Mad rush for SARS cure

After my column on SARS came out last week, people asked if I had stumbled on any cure for it. Actually, there is a mad rush for one.  In fact, I think the pharmaceutical company Roche is almost ready to make available by July a test for SARS.  The following possible natural cure has been circulated:

The Coconut Oil Of Life

If you go to the website of the Department of Health, you will find a lot of useful information about SARS as well as Dr. Conrado S. Dayrit’s four-pager on "Coconut Oil in Health and Disease: Its and Monolaurin’s Potential as Cure for HIV/AIDS."

According to Dr. Dayrit, clinical studies show that the use of ML or monolaurin, the monoglyceride form of lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid of the coconut, reduced the viral load of seven out of 14 HIV patients who participated in the study at the San Lazaro Hospital.  This happened only after three months of receiving coconut oil.  No serious side effects were observed, Dr. Dayrit notes.

In a more recent study, Dr. Dayrit announced that coconut oil protected animals against six powerful muta-carcinogenic chemicals.  It was noted that coconut oil gave a significantly higher protection than soya oil.

Further, an AIDS organization, Keep Hope Alive, documented several HIV-AIDS patients who lowered their viral loads to undetectable levels by taking coconut oil or eating half a coconut a day.  Three-and-a-half tablespoons of coconut oil or half a coconut contain 20 to 25 grams of lauric acid, Dr. Dayrit explains.

Dr. Dayrit starts his discourse by saying that the coconut is a tree of life providing us with food, drink, materials for housing, fuel, and other important industrial uses.  Now, the coconut may not only be a spring of hope for HIV patients but may provide some inroads to SARS prevention or cure.

The Key Is A Strong Immune System

SARS seems to be more serious in the elderly, though there is no conclusive evidence that the healthy are spared. Children seem not to be at risk. Clean surroundings, proper hygiene, exercise, a well-balanced diet, and some immunity boosters such as vitamins and minerals will definitely help, but I think that we also forget that stress is one of our greatest enemies.  Almost 80 percent of all hospitalized illnesses can be traced to stress which goes to prove that too much stress can weaken our immune system. 

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E-mail mylene@goldsgym manila.com for questions and comments.