Coconut Oil and Diabetes
Diabetes is becoming widespread with rising sugar consumption and obesity. Coconut’s unique properties go a long way in helping maintain health in people with diabetes. Besides lowering blood sugars, in some cases, coconut has completely reversed symptoms of type 2 diabetes with only 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil per day. Coconut can help relieve, and in some instances completely stop neuropathy; it can improve circulation and restore feeling to limbs where numbness has set in. It can improve blood sugar regulation and eliminate hunger and cravings. Coconut sugar is also a low Glycaemic Index sweetening option and fibre rich coconut flour effectively reduces the GI of foods in which it is used.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a metabolic disease where the body either does not produce enough insulin or does not respond to the insulin that is being produced. There are three basic types of diabetes:
Type 1
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease caused when the body will no longer make insulin. Treatment for type 1 diabetes includes daily insulin replacement, usually through injections, and strict monitoring of blood sugar levels. A person with type 1 diabetes cannot live unless he has insulin shots every day.
Type 2
Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, or a condition where the pancreas makes insulin, but the body cannot use it. Type 2 diabetes is managed through a strict diet and constant monitoring of blood sugar levels as well as medications to help the body recognise insulin in the bloodstream. If needed, insulin injections or an insulin pump – if levels drop too low- may also be required. The majority of people who have diabetes have type 2.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes is when a pregnant woman who did not have diabetes before pregnancy has high blood glucose levels during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is treated through diet, exercise, and closely monitoring blood sugar levels. This type of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, but women who develop gestational diabetes are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which can be avoided through a healthy diet and exercise.
Diabetes and Traditional Diets
In his article “Diabetes and virgin coconut oil,” Bruce Fife, ND, describes the rate of diabetes in the Pacific islands and the connection to traditional diets (ones that included fresh fruits, vegetables, and an abundance of coconut products). Fife explains that those who abandoned this traditional diet succumbed to numerous health problems, including Type 2 diabetes. Refined flour, sugar, and processed vegetable oils replaced the traditional bananas, coconuts, and yams, and the result was the emergence of Type 2 diabetes. Fife concludes this article with a startling example from the World Health Organisation: Up to one-half of the urbanised population on the island of Nauru aged thirty to sixty-four is now Type 2 diabetic.
Diabetics are at a higher risk for heart disease because not only do they need to avoid simple carbohydrates, Trans fats and many vegetable oils intensify this problem. Since most liquid vegetable oils cannot be heated without causing the chemical structure to oxidise or go rancid, there are not many oils that diabetics can safely use. Coconut oil is one oil that diabetics can eat because it can be utilised by the body without the need to produce insulin.
Using a traditional diet is very beneficial for diabetics – if the food or oil was not used 100 years ago, then it probably has no place in your pantry, and most vegetable oils were not around in those days. If they were, consider a traditional diet to see how those oils were used.
Fats that were used for cooking 100 years ago, depending on what part of the world you lived in, were rendered animal fats, coconut oil, olive oil, and butter. These fats were used regularly in much higher amounts than what is used today, during a time in history where diabetes and heart disease were non-existent to rare.
Liquid oils, like nut oils or seed oils, were only available in small amounts and were not generally used for cooking the way they are today. Some oils did not even exist in the human diet until very recently, like soy, corn, and canola oil, as well as hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated versions of these and other oils, interestingly enough; these new oils seem to correlate with the rise in type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Is there a connection? You decide.
Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Induced by Diets High in Vegetable Oils
In his book The Coconut Oil Miracle, Bruce Fife mentions some research done in the 1920s, where a class of medical students consumed a diet high in modern-day vegetable oils. This diet triggered reversible diabetes in forty-eight hours! Since this classroom experiment, researcher have been able to duplicate this several times on test animals simply by feeding them diet high in polyunsaturated vegetable oils, then reversing the disease by taking those oils out of their diets.
According to Dr. Fife, coconut oil is the only oil that diabetics can eat without having to worry about their health. Fife explains:
“Not only does it not contribute to diabetes, but it helps regulate blood sugar, thus lessening the effects of the disease. The Nauru people consumed large amounts of coconut oil for generations without ever encountering diabetes, but when they abandoned it for other foods and oils the results were disastrous.”
Why Polyunsaturated Oils Can Contribute to Type 2 Diabetes
When a person is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, one of the first recommendations from a doctor is to eat a diet low in fat, where the fats are limited to polyunsaturated vegetable oils. The problem with this is that these fats have now been proven to be a major part of the cause of Type 2 diabetes. They also cause inflammation, free radical damage, and they suppress the immune system, allowing the body to be vulnerable to all kinds of disease.
About Polyunsaturated Oils
Over the last fifty years, in trying to prove they were the solution for heart disease, clogged arteries, and high cholesterol, polyunsaturated fats have been studied extensively. Early studies came out showing that polyunsaturates reduced cholesterol levels and, therefore, the risk of heart disease, but the larger experiment continues to show that these oils actually cause the very things they are touted for preventing.
