In this series of blog posts, we’ll be looking into the different types of alternative therapies associated with dementia. In this blog, we review coconut oil: 

Coconut oil is a popular product for helping nails grow strong and hair gleam, but did you know that it may also have a positive application for those living with dementia? 

Evidence is currently thin on the ground, but we would like to explore it to see if it could be used more and more in the future. 

There is a theory that Alzheimer’s disease could be caused by the fact that glucose is not efficiently used by the brain cells as an energy source. The nerves then die off as a result. Coconut oil could be used to provide this missing energy instead. This is still subject to a lot more research.  

A clinical trial in 2017 was suspended due to a lack of participants to make any findings statistically significant, so for now, we are in the dark. 

Actually, the opposite may be true. 

Some believe that certain fats could create more acetylcholinesterase. This protein is already at a raised for people with Alzehimer’s disease, so this means that coconut oil may not be the silver bullet for dementia after all. 

Glucose does seem to have a part to play. Given that insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, shows some connection to brain changes in people with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Currently, the Alzheimer’s Society is supporting research into insulin to see if drugs targeting the insulin system may have a positive effect on halting the development of dementia or reducing its symptoms. 

If you or a loved one would like to know more about the types of therapy we provide here at Me2U, please get in touch with our friendly centre staff today. 

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18th May 2023