Thanks to the spectacular work of Dr. Mary Newport, many people with Alzheimer's disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and ALS, have enjoyed improvement by adding coconut oil to their diet.
Dr. Newport's book, Alzheimer's Disease: What If There Was A Cure For Alzheimer's Disease And Nobody Knew?, explains coconut oil provides an alternative brain fuel, ketones, when the brain does not accept the primary brain fuel, glucose.
Many people have started making coconut oil a part of the daily diet. It's good as a possible preventative measure against some neurodegenerative diseases. It's also good for your heart and combats infection.
Many of us add two tablespoons into our morning oatmeal, which is easy and delicious. But there are certainly other ways to incorporate coconut oil into your diet, such as substituting it for other oils and fats in cooking, mixing it into smoothies, and mixing it into salad dressing.
Here are a couple yummy coconut oil recipes. Remember, some coconut oil is odorless and tasteless, like the Lou Ana brand. And others, like the Organic Valley brand, smells and tastes like coconut.
It's nice to have both on hand, because sometimes you really want that coconut flavor, such as in the granola below. Other times you don't want that flavor, such as if you're cooking eggs in it.
COCONUT FUDGE
Melt and mix together 1 cup each of coconut oil and chocolate chips and divide equally into a plastic ice cube ray and place in freezer. In a 16 cube tray, each cube will equal 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Add grated coconut and/or nuts for variety.
COCONUT GRANOLA (Soooooo good!)
Ingredients:
1 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup pepitas (can be found at Trader Joe's)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, almonds, pepitas, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and coconut extract. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients. Stir until dry ingredients are well coated. Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread granola into an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes or until granola is golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Let granola cool completely. Store in an air-tight container for up to 1 month.