coconut oil.
“At this point, he could barely remember how to draw a clock. Two weeks after adding coconut oil to his diet, his drawing improved. After 37 days, Steve’s drawing gained even more clarity. The oil seemed to “lift the fog…every morning he was alert and happy, talkative, making jokes…He was able to concentrate on things that he wanted to do around the house and in the yard and stay on task, whereas before coconut oil he was easily distractible and rarely accomplished anything unless he was directly supervised.”
