COCONUT oil is being hailed as an exciting new treatment for Candida albican infections.
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Candida albicans is a common yeast or fungus found as part of the gut's normal flora and is usually well-regulated by the immune system. It's well known as the yeast that causes thrush in the mouth and genitals.
When the immune system is compromised, however, the fungus can spread beyond the GI tract and cause major health problems.
Systemic infections caused by C. albicans can lead to invasive candidiasis, which is the fourth most common blood infection among hospitalized patients in the United States according to the Centre for Disease control.
The infection is most common among immunocompromised patients, including premature infants and older adults.
Antifungal drugs can be used to decrease and control C. albicans in the gut and prevent it from spreading to the bloodstream, but repeated use of antifungal drugs can lead to drug resistant-strains of fungal pathogens.
However, scientists at Tufts University in Massachusetts have found that coconut oil is effective against the C. albicans infection.
The team, led by microbiologist Carol Kumamoto and nutrition scientist Alice H. Lichtenstein, investigated the effects of three different dietary fats on the amount of C. albicans in the guts of mice - coconut oil, beef tallow and soybean oil.
A control group of mice were fed a standard diet for mice.
Coconut oil was selected based on previous studies that found that the fat had antifungal properties in the laboratory setting.
The researchers found that coconut oil alone, or the combination of coconut oil and beef tallow, reduced the amount of C. albicans in the gut by more than 90% compared to a beef tallow-rich diet.
