On Health Benefits of Coconut Oil - Page 1 we saw how virgin coconut oil may have positive effects on your cholesterol levels and reduce your risk for heart disease. Latest research shows virgin coconut oil may reduce the risk for cancer and help fight infectious diseases.

Health Benefits of Coconut Oil and Cancer Prevention

New York - Could you really eat fat and prevent cancer?

It may sound a little far fetch but consider this animal study from the Division of Nutritional Carcinogenesis at the American Health Foundation in New York.

When rats were fed a high-fat diet containing 23% corn oil, safflower oil, lard or beef tallow they showed a higher incidence for developing colon tumors.

However, when study subjects were fed a high-fat diet of 23% coconut oil, olive oil or fish oil they didn't develop any incidence for developing colon tumors.

While this is an animal study, it appears one of the health benefits of coconut oil is it may reduce the risk for developing colon tumors and cancer. Of course, more human-based research is needed to determine actual dosages and effectiveness of this healthy oil.

Coconut Oil May Help Reduce the Risk for Breast Cancer

One of the health benefits of coconut oil is it may help reduce your risk for breast cancer. A study from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute compared the effects of different fats, including corn oil and coconut oil and their effects on developing breast cancer.

Researchers fed animal subjects a high-fat diet (23%) and low fat diet (5%) using either safflower and corn oil or coconut and olive oil. The coconut oil was also fed at a high-fat diet of 23%. Scientists then tried to chemically-induce breast cancer to determine what role different fats would have in developing breast cancer.

Scientists found test subjects on the high-fat safflower and corn oil diets showed increased breast tumors. Subjects eating a diet of olive oil or coconut oil diets (and their low-fat diet counterparts) showed no incidence for developing breast cancer.

Why is this? Researchers believe the coconut oil caused a slight increase in cholesterol levels thereby protecting them from developing breast cancer. The test subjects on the polyunsaturated vegetable oil diet (safflower and corn oil) had reduced serum cholesterol and developed more tumors.

Since weight gain and total caloric intake were similar in all groups, the results show a high-fat diet may promote cancer - but again, it depends on what type of fatty acids are in the diet.

It appears that eating a high-fat diet of coconut oil or olive oil reduced the incidence of chemically-induced breast cancer, compared to eating a high-fat diet of safflower oil or corn oil.

Of course, this doesn't mean eating lots of vegetable oil will increase your risk for breast cancer. But it does bring attention to a possible relationship between the types of fats you eat and your risk for developing cancer.

One of the health benefits of coconut oil is it may reduce the incidence of breast cancer. These study results are promising and more human studies are needed in this area before forming any conclusions.

Anti-microbial Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil

Can you use coconut oil to fight germs, viruses and fungi? Do a search on 'virgin coconut oil' on the internet and you'll come across websites touting the germ-fighting properties of coconut oil.

One of the health benefits of coconut oil is it's an excellent source of Lauric Acid, a special kind of fatty acid. Lauric acid is used by our bodies to make monolaurin, a potent antimicrobial. Monolaurin is the same immune-boosting substance produced by babies when they ingest their mother's breast milk. Research shows monolaurin can inactivate viruses by destroying the fatty membrane surrounding them.

Will eating lots of virgin coconut oil help your body inactivate virus and other pathogens? Learn more about the Antiviral Properties of Virgin Coconut Oil and see how this fatty acid may play a role in how we fight viral infections such as HIV and Herpes.

In spite of the negative press this tropical oil has received in the past, you can see how there are many health benefits of coconut oil. This tropical oil is truly a functional food and more research is needed for us to discover the full potential for this healthy oil.

Research References:

Click Here for More Virgin Coconut Oil from Amazon.com:


Return from Health Benefits of Coconut Oil back to
Coconut Oil Home Page