An official of the Philippine Coconut Authority-7 recently said that they noticed an increasing number of health-conscious men buying bottles of virgin coconut oil by the dozen.
According to PCA-7 official, most of their current virgin coconut oil buyers are men in uniform, from the police force, the army and the National Bureau of Investigation.
The official revealed that NBI men are buying bottles by dozens as they are impressed with the instant energy boost it gives them during sudden, unscheduled operations.
"Most of them are using virgin coconut oil as an effective cleansing agent, some even believe it has an anti-Aids (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) power," according to the PCA official.
Once man in uniform and a virgin coconut oil buyer said the constant intake of VCO had cured him of a venereal disease he contracted from a one-night-paid-stand.
The PCA official said that though it sounds funny as it gives relief to promiscuous individuals, as "virgin coconut oil's anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-protozoan capability is very true."
He said that in 1999 "there was already a study that showed virgin coconut oil could reduce, if not totally wipe out Human Immunodeficiency Virus, but was yet in need of further follow-up."
He also said that Conrado Dayrit, father of Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit and also the man behind what is now called the "miracle oil", says the study was "just the beginning of an exhaustive work" as it would involve 200 HIV positive patients.
He said Dayrit, who is already over 80 years old, was looking for young researchers to do the task.
The initial study involved 14 HIV patients in San Lazaro Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila, which was conducted for six months by Dayrit's group.
The study showed that the coconut chemical lauric acid can inhibit, delay and reduce the spread of HIV.
It was found out that the viral loads of research subjects went down, while their CD4 cells -the human body's first line of defense against infection- went up.
The Philippine Coconut Research and Development Foundation described the test results as "promising", but was also quoted as having cautioned for a need for "more concrete conclusions to satisfy the world scientific community". - Ferliza C. Contratista