Coconut Oil: What Industrial Food Doesn't Want You to Know

Preface.

The first thing I should state on here is that I had great hopes for this website. Then I realized I had a family, and they liked to eat. On clean plates. And wear clean clothes. And even sometimes sing songs or play games together.

Since then, this thing's been utterly abandoned. Now I'm desperate enough to settle for a compromise: there's plenty of things out there I think are important, things I want to contemplate -- decisions I want to make. Thing is, I can't put in the time to make this the glorious blog it should be -- has the capability to be -- if I had the time. No, family comes first, and right now they come middle and last and everywhere in between, too. So this website will have incidents of poor grammar, of run-on sentences (but you already knew that,) and of meandering, poorly-planned thoughts. But at least it will be written in, if only sporadically.

It's me. Did you really expect anything else?

Where She Actually Makes A Point. Or Tries.

Here's the thing about coconut oil: it's a medium-chain-fatty-acid. Since we're on such close terms, I just call 'em MCFA, or McFaahs. Well, I actually had never heard of them until tonight. Please don't tell anyone. That little acronym didn't mean much to me until today, but I'm putting it in my permanent memory -- it's too important to forget.

So since we're already swimming above my head, I'll be quoting heavily from one of the Green Smoothie Girl's articles on the subject. Her website is of a personal nature, and she has no monetary interest in the industry. Her article words the information more succinctly and precisely than any other website I came across:


"Coconut oil is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-parasite, and anti-fungal. It prevents heart disease, linked by recent research to lingering infections in the blood and tissues that coconut oil kills. It has been documented to inhibit carcinogenic agents that cause colon cancer and breast tumors in animals.

Coconut oil is highly alkaline and purifies the blood—never clogging arteries since it’s liquid above 76 degrees. It is used in hospitals around the world: it’s ideal for people with digestion problems because the medium-chain triglycerides don’t require pancreatic enzymes or bile to digest. It’s perfect for diabetics because it helps regulate blood sugar and supplies energy to cells without affecting blood sugar or insulin levels. It’s been shown to improve insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose."

For someone like me, who has a weak pancreas and gallbladder, coconut oil is a Godsend. They can be digested quickly and easily, and are especially helpful in infants' milk. (See the book Coconut Oil: For Health and Beauty by Cynthia Holzapfel for more on its ability to help with the digestive track.) Green Smoothie Girl goes on:


Another rare feature of coconut oil is that its main component is lauric acid, the powerful antimicrobial, immune-function compound in mother’s breast milk. That’s why baby formula companies use it for fatty acids in formula—it’s the closest they can get to mother’s milk. (Unfortunately, they use an inexpensive processed version of the oil.)

Much has been written about EFAs—essential fatty acids with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that your body cannot manufacture itself and therefore must receive from food. I put a tablespoon of fresh flax oil in my green smoothie to get these compounds. Although coconut oil isn’t a significant source of EFAs, it can increase the efficiency of EFAs by as much as 100%!

Coconut oil health benefits include combating viral infections including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and AIDS; helping with gallbladder disease, osteoporosis, Crohn’s Disease, and hypoglycemia; and nourishing premature, low-birth-weight babies. Many people say coconut oil helps them control sugar cravings.

"Fat" has such a negative connotation in contemporary culture it can be hard to believe any health claim can be worth increasing your intake. But good fat is essential to optimum brain function, and nothing in our body operates without receiving its direction from our little noggins. Fat is the principal source of energy for our bodies; it protects our body from the cold; they aid in the development of secondary sex characteristics. They are truly vital for our well-being, and the healthier the fat, the healthier and happier the body.

If you'd like to learn more about coconut oil -- and you're feeling studious -- there are plenty of peer-reviewed articles on the subject. A quick Google search will provide plenty of results, but it can be trickier to find websites without a monetary interest on the subject.

