Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Coconut Oil

by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy

I had this chronic fatigue problem for the last 2 years or so. I tried taking a lot of medication, but nothing really helped! Finally I started taking 3 tbsp Coconut oil a day and praise God I felt my energy level renewed & refreshed within a week! Now it’s more than a month and I don’t feel tired and run down anymore, as I take 3 tbsp of Coconut oil a day, and no other medication of any sort. I thank God for this wonder working oil. Now I tell everyone I meet about the positive effects of Coconut oil to our body and ask them to visit this site! …I’m sure Coconut oil will help you too! God Bless you, Juliyana (Coconut Diet Forums)

I CAN say that coconut oil really truly helps with my pain with my fibromyalgia and thyroid problems and gives me more energy. I feel so much better!! Amy (Coconut Diet Forums)

There are a number of alternative doctors who believe chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia are really a thyroid disorder. I tend to think there is something to this since I have hypothyroidism and there was a time when my thyroid replacement was too low and I developed many of the classic symptoms of fibromyalgia. When this happened I refused to accept this lame excuse for an explanation, and did some research. I came upon some articles by Dr. Lowe in Colorado, which made me decide to start raising my thyroid medication. Amazingly, within a month my symptoms really improved and I no longer think CFS and fibromyalgia are real diseases but the manifestations of thyroid disease or some type of metabolic problem tied to thyroid function. I don’t have these symptoms anymore. Fibromyalgia and CFS were not heard of much until the development of the TSH test and the overall use of Synthroid or other T4 only treatment. Prior to that people with these symptoms were treated with Armour thyroid and the dose was adjusted up until symptoms were relieved.

Since the TSH test was implemented for detecting thyroid disease and for adjusting the dose, thyroid replacement doses have dropped to 1/3 of what they were for about 73 years prior to that. I suspect that this is why thyroid treatment has not been very effective for CFS and fibromyalgia patients. The doses are too low to affect any improvement and may result in suppression of the pituitary leading to the person becoming even more hypothyroid as their own thyroids are not stimulated by the pituitary to keep up their own production to complement the additional replacement. Typical thyroid doses prior to the 1970s were between 3 and 9 grains of Armour a day. Today, they range between 1 and 2 grains.

Performing the Barnes basal body temperature test or keeping a record of your daily temperatures (taken 3 times a day every 3 hours starting in the morning) will tell you whether your metabolic rate is too low. There are other causes of low metabolic rate, but by far thyroid is the most common. Also, if you have high cholesterol, that is another very strong indication of low thyroid function. We are awash today in thyroid inhibitors – one of which is trans-fatty acids.

Leaky gut can definitely play a role in fatigue and many disorders. Research on celiacs (people with wheat allergy) has shown that they have a high rate of development of thyroid disease. People with leaky gut are at greatly increased risk of developing auto-immune disorders such as thyroid disease, Lupus, and arthritis. People who are hypothyroid get leaky gut because they cannot rebuild the intestinal tract lining at a fast enough rate to keep it’s integrity.

Hypothyroid people and those with adrenal hypofunction can develop many allergies. It is the adrenals that play a major role in immune response and regulation of immune function, keeping it in a narrow range where it kills the bad things but doesn’t attack the host. In hypothyroidism, adrenal function is greatly reduced or they may overproduce trying to replace the lacking thyroid function and increase available T3. So, multiple allergy development is a classic symptom of hypothyroidism. This is what happened to me before my diagnosis. Since beginning treatment a year and 9 months ago, I have lost all but two allergies, wheat being the main one that I will probably never loose.

There is also some other research and anecdotal evidence that CFS and fibromyalgia seems to happen to people who have had major trauma such as childhood abuse. It is thought that this type of thing affects the pituitary/hypothalamus area of the brain interfering with proper function. Studies have found that these people have disturbed brain electrical function. Others have called it the “delayed stress effect” and say that trauma builds up in the brain as electrical disturbances and imbalances. Practicing meditation, prayer or some relaxation technique regularly is said to greatly help. Research is being done with EEG training to help these people. EEG trains the brain to balance itself electrically and to relax the body. Research with children raised in abusive situations has found that that they have up to double the output of adrenal stress hormones and tend to be in a heightened alert state all the time. When followed to adulthood, researches have found that in adulthood they often develop low energy problems or other metabolic disorders. These type of people also do not respond well to thyroid hormone (thyroid hormone resistance). They have suppressed metabolisms, basically. Violent prison inmates from abusive childhood situations were found to have greatly reduced cortisol output. It can be speculated that some abused children later suffer adrenal burnout. Without sufficient adrenal hormones thyroid hormone can’t work properly. Dr. David Derry found that traumatized people who develop hypothyroidism often need very high doses of thyroid medication to function normally.

