Are you a little confused about whether coconut oil is actually good for you or not? I don’t blame you, there’s so much conflicting information about there, some information says it’s bad for you and some says that it’s the magic cure for weight loss and brain issues, among other things.

Well you don’t have to be confused anymore. I have done the hard work for you and sifted through papers and papers of research on coconut oil to bring you a balanced perspective.

I get my nerd on discuss the available research in relation to every claim that’s been made about coconut oil that I can think of. I also get even deeper into my nerd form and talk about the composition of coconut oil, the different types of fatty acids it contains and what these do.

Listen on the Soundcloud website here or in the embedded player below.

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Podcast Breakdown

0:00 Intro

2:12 How research on coconut oil can be confusing as the type of coconut oil makes a big difference, and how research on nutrition has a few issues we need to take into consideration when applying the information to our lives.

3:50 Traditional Use of Coconut Oil

6:22 About Virgin Coconut Oil

7:00 Copra (copha) vs. virgin coconut oil

7:31 Saturated Fat, medium chain triglycerides, short chain triglycerides and the breakdown of coconut oil (read more about it here)

9:00 Can coconut oil help you to lose weight?

10:00 Can we extrapolate the benefits of MCT (medium chain triglycerides) onto coconut oil?

10:50 How does our body use MCT different to LCT? Plus more on MCT and body composition.

14:50 Coconut oil makes you feel fuller

15:30 Antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties of coconut oil

16:54 Coconut oil protects again antibiotic damage to the liver

17:20 Coconut oil for head lice treatment

17:47 Coconut oil for hair health

18:17 Coconut oil can help heal wounds

18:35 Oil pulling – how coconut oil can help your teeth and gums

19:47 Coconut oil for brain health, what research is available for its use in Alzheimer’s disease

22:32 Can coconut oil help underactive thyroid (hypothyroid).

23:35 Can coconut oil endanger your heart

24:21 Is coconut oil a cure-all for thyroid function

25:02 Coconut oil and heart health: danger or not? How does it affect cholesterol?

26:00 Cholesterol is evil vs. Cholesterol isn’t the enemy

28:37 Let’s go back in time to when coconut oil actually was bad for you.

29:28 Virgin coconut oil but not copra is good for the heart

30:30 How to get the best out of coconut oil for weight and heart health

31:30 The dark side of coconut oil, and how to reduce the negative impact of coconut oil

32:20 Allergies and coconut oil

33:00 The environment impact of coconut oil, food miles and sustainability

34:00 Summing up, do I recommend using coconut oil as a supplement, as a cooking oil, topically or for oil pulling?

The post Coconut Oil Podcast appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

I don’t think there is a food quite as debated about as coconut oil. A quick google search brings up a multitude of articles with differing opinions, some authors claiming coconut oil is a miracle cure-all, some claiming it is the devil incarnate.

The arguments about coconut oil bring along with it the debate of recent years, about the links between heart disease, saturated fat and cholesterol.

It’s incredibly difficult to unravel this mystery because there is a limited amount of research on coconut oil (especially in comparison to olive oil), and a lot of the claims made on the benefits of coconut oil are somewhat hypothetical, based around knowledge of its constituents such as the type of saturated fat, lauric acid. The claims made for coconut oil’s health benefits can at times be outlandish, one article I found listed a whole 200 benefits.

But if you look, there is research.

Compare the amount of research available on olive oil to that of coconut oil and you can understand why mainstream dietary recommendations are still not sold on this tropical oil, however in the last few years there has been some promising studies emerging that demonstrate some of its potential benefits, such as increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol and reducing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

In this article I wrote for Casa de Karma, I went into detail on what the research says about the good and the bad of coconut oil.

So if you want to know about any of these points, then follow the link below and have a read of the full article.

What are the traditional uses of coconut oil and how does this relate to us now?

The different components of coconut oil, in particular the medium chain fatty acids.

Can coconut oil help you lose weight

Can coconut oil kill bacteria and fungal infections? (the anti-microbial effects of coconut oil)

Does coconut improve hair?

