Has anyone heard of Coconut Oil being used for MS?

[socrates2k1]

One of my doctor's (Pain Management, not Neurologist), told be about taking Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, a tablespoon per day, to aide in MS Symptoms, has anyone else heard or read anything about this?

-- Socrates2k1  (aka Stan)

[sandraeb]

I know i use cocanut water in my smoothie

[sandraeb]

I know i use cocanut water in my smoothie

[HVAC]

No but it sounds reasonable to me. It is good in general.
Alex

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

I know i'm definitely not Kyle but back in 2013 he was unfairly targeted after  'FromJoanne' inaccurately stated she "used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair" and he didn't in my humble opinion state anything inaccurate or misguided in regards to dietary 'cures' for MS, he even mentions personal helpful dietary changes in some of his responses.

It would be additionally 'unfair' to further target Kyle almost 2yrs later with Dr Wahl when he didn't actually say anything about dietary changes not being helpful, and his last comment..... "Whether or not to follow an alternative path to treat MS is a personal decision. The coconut oil seems to be working for you and I am glad of it ;-) "

Cheers......JJ

[Overcomer777]

Hi, I have read both of Dr Wahls books.  She make it clear that she didnt cure her MS, she still has it, but she says she has overcome her Progressive MS. It is not simply semantics, and I would strongly suggest reading at least one of her books ( the first one was titled "Minding My Mitochondria") . Her Wahls protocol has helped many persons with autoimmune disease and veterans with traumatic brain injury.   Please read the book and give the protocol a try. I was diagnosed with RRMS 18 years ago. The protocol helps me to walk without the limp I have when I stray from the protocol, and gets rid of the crushing fatigue . Every symptom hasnt disappeared, but I count every improvement as a win.

[MattyAA]

I have read once that there is few people with ALS, yes ALS not MS, that have been living and keeping somehow good health state using 9 spoons of coconut oil + something with magnesium... no idea it was some solution in water, it had to be taken on daily basis, and eveen somee symptoms were reduced, and we know ALS is very lethal, life-span is so short.

[loray1962]

Tina, do you have MS?  I have been using coconut oil for several months and just started taking it this week.  My niece has MS, diagnosed 4 years ago.  I was wondering if it would help her.  She just had another fairly significant episode that was tingling in her feet that wouldn't go away.  She is on a 6 month regimen of steroid infusions.  The first time they did that she gained 50 pounds and has not been able to get it off.  Thought maybe the coconut oil might help speed up her metabolism and help with the weight and general overall health.  Is it working for you?  Any negative side effects?

[doublevision1]

Being delicious and treating/curing disease are two entirely different functions. ;)

ps: Kyle has a dismal outlook? Ummmm, no. Not even a little bit.

[ellie811]

Let me just say, making a stir fry with good quality coconut oil is heavenly… try it.

[Ojibajo]

Nope, but I have heard of it being used for just about everything else and judge by the length of this thread and the comments in it so has everyone else.

[essdipity]

I personally pay no attention to those who totally badmouth conventional medicine with claims and statements that have no basis in scientific reality. They'll think what they want to think and say what they want to say. Let 'em. Life's too short.

All that sort of thing reminds me of one of the old Disney film songs, I forget which film, but the song is "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes." That's the land some people live in. I prefer the real one.

ess

[kwarendorf]

Hi Tina,

Whether or not my outlook is dismal is subjective :-)

I agree that MS neurologists and specialists do not know what causes MS. I would add that no one does. That is the Holy Grail. If they can determine what causes it, it's that much easier to fix.

I would disagree with your statement that most of the drugs do not work and have long term side effects. I have been on a variety of meds, both those designed to halt the progress of my disease and those aimed at relieving individual symptoms. For the 2 years since I was diagnosed I have remained a fully functioning member of society. If you were to see me you would never guess I had MS. This tells me that the drugs are working. And as to side effects, I have never experienced a single one. Granted that 2 years still counts as the short run :-)

In addition to the 'traditional' treatment I'm receiving I work with a naturopathic doctor. We work towards making my body as strong as it can be. We revamped my diet, which helped me lose 40 pounds. I take a variety of supplements some aimed at relieving specific symptoms and others aimed at overall health.

There have been may claims of diet or procedure curing/minimizing MS. Recently CCSVI, once thought to be a magic bullet, has come under increasing skepticism. No one has been able to recreate Dr. Zamboni's results.

Whether or not to follow an alternative path to treat MS is a personal decision. The coconut oil seems to be working for you and I am glad of it ;-)

Kyle

[tinalouise50]

Kyle sorry man, but you have a very dismal outlook!

The truth is all of the MS  neurologists and specialists that I have seen basically know very little about what causes this disease! Every single person is different in many ways and most of the drugs do not work......often have long term side effects that make the symptoms worse!

