CAN COCONUT OIL CURE YOUR CANDIDA OVERGROWTH?
- ANTIFUNGAL, ANTIMICROBIAL, CANDIDA OVERGROWTH, COCONUT OIL, FLUCONAZOLE, FUNGAL INFECTION, HARWARD PROFESSOR KARIN MICHELS, LAURIC ACID, YEAST OVERGROWTH
Candida or Fungal on nails
If you have every had a Candida overgrowth, or more simply, a fungal infection, you definitely want to read this thoroughly! Candida overgrowth can drive you crazy! You might be someone who has faced this rarely, perhaps a while after a course of antibiotics, or, you might be someone who just cannot seem to get over it and it just keeps coming back. Symptoms of Candida overgrowth can be multiple, and you might not even be aware that some of these common symptoms relate to Candida, but they can definitely drive you crazy! To have a quick overview of what you might feel if you do have a fungal overgrowth, symptoms can be any of the following:
- Recurrent vaginal yeast infections
- Vaginal itching and discharge
- Chronic fatigue
- Fungal infections on your nails
- Fungal white patches anywhere on your skin or itching
- Digestive issues ranging from bloating to indigestion
- Oral yeast infection
- Feeling down and low
- Poor immunity
- Recurrent UTI
- Sinus infections
- Joint pain
Candida Overgrowth Symptoms of fatigue
These are just a few of the more common symptoms but they can be a whole lot more. You have a higher risk of having Candida overgrowth if you are a a diabetic, if you have Multiple Sclerosis, if you have frequent antibiotics or if you recently had a course of antibiotics, if you are pregnant, if you are are on some Corticosteroid, if you have poor immunity, if you take oral contraceptives or hormone replacement that increase Estrogen levels, and if you have overall dysbiosis for multiple other reasons. I know that being a woman also increases your risk of Candida overgrowth simply because of anatomical structure.
When a recent opinion of a Harward Professor came out talking about how Coconut Oil was “pure poison”, my mind instantly went to Kerala, where Coconut Oil is consumed in totality, and Candida or fungal overgrowth is almost unknown. Coconut Oil is used in many cultures of which Kerala is only one, and it is used for everything including cooking, frying, bathing, massage and even for something like being stung by a bee! When I was once on fluconazole for a fungal infection, I recall my Mom in law rolling her eyeballs and smirking at me!
Coconut Oil for Candida Overgrowth
Candida and yeast overgrowth is such a rampant problem in the world today isn’t it? Today, Coconut Oil is being touted as an anti microbial, but this has been a part of cultures where perhaps Candida is absent for generations. I did dig a little deeper into this connection and here’s what I found. Coconut Oil contains three different Medium Chain Fatty Acids. Medium Chain Triglycerides are a magical group of Essential Fatty Acids similar to what is in breast milk. In your body, MCT is used preferentially as fuel to provide you stamina. MCT is a wonder food for Myelination, which is forming of Myelin sheaths around nerves and helping with nerve transmission. This helps you with reasoning and decision making skill, and can do wonders for nerve related conditions. Medium Chain Triglycerides found in coconut Oil are caprylic acid, capric acid, and lauric acid. Caprylic acid penetrates cell walls of the Candida yeast and inhibits the growth of the yeast cell. Capric Acid shrinks the cell membrane of yeast. Lauric acid is considered a potent anti fungal and antimicrobial. One study done to study in vitro antimicrobial properties on candida found that coconut oil was active against species of Candida at 100% concentration compared to Fluconazole! In fact, less Coconut Oil than Fluconazole was needed to get rid of the overgrowth.
Coconut Oil also contains Phenols, which are powerful antioxidants. These compounds can destroy free radical damage preventing cell breakdown. If you’ve been scared to eat Coconut Oil thinking it’s bad for your heart, think again. It can actaully lower overall inflammation. Anyone who has struggled with yeast issues know how stubborn Candida is, and how it can come back with a vengeance in spite of Fluconazole. Inflammatory levels can be elevated if you have chronic yeast overgrowth. Just this antioxidant property of Coconut Oil can help with fighting yeast.
Further, since Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble, consuming Coconut Oil helps your body absorb these Vitamins well. Just having optimum Vitamin D levels can support your Immune system powerfully, especuially when your immunity is impaired with yeast overgrowth.
If you did have a moment of worry when you read this opinion that Coconut Oil is pure poison, or if you thought for that moment that it’s time you need to change this, forget about it! If ever a magical elixer existed, it’s Coconut Oil! Remember, these communities consuming coconut Oil for generations and generations, do not know of the existence of Candida almost. It all comes back to this. Observing populations who have lived on Coconut Oil and have no problems with yeast is living proof and testimony to its power in healing.
