Now is probably a good time to start taking virgin coconut oil (VCO).

In case you didn’t know, studies conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) showed that VCO, whether mixed with food or taken by itself can reduce the severity and speed up recovery from symptoms and infections to just a week among mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.

At the rate COVID-19 is constantly mutating, scientists are now saying that COVID-19 will stay forever. For example, as the highly contagious BA.5 variant continues to spread, a new, even more transmissible strain, BA.2.75, has been detected in the United States.

Lifestyle spoke with Dr. Fabian Antonio M. Dayrit, professor emeritus chemist at the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), who co-authored the studies on VCO’s efficacy against COVID-19. His research determined that VCO decreased coronavirus count by 60-90 percent on a low viral load. It highlighted VCO’s ability to boost the body’s immune response against COVID-19.

An in-vitro study was conducted in Singapore in 2020 by AdMU with Duke University-National University when the China variant was spreading across the globe. The study was co-authored by Dr. Mary Newport of Spring Hill Neonatology, Florida.

Newport had previously cured her husband’s Alzheimer’s with coconut oil and ketones.

There were also studies in Valenzuela City and Santa Rosa, Laguna, among mild to moderate COVID-19 patients exhibiting symptoms like fever, cough, colds, body ache, headache, loss of taste and loss of smell.

Decreasing levels of C-reactive protein

Through all the studies, Dayrit said that VCO maintained its efficacy, including against the aggressive Delta variant. He said VCO works, but people need to take it early, like at the onset of symptoms. Even better, he said, if you just take VCO every day.

The studies showed that the diminishing signs and symptoms of COVID-19 were supported by the decreasing levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) among patients. The level of CRP is a biomarker for monitoring inflammation or infections. The studies showed the CRP levels dropping to normal after 14 days and continually decreasing over 28 days.

None of the patients experienced overdose side effects, he said. The worst side effect was a bad stomach. VCO can cause mild diarrhea in some people, so Dayrit said you must gradually increase your intake until your body can tolerate three tablespoons a day.

“VCO is not fattening. A lot of it is medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) fatty acids and they’re not deposited as much as the usual fat,” he said. “You can take all three tablespoons in the morning or one tablespoon at mealtimes.”

The trials confirmed that VCO can hasten healing of COVID-19. DOST had announced that VCO can be an effective adjunct therapy in managing COVID-19 symptoms.

Dayrit is the son of the late Dr. Conrado Dayrit, M.D., a cardiologist/pharmacologist who dedicated his life to discovering the health benefits of coconuts. The younger Dayrit completed his master’s at Princeton University and finished his postdoctorate research at Oxford University.

“The coconut is very healthy—the meat, the buko juice, the oil,” he said.

He cautions, though, that VCO will not replace vaccines. “VCO serves a different purpose.” —CONTRIBUTED