Coconut oil for wound healing.

Does coconut oil help your teeth and gums?

Does coconut oil prevent alzheimer’s disease?

Is coconut oil good for thyroid health?

Does coconut oil affect your cholesterol?

Is coconut oil bad for you?

Is coconut oil bad for the environment?

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://casadekarma.com.au/everything-you-need-to-know-about-coconut-oil-a-naturopath-explains/

Go (coco)nuts and PIN this article to your favourite Pinterest board. Go on 🙂

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Vitamin D really is the wonder nutrient at the moment. A quick search of PubMed shows there to be almost 60 000 studies on vitamin D alone, and over 7000 of these are on vitamin D and cancer. Most of us already know about how Vitamin D is important for our bone health, but did you know it’s also important for our immune system and to protect us against cancer, particularly breast cancer (among many other things)?

Let’s take a quick look at the properties of vitamin D.

• It supports the assimilation of calcium into our bones
• It’s important for our immune system – it ‘switches on’ our immune cells to help us fight infections, but also helps us deal with auto-immune conditions and ‘foreign invaders’
• It regulates inflammation levels
• It is involved in some hormone metabolism pathways
• It is involved in our blood sugar level control and metabolism

Looking at the effects of vitamin D, it makes sense how it can also play a role in reducing our risk from cancer. But by how much does it reduce our risk? Well, the answer seems to be : a lot.

Let’s take a look at some of the research:

A 2012 study performed in Pakistan analysed the Vitamin D levels of 180 women, 90 of which had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. In the group who had been recently diagnosed 95.8% of them were deficient in Vitamin D, compared to 77% of the women with no cancer diagnosis. This not only shows the huge prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency, but also highlights an important association between low Vitamin D levels and increased breast cancer risk [1].

It was originally thought that Vitamin D was only able to be fully metabolised in the kidneys, however studies from 2001 and on have shown that breast tissue also has the ability to metabolise Vitamin D, which may be why Vitamin D has such as affinity for breast cancer. [2]

Vitamin D may be so protective against breast cancer for many reasons.  A sub-type of Vitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D) has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to reduce the production of a chemical called prostaglandins (many people know this chemical to be a cause of period pain) which have been implicated in breast cancer. [2]

A population study published this year analysed a group of women, 593 with breast cancer and 580 who were cancer-free (controls). They found that 96.1% of the women with breast cancer had severe vitamin D deficiency, compared to 80% of the women without cancer. Similarly to the first study there was a significant Vitamin D deficiency across the whole population, but what was most interesting was the data showing the inverse association between Vitamin D and breast cancer – essentially the higher the levels of vitamin D they had, the lower their risk of breast cancer [3].

The benefits of sun exposure may be due to more than just Vitamin D, particularly for some other types of cancers.  A systemic review of studies analysed the link between vitamin D levels, sun exposure and risk for various types of cancer.  It found that higher blood levels of Vitamin D reduced the risk of breast cancer as well as colorectal cancer, but not as much for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and prostate cancer (however longer sunlight exposure was more beneficial for these cancers).    Long-term or ‘chronic’ sun exposure compared to short-term or ‘intermittent’ sun exposure reduced the risk of all the cancers analysed.  This may be due to a variety of factors such as the suns effect on our circadian rhythms and melatonin production [4].

Interestingly melatonin, a hormone controlled by our exposure to light and dark (among other things) which manages our sleep cycles is also a potent anti-oxidant that is protective against breast cancer.  Some research has shown that people with disrupted melatonin such as shift workers have a significantly increased risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer [5] [6]. Melatonin is helpful as it repairs our DNA from oxidative damage and inhibits tumour cell formation, but it also reduces the tumour developing affect of excessive oestrogen, encourages the immune system to recognise the cancer calls as being foreign (cell differentiation) and then destroy them (apoptosis) [7], [8], [9].  Vitamin D has also been shown to have these properties [2]. So not only do we need to have plenty of Vitamin D, but we should also get plenty of decent sleep!

