Coconut Oil????

[yakkiyakkiyogi]

I had read on this very forum of mum's experiences of strangers giving them impromptu advice but only yesterday had that experience for the first time myself.

Yesterday I was at the bank with DS (3.4) and like any usual trip to the bank with him was trying to use the self service machine along with trying to keep him to stand still for 1 minute so I can press any button. He was being his usual self (he gets quite excited when out n about). So as I was leaving, one of the ladies working at the bank stopped me saying she needed to talk to me about my son. I immediately felt my guard going up thinking she's going to say something nasty but she just said "he has autism right, like my daughter?" She then asked me to come aside and just went on to say that her daughter (now 6) was diagnosed at 3 and was non verbal till a month ago when she started giving her coconut oil on toast with butter. She said the effect has been so profound that she promised herself she'd pass on the info to anyone she saw could be helped by it.

Now Ive been researching and have found a lot of info online. One part of me is thinking its a natural thing so there is no harm in trying it out but when I read it being referred to as the "cure" for alzheimers and autism I become a bit sceptical thinking if it was then why won't any professionals talk about it. I mean I would have thought my son's dietician would have mentioned it in our sessions or in the many emails we exchange where we discuss his poor diet and digestion issues in detail.

So basically I am looking to see if anyone out there has had any info or experience with coconut oil and would you go for it with your children?

Thanks

thats really interesting.

I think we would know if coconut oil would cure ASD

Fwiw, the choc household uses coconut oil a lot and minichoc is still autistic. but it tastes great (also for cooling and baking )

I don't know about coconut Oil, but coconut shampoo tastes revolting.

If you read up online you will find coconut oil cures everything from ASD, Cancer, dry hair, dodgy car engines, dirty stainless steel, depression.... More sensible sites say yes it is an alternative to other oils and has pro and cons just like other oils (higher in some things and lower in others). So no harm in using it but don't expect miracles.

Also seems odd to me to serve one fat on toast with another fat (butter and oil) but each to their own.

It brought my ancestors back from the GRAVE!

No experience of it re ASD (although I do use it myself for skin care and cooking and it's great), but it can't do any harm to try!

I imagine the reason that professionals won't talk about it is due to lack of scientific proof, which doesn't mean anything one way or the other if no proper research has been done.

Violet it would be unethical to say 'this is new let's give it to people and see if it works'. You need to have some basis to believe it might first. Internet hype and anecdote is not enough and coconut oil comes with as much hype as the best of them.

Violet it would be unethical to say 'this is new let's give it to people and see if it works'.

I agree, that's what I mean by they won't prescribe it due to lack of scientific proof of whether it works and any side effects.

Chocnomore - you said I think we would know if coconut oil would cure ASD - would we? Has anybody done the scientific trials to find out? I doubt it. Personally I doubt whether it's a miracle cure, but nobody has proved otherwise so you can't categorically say it's rubbish.

Since there is no scientific evidence, you have to rely on anecdote and trying it yourself to form an opinion (should you wish to).

It's not a black and white issue - the NHS doesn't prescribe tea tree oil (at least I assume it doesn't) - but plenty of people use it and find that it works to combat infections.

I wasn't thinking trying it in terms of prescribing - I was thinking about in a clinical trial. Research starts well before you get to a trial stage; you might look for evidence in epidemiological studies as well as trying to establish biological mechanisms. But you are right in that new compounds can have effects that 'research' has not yet identified.

The problem with the DIY approach is that all treatments come not just with potential benefits but also potential harms and the information presented particularly on the Internet can be very skewed and uninformed. Coconut oil has been advocated to cure cancer and aids on the Internet as have a thousand and one snake oils. If you decided to give it a try and stop your conventional medications the costs could be your life.

I’ve been using coconut oil in one way or another for a few years now. There is one brand, Tiana, which I mainly use. Their extra virgin coconut oil is a great product. I use it as cooking oil and as a spread on sandwiches and my children love it. It has a mild taste but the thing I like about it is that it is not as greasy as other oils so it can be used on skin. Going back to the original post, It does boost metabolism so it does have diatary benefits. I don’t know whether it will help your childs autism or not but I can’t see harm in using it alongside other medication. Just ask your doctor first to make sure it doesn’t affect it or to make sure you’re not allergic. But I definitely wouldn’t use it solely for that.