Have an open mind. I constantly keep trying new things.....I tried the Vegetable juicing  and many other supplements.....all of which help. However I have to say that I have never felt so fantastic as I do on the coconut oil!
It is early days ...but so far I am loving it!!!

Keep an open mind......

Tina

[doublevision1]

I believe a more accurate statement is:  "There are no known cures for MS that are known to the general allopathic medical community that are widely acknowledged as proven to work for ANY cases of MS."

On another note, please ease off on the sarcasm. It's not helpful. You can express your beliefs and POV without being rude.

[kwarendorf]

If there was peer reviewed research that demonstrated that the addition of raw organic coconut oil, and other dietary changes,  cured MS a fairly healthy portion of those of us with MS would make the changes. But there isn't any peer reviewed research on the topic.

Many of us have made significant changes to our diets to help our bodies in order to better ward off MS. I for one do not see these changes as something that will cure my MS. Has your proposed diet cured your MS?

Kyle

[Corriel]

While Dr. Wahls did manage to get out of her wheelchair, she does still have MS and admits to that in addition to continuing her medications along with the diet that she has devised.

I hope there will be something with cocunut oil to help us with the big nasty, but I think that we are a long way from knowing if there are benefits. Sadly, these things take time.
I just hope for all of us that someone comes up with something that will benefit us all.

Corrie

[PulseMan59]

Really, Kyle? Take some Logical analysis classes. The only way your statement could be true is if everyone who has had MS altered their diet & used Raw Organic Coconut Oil at adequate levels for effect. Do you know if everyone who has MS has tried altering their diet in infinitesimally different ways & used an adequate therapeutic level of Raw Organic Coconut Oil? Try this statement instead: There are no known cures for MS that are known to the general allopathic medical community that are widely acknowledged as proven to work for all cases of MS.

Scurvy is caused by a long term lack of Vitamin C in the diet. It was considered incurable before this discovery. Just one of many diseases caused by a deficiency of a key nutrient the body needs to work effectively.

[kwarendorf]

"used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair"

No she didn't. There is no cure for MS. If coconut oil and diet cured MS there wouldn't be anyone with MS.

Kyle

[FromJoanne]

The PROOF : Here Dr. Terry Wahls, the assistant chief of staff at the Iowa Veterans Affairs Medical Center.who has MS since 2000 : "Changed Her Diet... and Reversed Her 'Irreversible' Decline" with diet and coconut oil http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meryl-davids-landau/multiple-sclerosis-diet_b_2258056.html and here on youtube : Dr. Terry Wahls at TEDxIowaCity http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KLjgBLwH3Wc she used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair

[Ojibajo]

I've never heard of it for MS, but I used to us it in my hair so that it wouldn't be so frizzy and fly-away. It made it really soft.

I have heard and read about coconut for just general over all health regardless of MS diagnosis.

[essdipity]

I used the Search this Community box on the main page (some of you may not have noticed it), and entered 'coconut oil,' remembering I'd seen some discussion on this before.

Turns out there have been 10 threads that include this term. Several mentioned it only in passing, and others had posters listing their uses for it. Quite a few people have found it helpful for skin problems or overall skin care. Some cook with coconut oil, saying it has general healthful properties (which it may well, I don't know).

No one, though, urged its use for MS, and there were no scientific facts at all on this subject.

If I had a doctor recommend any food or other non-medical remedy for MS treatment, I'd ask why that works and where I could read about it In fact, I'd ask anyone who gave me that advice those same questions.

ess.

[Lulu54]

Funny this one should come up, Stan.  I just did a blog piece on Medical Foods - when it gets published I'll try to remember to send you the link.  In the meantime, let me just give you this quick over view and a website to check out-

axona.com

The high points of what I have read-

The brain is made up of a lot of fat
The coconut oil is fatty

It's thought that somehow you can help to correct cognitive problems with the inclusion of coconut  oil in the diet, but axona is some form of refined oil.

This medical food has been FDA approved  for use in early and mid-alzheimers and has shown positive results

This forumla is available by prescription but it doesn't appear that all doctors are inolved with being able to write these rx's- but I'm not sure about that.

I have a FB friend who lives in Florida and has just begun a study where they are testing this same Medical Food on MS patients to see if it affects our Cog Fog.  

Nestle Health Science is now partnered with this small biotech company to further test Axona on other diseases.

I know nothing about the Axona costs or if insurance covers this.  If you google about this you will find quite a bit of information, but much of it is anecdotal (stories and not studies!).

As always, none of this is intended as medical advice- please use caution and common sense in adding anything to your diet.

be well, Laura

[immisceo]

But to the point of this forum, I second doublevision's question; in what ways and by what mechanism has it been shown to help with the symptomatic treatment of Multiple Sclerosis?

[carrieblackwell77]

I have been using it like crazy on skin conditions with my babies like diaper rash ad eczema.  It also works wonderfully on cracked skin like heels and cuticles.  I'm newly in love with it.