How much Vitamin D do we actually need to prevent breast cancer?  Aim to get your blood levels of 25(OH)D around 100 ng/mL, but not higher than 150 ng/mL [2].  Even though this is much higher than what is considered to be normal or not deficient by pathology reports, people with these levels had the lowest risk of breast cancer [3].  Keep in mind that Vitamin D levels vary according to season, so in Summer our levels should be even higher again (about 120 ng/mL).  How supplements are administered varies a lot between health professionals, from big weekly/monthly doses of 50 000IU to frequent daily doses of 600IU.  It doesn’t seem to matter, as long as the cumulative amount of Vitamin D is high enough to get your levels up.

Vitamin D supplementation is generally very well tolerated.   Most reports suggest that the toxicity threshold is 10,000–40,000 IU of vitamin D per day [10] however this is based on the fact that these are the upper limits of what have been studied and no toxicity has been found with these, so as yet an actual toxicity limit has still not been found.

From these studies it seems clear that having good Vitamin D levels is without doubt an important way to reduce breast cancer risk, however studies analysing the benefits of Vitamin D supplementation in women with later-stage breast cancer show inconclusive results, but the studies in this area are limited [2]. So far, it seems that Vitamin D is better at preventing breast cancer than treating it.

While there were some flaws in some of the studies, such as an insufficient pairing of the study groups and not analysing all the forms of vitamin D, we can see from this research that there is definately a connection between low levels of vitamin d and an increased risk of breast cancer. I cannot stress this enough – Do not take it for granted that you spend time in the sun and therefore should have enough Vitamin D. Get your Vitamin D tested (you may have to pay for the test, but surely knowing the importance of vitamin D it is worth it?) and if your vitamin D is not over 100 ng/mL then you should consider supplementing – consult a health care practitioner trained in nutrition such as a nutritionist, dietician or naturopath for advice on which supplement is right for you.

Previous posts on Vitamin D:

Vitamin D and Allergies

Vitamin D Newsletter

Vitamin D and Asthma

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Calcium and Magnesium

Minerals rarely work in the body in isolation.  They are all in a convoluted relationship with one another, where if one mineral is low in the body it can cause another to become too high, or vice versa.  To be healthy (keep the body in a state of homeostasis)  we need to have these minerals in a certain ratio to one another.  Some examples of important mineral ratios include sodium:potassium, zinc:copper and calcium:magnesium.  If a person had good levels of zinc, but even higher levels of copper, that would typically present with a zinc deficiency.  One of the most well known minerals is sodium (salt), which is famous for elevating blood pressure.  There are some people that are very sensitive to a disruption in their sodium:potassium ratio, and having the slightest amount of sodium can send their blood pressure through the roof.

Calcium and magnesium ratio is most commonly recommended at a 2:1, however there is some evidence that suggests that supplementing with doses of 1500mg calcium per day does not disrupt magnesium concentrations.   However it is always important to take into consideration individual requirements, as there are many factors that affect the utilization and absorption of minerals such as digestive health, diet, stress and genetic makeup.  The type of mineral is important as well.  A well known form of calcium supplement, in the form of calcium carbonate is advertised as being the highest dose of calcium available.  This does not take into consideration our ability to absorb it or utilise it properly in the body.  Magnesium oxide is another commonly sold form, usually because it is the cheapest however this can cause digestive irritation (not something most people would want).  It is better to seek advice on the type of mineral that is best for you.

Calcium and Magnesium are important minerals for the body, and we have an increased need for these during pregnancy (particularly from the second trimester on).  Most pregnancy multivitamins don’t contain adequate levels of these minerals which are needed in fairly high doses (the multi would need to be the size of a golf ball) so additional supplementation may be necessary.

Calcium is an extremely important nutrient leading up to and during pregnancy. It is necessary for the development of bones and teeth in the foetus.  Approximately 30 to 40 g of calcium are transferred to the foetus throughout the pregnancy, the majority in the third trimester. It is important for the mother to have good stores of calcium before becoming pregnant so that the health of her own teeth, bones, nervous system and muscular function is not at risk.  Adequate maternal calcium levels can also help to maintain normal blood pressure during pregnancy.