The first study aimed at proving that removing saturated fat from the diet would improve the overall health of society was conducted by Dr. Ancel Keys, who “presented a perfect curvilinear correlation between the mortality from coronary heart disease and the consumption of fat in six countries”, but his research was based on a group of countries that he cherry picked to fit the hypothesis he formulated at the beginning of his project. Even in subsequent studies by other researchers, his perfect curve has not been duplicated. By the time that others discovered his data was skewed, it was too late. The study had already been publicised and the media ran with it, using his “research” to build polyunsaturated fatty acids up into the golden calf of the health industry, seducing the American public with claims that these oils are “heart healthy” and can prevent everything from heat attacks to obesity.
The truth is that because of the structure of polyunsaturated oils, they are far less stable than saturated fats, especially coconut oil, which is very stable. These oils have the ability to trigger Type 2 diabetes because as the cell membranes swap out lipids from healthy fat and bring more polyunsaturates into the structure of the cell, that cell becomes less and less able to bind to insulin in the bloodstream, making your cells unable to absorb glucose. Since glucose is the primary energy source for cell in the body, as a result, polyunsaturates are effectively starving you to death, cell by cell.
Fortunately, this effect is reversible, and once you eliminate polyunsaturates from your diet and replace them with healthy fats, like coconut oil, cell membranes begin to replace the lipids with healthy fats, making your cells able to bind to insulin and utilise glucose from the bloodstream. While polyunsaturates can slow down metabolism, coconut oil increases it, helping you not only burn off the coconut oil you just ate but also taking some of your stored fat with it.
How Coconut Oil Reverses the Effects of Type 2 Diabetes
Imagine being able to reverse the effects of type 2 diabetes- to be able to reduce or even eliminate the amount of prescription medications that you are currently taking. Coconut oil has a number of beneficial properties that make it ideal for reversing the effects of type 2 diabetes. Its unique structure allows it to act like glucose to feed your body on the cellular level, boosting your metabolism and powering up you immune system with its healing properties. Its ability to improve blood circulation and reduce numbness and neuropathy make it ideal for those who suffer from the effects of type 2 diabetes.
Coconut Oil Nourishes the Body
Normally, when you eat something, your digestive system breaks it down and converts it to glucose. The glucose enters your bloodstream, which triggers your pancreas to make insulin. Insulin attaches to a cell and then helps bring glucose into the cell, where it is used as energy. With diabetics, either the insulin does not get created or it cannot attach to the cells, which causes the cells to be unable to absorb and utilise glucose.
Coconut oil does not need insulin to be absorbed by the cells and to be used as energy. Your body can use the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil in much the same way as it can use glucose, but it doesn’t require insulin to do it. This allows the pancreas to rest, allowing it to heal, and in some cases, recover the ability to make insulin.
Metabolism
Because of the problems with absorbing glucose, a common problem with type 2 diabetes is lower energy levels and weight gain. Without the glucose to power your cells, your metabolism slows down and your energy level drops. Coconut oil can counter this effect because of the way that it is used by the body. As coconut oil is absorbed by the cells, it boosts the metabolism, allowing your body to burn more fat faster. It also slows your digestion and allows you to feel fuller for longer. Because coconut oil can be used so quickly by the cells, it creates a burst of energy, which then increases metabolism and your energy levels, and aids in weight loss. Several research studies have been done on metabolism and coconut oil, and studies showed decreased body fat in rats and in humans.
Blood Sugar Regulation
If your body is unable to control blood sugar levels, many complications can arise, including obesity, constant hunger and food cravings, hypoglycaemia and even sever hypoglycaemia or diabetic shock that can lead to loss of consciousness, which can be life-threatening. Because coconut oil can supply needed energy without insulin, it helps slow down the absorption of sugars into the bloodstream. Coconut has a low glycaemic index and helps prevent blood sugar fluctuations. This balances the amount of sugar that enters the bloodstream with the amount of insulin produced, helping reverse insulin resistance and improve glucose control. Taking 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil can lower blood sugar levels that are 80-100 points above normal within half an hour, reducing cravings and improving energy levels.
Diabetics need to eat foods with a low glycaemic index
Coconut sugar has a low GI of 35 so is a useful tool in reducing GI. When coconut flour is added to foods, including those high in starch and sugar, it lowers the glycaemic index of these foods. This was clearly demonstrated by T. P. Trinidad and colleagues in a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2003. In their study, both normal and diabetic subjects were given a variety of foods to eat. These included muesli bars, carrot cake, and brownies—all foods that a diabetic normally limits because of their high sugar and starch content. It was found that as the coconut flour content of the foods increased, the blood sugar response of the diabetic and non-diabetic subjects became nearly identical. In other words, coconut flour moderated the release of sugar into the bloodstream so that there was no spike in blood glucose levels.
Blood Circulation and Neuropathy
Good circulation is critical for diabetics, especially if you are experiencing numbness in your feet. Many diabetics get infections or cuts on their feet and don’t realise until it is too late. If this happens, serious complications can arise. Coconut oil is very beneficial for improving blood circulation and preventing or even reversing problems with lack of feeling in the feet and legs. Eating 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil daily can reduce or even reverse poor circulation and return feeling to the affected area in as little as ten days. Eating coconut oil every day can also help reduce or eliminate diabetic neuropathy or nerve pain and tingling that occurs in the extremities.
The Everything Coconut Diet Cookbook by Anji Sandage and Lorena Novak Bull
