Coconut Oil... the new Wonder Drug?

So over the weekend as I was waiting in the check-out line at my grocery store and I saw this teaser on Woman's World magazine about coconut oil and weight loss. I took just a few moment and found the article and read the bold points before the checker finished scanning my items.

Interesting... after doing a Google search, and reading a bunch of different articles, it does seem like it's the new (or rather the old) wonder drug.

Check out all the things that coconut oil is good for... "The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc."

They say to have 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day. Now, I don't know if you can just take it off a spoon like they did in the olden days with castor oil, or if it comes in capsules. It would be amazing if it did come in a capsule!

"Coconut oil has been used throughout Asia and the Pacific for thousands of years as both a food and a medicine. Even today it holds a highly respected position in the Ayurvedic medicine of India. Only recently has modern medical research confirmed the many health benefits traditionally attributed to this remarkable oil.

Another incredible fact about coconut oil is that even though it is a fat, it actually promotes weight loss!! The reason is again because of the healthy medium chain fatty acids. These fatty acids do not circulate in the bloodstream like other fats, but are sent directly to the liver where they are immediately converted into energy, just like carbohydrates. So the body uses the fat in coconut oil to produce energy, rather than be stored as body fat."

I think that I might actually be seeking this stuff out and adding it to my arsenal of weight loss weapons.

Coconut oil has been called "the healthiest dietary oil on earth". If you're not using coconut oil for your daily cooking and body care needs you're missing out on one of nature's most amazing health products.

First Goal

So my first self weigh-in was today. I had been weighing myself every couple of days since I first started my journey on January 28th. Earlier this week I was down 4 pounds, and my goal of losing 5 pounds by today was within my reach. However, during the course of this past week I had an affair with some home made cookies and at one point I had gained 2 pounds back. Then there was the Valentines cupcakes that one of my co-workers brought in to work!! CUPCAKES ARE EVIL!!! So, when I weighed myself this morning, I was down 4 pounds. This is not a failure. Two steps forward, one step back.Four pounds is pretty good for just over 2 weeks. It's four less pounds that I weighed 2 weeks ago! Anything is better than nothing, right?

For my next 5 pound goal, I'm giving myself a little bit more time. My next goal deadline is March 15th. If I reach that goal before that date, then I'll set the new goal from the new date. To reach this goal, I need to be as motivated as I was when I first started this journey. I personally think that this goal will be easier to reach as we're getting into pads soon with football which means that I'll be working harder and sweating more which means more weight loss... provided that I don't have one-night-stands with "evil"!

I'm not drinking a full 8 glasses of water, but I am drinking more water than I had in the past. I've been pretty good with eating more fruits and vegetables instead of bags of chips and trips to the dark side. This isn't easy and I didn't expect it to be. Little tiny baby steps equals one giant big step over time.

Obseity "virus"

So I heard on the news last night that there is an obesity "virus". I apologize that most of this is a 'copy'/'paste' - but it's still an interesting read. What I also find interesting, is that the article is dated August 2007, but I heard this for the first time on the news February 2009. Why such the delay in getting the news out to the people. In any event, here's the story.

Infection with a virus linked to human obesity ups fat-cell production and makes fat cells fatter.

"Infectobesity" is the term coined by Louisiana State University researcher Nikhil Dhurandhar, PhD, and colleagues to describe the phenomenon. Their research strongly links a common human virus -- adenovirus-36 or Ad-36 -- to human obesity.

Previous research showed that nearly 30% of obese people, but only 11% of lean people, have been infected with Ad-36. Monkeys experimentally infected with Ad-36 gain significant weight.

Now Dhurandhar's team finds evidence that Ad-36 has a direct effect on human fat cells. Infection of adult stem cells from human fat triggers their transition into pre-fat cells. And these virus-infected cells hold much more fat than normal pre-fat cells.

The end result: more, fatter fat cells.

"We're not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections". "We would ultimately like to identify the underlying factors that predispose some obese people to the effects of this virus and eventually find a way to treat it."

It's not entirely clear how the virus acts on fat stem cells. But Pasarica reported a major clue: One specific Ad-36 gene, called E4Orfl, is responsible for the virus's obesity-related effects.

The researchers are now trying to figure out why some people seem to become obese after Ad-36 infection while others don't.

How is this virus spread? I read that it can be spread as easily as the common cold! "The condition has been linked to a highly-infectious virus which causes sniffles and sore throats. Spread by dirty hands, the adenovirus apparently attacks tissue and causes fat cells to multiply - leading to massive weight gain."

So while not all obese people have this virus, and not all skinny people don't have this virus... it's just one more thing to consider if your typical diet and exercise aren't working. You have one more tool in your toolbox that you can take to your Doctor to try and find a solution to the problem.