Research outside of the United States continues to show what the world is investigating and learning about coconut oil, while such information is censored in the U.S. corporate “mainstream” media since coconut oil presents a threat to Big Food and Big Pharma’s financial interests.

Recent studies confirm that coconut oil protects the heart, and also potentially protects other vital organs including the liver and kidneys of those suffering from diabetes.

This research contradicts the propaganda against coconut oil by American organizations such as the American Heart Association which still promote the now failed theory of heart disease that blames saturated fats and cholesterol as causative factors in heart disease.

Recent Russian White Paper Explains How Coconut Oil Protects Heart Health

Three Russian researchers collaborated on a “white paper” explaining the health virtues of coconut oil to ameliorate diabetic symptoms and protect cardiovascular disease.

It was published as [Laurine fatty acids, medium fatty acids and triglycerides, hyperlipidemia, resistance to insulin, prevention of atherosclerosis and ateromatosis.] in 2019 by the journal Klinicheskaia laboratornaia diagnostika.

The paper acknowledges the association of low incidences of cardiovascular disease among cultures with high coconut oil consumption.

It details how coconut oil’s high amount of lauric acid is rich with medium chain fatty acids, which can be easily metabolized by the liver to produce ketones for immediate cellular energy in lieu of glucose.

The Russian paper mentions that metabolic improvements among pre-diabetic and diabetic patients are due to the ability of cells to metabolize ketones for energy without needing insulin to escort glucose into the cells.

Usually, various methods of fasting or going on a ketogenic diet are considered the go-to methods of creating enough ketones to bypass metabolic dysfunction. But the Russian researchers offered supplementing with coconut oil as a viable option, stating:

Food enriched with medium-chain TG is optimal for increasing the ketone content in blood plasma, cerebrospinal fluid without limiting the carbohydrate content in food.

The formation of excess ketone bodies by cells can be achieved by activating the metabolic transformations of medium-chain FAs [fatty acids], without fasting and [while] preserving carbohydrates in food.

Coconut oil has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, preventing the formation of atherosclerosis and atheromatosis. (Source)

Animal Study in Serbia Demonstrated How Coconut Oil Protects Vital Organs

Researchers at the University of Belgrade in Serbia teamed up to determine if and to what extent does virgin coconut oil (VCO) protect the heart, liver, and kidneys of diabetic rats from oxidative stress. 

The rats were injected with alloxan, a compound used in animal studies to induce diabetes. According to one definition, alloxan at first creates hyperglycemia with insulin resistance, then by damaging beta cells in the pancreas. 

Whether alloxan induces diabetes 2 first or not, ultimately the beta cell damage does occur producing a diabetes 1 result. (Source) 

The results of this 16-week study were published by the journal Food Function on March 13, 2019, as The protective role of virgin coconut oil on the alloxan-induced oxidative stress in the liver, kidneys, and heart of diabetic rats. 

The diabetic-induced rats that were fed a diet that was 20 percent VCO wound up eating less with a reduction of body mass.

The researchers were able to determine that the virgin coconut oil-consuming diabetic rats benefited from various glutathione activities specific to each of the three organs analyzed to protect them from oxidation. The glutathione molecule is considered the master or mother antioxidant.

It can scavenge free radicals from tissues before damage to the tissue occurs. But then the glutathione molecules are saturated with free radicals that need to be unloaded and sent back out empty enough to absorb more free radicals. This process occurs in the liver. 

According to this research, adding virgin coconut oil to the diet augments various glutathione activities specific to the heart, liver, and kidneys to withstand oxidative stress from diabetic conditions and potentially offer some level of symptom relief.

The varied biochemical results led the researchers to conclude:

The results of canonical* discriminant analysis of oxidative stress parameters revealed that VCO exerts its effects in a tissue-specific manner.

*Canonical in this case means “according to recognized rules or scientific laws.” (Source) 

Virgin coconut oil helped metabolize different aspects of glutathione events according to specific organ tissues involved, implying virgin coconut oil adaptogenic with some target selectivity intelligence. 

What this study’s abstract does not mention is how coconut oil’s medium chain triglycerides create an energy source that replaces glucose, and ketone bodies, which are not insulin related. If your cells are insulin resistant, ketones provide cellular energy without needing insulin to metabolize glucose. 

It’s been observed that diabetes 2 can lead to a pancreatic beta cell burnout from over-creating insulin in an attempt to overcome insulin resistance, thus leading to external insulin dependence or diabetes 1. So this is another way coconut oil can help correct diabetes without side effects.