Jefferson's Sincere Heart

While Scott and I perused a cute little store in American Fork the other day, we came across a portrait of Thomas Jefferson with the following quote underneath:

The genuine and simple religion of Jesus will one day be restored: such as it was preached and practised by himself. Very soon after his death it became muffled up in mysteries, and has been ever since kept in concealment from the vulgar eye. To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.

--Jefferson to Van der Kemp, 1820

After such a stirring quote, we rushed home to learn what more we could of Thomas Jefferson's religious beliefs. Below are my (other) top three favorite quotes:

1: Negating the Doctrine of the Trinity
It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticisms that three are one, and one is three; and yet that the one is not three, and the three are not one . . . But this constitutes the craft, the power and the profit of the priests. Sweep away their gossamer fabrics of factitious religion, and they would catch no more flies. We should all then, like the Quakers, live without an order of priests, moralize for ourselves, follow the oracle of conscience, and say nothing about what no man can understand, nor therefore believe.

--Jefferson to John Adams, 1813



2: Parties vs. Independent Thinking
I am not a federalist, because I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction, is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.

--Jefferson to Hopkinson, 1789



3: Disciple of Christ vs. "Christians"
I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me infidel and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its author never said nor saw. They have compounded from the heathen mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man, of which the great reformer of the vicious ethics of deism of the Jews, were he to return on earth, would not recognize one feature.
The priests have so disfigured the simple religion of Jesus that no one who reads the sophistications they have engrafted on it, from the jargon of Plato, of Aristotle and other mystics, would conceive these could have been fathered on the sublime preacher of the Sermon on the Mount. Yet, knowing the importance of names, they have assumed that of Christians, while they are mere Platonists, or anything rather than disciples of Jesus.

----- To C. Thompson, 1816

Cut the Sleaze, Please.

CliffNotes version:
This is a story with two villians, and no real heros. Yes, a story of politics. The first villain is Mark Shurtleff (left) our Attorney General for UT. He's now running for senate. Mark had the opportunity to nail Rick Koerber, villain #2, who ran a $100 million ponzi scheme. However, after a state congressman arranged a meeting for himself and Koerber, he decided there just wasn't enough evidence to indict Koerber. Interesting, because after Shurtleff tried to kill the unfiled charges, a few state officials sent it off to the federal level, where it was determined Shurtleff was an idiot. Or at least dead wrong. The headline to their press release reads: "Indictment Charges Koerber with Mail, Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion in Connection with Real Estate Investment Scheme," followed by, "Investment Scheme Took in About $100 Million in Investor Funds; More than $50 Million Used to Make Ponzi Payments While Other Investor Money Was Diverted to Other Uses." The U.S. Attorney stepped over Shurtleff's head, and charges were filed. Results are yet pending.

Rick Koerber will probably get what he has coming to him, but considering all the retirement savings, pensions, home deeds, mortgages, whose home mortgages and deeds turned over to him, which will never be fully recovered, it hardly seems enough. Few of those hurt by him have the money left to attempt a lawsuit, although there are some in progress. One particularly heartbreaking lawsuit includes $170,000 invested by an elderly couple in the form of their life savings, pension, home's equity, and credit-card advances.

But what about Shurtleff, who happily dropped the case and let the man walk free -- never holding Koerber responsible for his actions, never doing right by the people who were hurt? What about him? The thing is, he has an eagle scout and served a mission. Apparently that's all it takes to convince the public of your goodness. (Never mind a scandal or four...)

Mark Shurtleff is running for Senator. I won't profess to know much -- okay. I won't profess to know anything about Bob Bennett or the other candidates, not yet. That said,
I wrote Shurtleff a pretty strongly worded letter this morning. I freely confess it had a bit too much heat to it. Aaaaand, I could be wrong. So, so, so wrong. Actually, I have a history of being wrong. Maybe there's more to this story than I could find -- maybe there's information being suppressed, or even just lost in the mounds of "evidence." I don't know, but I can't let that stop me from telling him that, based on what I know, he won't be getting that promotion to Congress under my watch, and I won't stay quiet about what I know.