Proper adrenal function is essential for proper thyroid function and blood sugar metabolism. Also, high levels of cortisol, an adrenal stress hormone, can damage pituitary function resulting in altered metabolic function.

I object to the CFS and fibromyalgia label because the doctor who uses it is saying that there is no cure and that you will be miserable all your life. I don’t accept this hopeless statement. I think it is very cruel to tell a patient that there is no hope and to give up on them offering only palliative treatment. Tish (Coconut Diet Forums)

I too have had very painful Fibromyalgia for the past 15 years or so. I have been using the Virgin Coconut Oil now for two months and have no pain at all, no Pain!!!! And a lot more energy. And my skin has never looked so good. For me I call it my Miracle Virgin Coconut Oil. So glad it’s working for you too. Danne (Coconut Diet Forums)

Coconut Oil Increases Energy Levels

Researchers now know that the increased energy associated with eating coconut oil is related to the length of the fatty acid chains contained in coconut oil. Coconut oil contains what are called medium chain fatty acids, or medium chain triglycerides (MCTs for short). These medium chain fatty acids are different from the common longer chain fatty acids found in other plant-based oils. Most vegetable oils are composed of longer chain fatty acids, or triglycerides (LCTs). LCTs are typically stored in the body as fat, while MCTs are burned for energy. MCTs burn up quickly in the body. Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of MCTs that increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCTs promote what is called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis increases the body’s metabolism, producing energy. People in the animal feed business have known this truth for quite some time. If you feed animals vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. If you feed them coconut oil, they will be very lean.

There are many studies proving this concept of thermogenesis and MCTs in the scientific literature. In 1989 a study was done in the Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University, at Nashville TN. Ten male volunteers (ages 22 to 44) were overfed (150% of estimated energy requirement) liquid formula diets containing 40% of fat as either MCT or LCT. Each patient was studied for one week on each diet in a double-blind, crossover design. The results: “Our results demonstrate that excess dietary energy as MCT stimulates thermogenesis to a greater degree than does excess energy as LCT. This increased energy expenditure, most likely due to lipogenesis in the liver, provides evidence that excess energy derived from MCT is stored with a lesser efficiency than is excess energy derived from dietary LCT.”¹

In another study recently conducted at the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada, the effects of diets rich in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) or long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) on body composition, energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, subjective appetite, and ad libitum energy intake in overweight men was studied. Twenty-four healthy, overweight men with body mass indexes between 25 and 31 kg/m(2) consumed diets rich in MCT or LCT for 28 days each in a crossover randomized controlled trial. Their conclusion: “Consumption of a diet rich in MCTs results in greater loss of AT compared with LCTs, perhaps due to increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation observed with MCT intake. Thus, MCTs may be considered as agents that aid in the prevention of obesity or potentially stimulate weight loss.”²

I wanted to drop you a quick note to tell you how great your Coconut oil is! I have been using your product now for about 6 months and consume approximately 3 tablespoons per day. In just a short amount of time I noticed a higher level of energy, and I have lost weight! I also apply it to my skin & hair and people have commented on how beautiful my hair & skin look! I also get these open cuts in the winter along the cracks of my finger and fingernails and they bleed and are very painful, but when I apply your coconut oil the night before to these open wounds it dries them up and heals them overnight! Your product is definitely a miracle food and I highly recommend it to others. I have tried a lot of other brands prior to using yours and have not gotten the same results that I have using your Coconut oil so it’s definitely the best Coconut oil I have found on the market! Thank you and keep up the good work! Best regards. Roger

Watch this informative video with Alex from Vitatalks as he explains how MCTs and thermogenesis work.

About the author: Unlike many people who write about coconut oil by simply reading about it, Brian Shilhavy actually lived in a coconut producing area of the Philippines for several years with his family, observing firsthand the differences between the diet and health of the younger generation and those of his wife’s parents’ generation still consuming a traditional diet. This led to years of studying Philippine nutrition and dietary patterns first hand while living in a rural farming community in the Philippines. Brian is the author of the best-selling book: Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours!