Susan Carmack wrote:
>
> Hi Ilya and all,
>
> >The other reason is that coconut oil is rich in medium chain triglycerides,
> >which might irritate stomach in some people (caprilyc acid is a MCT). So one
> >may start a bit slow if unsure of the reaction.
>
> Please tell me more about MCTs. I think I ate too much pemmican with
> coconut oil last night!
> But it tastes so good!
I don't have much on them. Basically, they are they are fats composed
of fatty acids 8, 9, and 10 carbon atoms chains, saturated. This is
about medium length (they range up to about 24 or so), thus the name.
Caprilic acid is 8 carbon long saturated fatty acid, and it appears
to destroy yeast directly (I believe yeast incorporates it into its
membrane, but the membrane becomes too fluid and raptures. Not sure
if this little factoid has been substantiated by any research, just
something I have read. However, the fact that it is effective against
yeast HAS been confirmed). Monolauric acid is the 10 carbon atoms
long saturated fatty acid. It is effective against herpes family
viruses. Not sure what the action is, but I believe it also damages
the protective membrane of the virus. Athletes take MCT as a fast
acting fuel. I have read that some people are sensitive to it and
they limit their intake to a couple of table spoons at a time.
The side effect appears to be irritated stomach. The source for MCT
is usually coconut oil, since it's fairly cheap and rich in MCTs.
As for coconut oil, I eat quite a bit of it (have a good and cheap
Thai place near me that will make things to order. They will even
make a low carb pad tai for you - without noodles, but with extra
bean sprouts. Since I have brought a few of my low carbing friends
there they don't even get surprised anymore and will even ask if
we want to take the rice out of the rice dishes.) I usually order
curry dishes Thai style (has very different veggies in them, look
more paleo and low carb than what they put into American style
dishes). Such dishes will have at least a cup of oil, if not more
in them, and I have no problems with it, unless they add too many
spices. I AM more sensitive to spices ever since I cut out the
carbs.

> Also, I am looking for references that deal with snoring and diet.
It appears that many people snore simply because they are overweight
and have extra tissue in their throat that blocks the passages.
Additionally, some have extra mucus. From what I know, if a person
loses weight then snoring is likely to go away. May not work for
everyone (may be a different cause of snoring in some cases).
A bit of personal experience. Had a girlfriend who did NOT snore.
Then she gained a lot of weight and started snoring. She also
developed a number of health problems (chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia,
autoimmune hypothyroid - Hashimotos, and a few others). She is the
prime candidate for a paleo diet, but she won't listen to me about
it (we aren't together anymore, so we only talk once a week or so
and she isn't in the mood to talk health).

Ilya