Along with calcium and vitamin D, magnesium is essential for the development of healthy bones, teeth and nervous system, and for maintaining the health of these tissues in the mother.

Adequate magnesium will help prevent muscle cramps and keep blood pressure normal.  It also plays an important role in regulating normal blood sugar and insulin levels and nourishing the nervous system.

If you are pregnant or are looking at becoming pregnant, give us a call or send me an email and we can book you in for a consultation to discuss your nutritional needs.

The effects of Calcium supplementation during pregnancy

Pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertensive disorders are significant causes of maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality worldwide.  Many studies demonstrate a link between calcium intake and these hypertensive conditions during pregnancy. This review of 15 randomised controlled trials investigated the influence of calcium supplementation during pregnancy and the incidence, risk and severity of these hypertensive disorders and neonatal outcomes.

Results  showed:

The post Calcium during pregnancy and it’s relationship to magnesium appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Relief for Pregnancy-induced leg cramps

Leg cramps are a common complaint for pregnant women, however there is no current standard treatment.  Naturopaths and nutritionists often recommend a magnesium supplement for leg cramps, as magnesium is helpful for relaxing muscles and nerves.

A recent study proved the effectiveness of magnesium supplementation for leg cramps.

The 4 week study looked at 86 pregnant women between 14-34 weeks gestation  and analysed the use of oral magnesium supplementation on leg cramps.  80 women completed the study.

41 women were assigned to magnesium bisglycinate chelate (300 mg per day) and 39 women to placebo.

Details of leg cramps were recorded before beginning the treatment and the fourth week of study. Outcome measure was the reduction of cramp frequency after treatment and cramp intensity measured by 100-mm visual analogue scale.

50% reduction of cramp frequency was significantly higher in the magnesium group than the placebo group. Results included:

• The 50% reduction of cramp intensity was also significantly higher in the treatment group than in the placebo group.
• There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of side effects such as nausea and diarrhoea.

These results demonstrated that oral magnesium supplement can improve the frequency and intensity of pregnancy-induced leg cramps. Therefore, oral magnesium may be a treatment option for women suffering from pregnancy-induced leg cramps.

Supakatisant C, Phupong V. Oral magnesium for relief in pregnancy-induced leg cramps: a randomised controlled trial. Matern Child Nutr. 2012 Aug 22. doi: 10.1111/j.1740-8709.2012.00440.x. [Epub ahead of print]

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Increased exposure to sunlight may reduce the risk of both food allergies and eczema in children, according to a new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The research team studied available data on Australian children and analysed how rates of food allergy, eczema and asthma varied throughout the country. In addition to demonstrating a link between latitude and allergies to peanut and egg, the results showed that on average children in the south of the country were twice as likely to develop eczema as those in the north.

Exposure to sunlight is important as it allows for vitamin D synthesis. This report builds upon existing evidence that suggests a link between sun exposure and the incidence of allergic disease.

Gray N. Low vitamin D status linked to food allergy and eczema in children: Study. Nutraingredients-usa.com, 7 Feb 2012.
Osborne NJ, Ukoumunne OC, Wake M, et al. Prevalence of eczema and food allergy is associated with latitude in Australia. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2012 Feb 1.

Thoughts:

Despite having what we have been told as enough time in the sun to get our vitamin D, there are still many adults and children who are deficient.  The latitude affects our ability to absorb vitamin D, along with many other factors We know that Vitamin D is important for moderating our immune system so if you or your children have an allergic condition than don’t just assume you’re getting enough vitamin D, get it checked.

Tips on how to get vitamin D from the sun while still being safe:

• Vitamin D is best absorbed between 10am and 3pm.
• Get 7-10 minutes of sun exposure to arms and legs.
• Follow with SPF30+ sunscreen.
• Always protect the face.

Past Vitamin D posts:

Vitamin D PDF

Vitamin D Newsletter

Vitamin D and Asthma

The post A place in the sun may help prevent allergies appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

New mothers who wait until they’re breastfeeding before starting fish oil supplementation may have missed the boat when it comes to reducing childhood allergic disease.