Now, for all those who want the gritty, unedited story with all the minor characters and semi-dramatic plot twists (or just those who want more sources), I present:



The Whole Shebang Version:
It's tough to stay current in local politics. One look around town right now leaves you wondering who each city council candidate really is, let alone who's best for city treasurer. Even on a state level, it can be pretty tricky. Honestly, I'm lucky I could recognize Mark Shurtleff's name at all. (He's the attorney general for Utah, a position I surmise has a fair amount of power. Anyone with additional information should consider themselves quite impressive. I hear he's also running against Bob Bennett for a seat in D.C. next year.)

So, here's what I came across today: Rick Koerber is a guy with a huge following. Huge. He had a local AM radio show that helped his followings increase. He created clubs, held conferences, offered private mentoring, and made a right luxurious living at it, all while teaching "the principles of prosperity." He regularly bragged about his $300k car, and how he made money on it. And that was just the beginning -- the same could easily be done with homes, he assured his listeners. Sure, he was as smooth as glass, but you could trust him. After all, he was a mormon, a dad, and a seminary teacher. If that didn't work, well, did you know Hartman Rector Jr., emeritus of the Presidency of the Seventy, invested with him? Perhaps you can smell a rat. Others clearly didn't.

Today Mr. Koerber (left) has more than $100 million in investment money he can no longer pay out for. Evidence indicates he was running a ponzi scheme, although until the case is decided nothing can be official. Homes (including Rector's) which were put in Koerber's name are now in others' hands, as Koerber is all but bankrupt. The charges the U.S. Attorney filed against him were noted in the "Cliff Notes" version above. As mentioned above, one particularly heartbreaking lawsuit includes $170,000 invested by an elderly couple in the form of their life savings, pension, home's equity, and credit-card advances.


Not surprisingly, Koerber is well-connected in politics. Among his most beneficial friends in this latest crisis is Rep. Carl Wimmer (right) of Herriman. It has been claimed by at least one of Wimmer's governmental co-workers that he had made investments with Koerber; Wimmer has denied this and, frankly, I find it irrelevant. The charges filed against Koerber originated in the Department of Commerce (headed by Francine Giani), and were then sent on to Attorney General Shurtleff. Wimmer arranged a meeting between Koerber and the Attorney General Shurtleff, who afterward slinked away from filing the charges because he claimed insufficient evidence had been provided.

Shurtleff's decision proved lacking, as Giani went over his head to the U.S. attorney, who was more than satisfied and formally charged Koerber in May of this year. Wimmer's humiliation is deepend in the Tribune's report that he approached Governor Huntsman, encouraging him to fire Francine Giani (head of the Department of Commerce, in case you're struggling with keeping the names straight... I sure did) claiming the Dept. of Commerce's charges were nothing but a witch hunt. What the?!?

The only politician coming out clean in this deal is Huntsman, who declined to fire his top-notch cowgirl, despite Koerber's attempts to fight fire with fire in the form of a lawsuit against the Dept. Commerce.

These affairs aren't breaking news. I'm getting to the show a little late -- and that's part of my point: these things matter. It isn't only happens in Washington that changes our lives, it's what happens locally. But I believe we are poorly, poorly informed about our local leaders. Staying informed matters -- and acting on that information matters. (Yes, even if you find out a bit late!) We might not get all the information. It can be hard to get to the bottom of a story, especially when information is so easily distorted and often withheld. But for as much as we all gripe about our country, getting involved is the only way to make things happen.

Shurtleff is not the kind of guy I can trust in D.C. Heck, I can't trust him in the capital! He has a responsibility to the people of Utah, and he betrayed that trust. I'm not one to feel so strongly very often, but I certainly cannot have researched this incident so thoroughly only to play my typical hand: "Oh, I'm sure there's something I don't know, something that would clear up this whole silly misunderstanding." Well, maybe there is. But until it comes out of whatever closet it's hiding in, I'm not about to let him off the hook.

Food Choices Matter.