Results from five randomised, controlled trials showed that fish oil supplements taken during pregnancy reduced positive egg skin prick tests (SPT) and asthma in the child’s first year, while food allergy was reduced by as much as 66%.

Supplementation during lactation, however, did not prevent asthma, food allergy or atopy in the child.

 Klemens CM, Berman DR, Mozurkewich EL. The effect of perinatal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on inflammatory markers and allergic diseases: a systematic review. BJOG 2011;118(8):916-25.

The post Fish oil reduces child allergy risk appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Eat more fish and avoid biscuits, pastries and fast foods; That’s the message that comes out of a 12-year study on how dietary fat intake affects the risk of developing endometriosis.

The study analysed prospective data on fat intake from the Nurses’ Health Study II, beginning in 1989. Of the 116,607 female participants, there were 1199 cases of laproscopically confirmed endometriosis.

Overall fat consumption was not found to be associated with endometriosis risk, however, individuals who had the highest levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids consumption were 22% less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis, compared to those who had the lowest levels of intake.

In addition, women who consumed the highest amounts of trans-fats were 48% more likely to be diagnosed with  endometriosis, compared to those who had the lowest levels of intake.

Missmer SA, Chavarro JE, Malspeis S, et al. A prospective study of dietary fat consumption and endometriosis risk. Hum Reprod 2010;25(6):1528-35

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Probiotics could be the new yoga for those needing stress management techniques.

Researchers in Ireland were interested in the effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus on behavioural responses to stress. Their experiments delivered significant results: when placed in a stressful situation, the probiotic group displayed less anxiety and released less stress hormones.

When looking into how the probiotics were able to modulate stress and anxiety, the researchers found that L. rhamnosus increased the number of GABA receptors in the brains in areas associated with memory and the regulation of emotion, similar to what is seen with the use of pharmacological anti-anxiety medications.

Lehrer J. The yoghurt made me do it. Wall Street Journal, 17 Sep 2011 http://online.wsj.com

Bravo JA, Forsythe P, Chew MV, et al. Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108(38):16050-5.
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This study was the first to suggest that curcumin (the main phytochemical from turmeric) and piperine (from pepper) could reduce the risk of cancer by targeting stem cells. Based on the hypothesis that malignancies arise in tissue stem cells, limiting the number of stem cells may mean that the number of cells with potential to form tumours is also limited.

To investigate the effects of curcumin and piperine on breast stem cell markers and signalling pathways in vitro, investigators used doses that were 20 times the potency available in food. The equivalent doses are possible to achieve with dietary supplements.

The results showed that curcumin and piperine, administered both separately and in combination, decreased the number of stem cells while having no effect on normal differentiated cells. Being selective to cancer stem cells and having low toxicity means these substances have a possible future in breast cancer prevention.

Kakarala M, Brenner DE, Korkaya H, Cheng C, Tazi K, Ginestier C, et al. Targeting breast stem cells with the cancer preventive compounds curcumin and piperine. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2009 Nov 7.

Curcumin’s Potential in Oesophageal Cancer

 The survival rate for oesophageal cancer is low while its incidence is increasing. This study assessed the effect of the natural phytochemical curcumin on a panel of oesophageal cancer cell lines. Of particular interest was the mechanism by which it exerted its purported anti-cancer effects, whether by promotion of mitotic catastrophe, apoptosis or autophagy.

The curcumin treatment reduced all cell line viability within 24 hours of treatment. The predominance of a non-apoptotic form of cell death was observed with features of mitotic catastrophe and autophagy apparent.

Curcumin appeared to affect a key cell cycle checkpoint regulator in curcumin-responsive oesophageal cancer cells, disrupting mitosis and producing cytotoxic effects. Thus, curcumin represents a promising anticancer agent for prevention and treatment of oesophageal cancer.

O’Sullivan-Coyne G, O’Sullivan GC, O’Donovan TR, Piwocka K and McKenna SL. Curcumin induces apoptosis-independent death in oesophageal cancer cells. Br J Cancer 2009;101(9):1585-1595.

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