Dr. Newport became interested in dementia when her husband showed signs of early onset dementia in his 50’s. After several attempts to enroll in clinical trials she began giving him coconut oil which contains 60% MCT (median chain triglycerides).

Many professionals call dementia Diabetes type 3 as the brain becomes insulin resistant and cannot utilize sugar for fuel. The liver converts MCT to ketones which can be used by the brain for energy and fuel. She is getting reports from caregivers and patients that improvement is seen in daily activities, coordination, ability to resume hobbies, and improved sleep, vision and sense of humor. Research shows over half of the people who take MCT oil see improvement in memory and cognition.

Organic unrefined coconut oil can be found everywhere and is especially reasonable at Sam’s Club, Cosco and Trader Joe’s.

When cooking with coconut oil, stay below 350 degrees F. It is a very stable saturated fat that doesn’t need refrigeration. At 76 degrees it will turn to a liquid. You can cook vegetables, make salad dressing, use in a smoothie, cook eggs, etc.

If you want a higher level of ketones you can get straight MCT oil. Once ingested the ketone levels peak in about 90 minutes and are used up within 3 hours. With MCT oil it is important to dose it every 3 hours for this reason. Coconut oil ketones peak in 3 hours and stay in the blood stream for up to 7 hours.

There are many coconut products including flakes, flour, coconut water, coconut milk, coconut sugar, Fuel for Thought (a mixture of coconut oil and MCT oil), powdered MCT oil, Japanese products called Memory On and Steve-San’s Oil, and even peanut butter with coconut oil by Earth Balance.

When you begin to consume these oils start with a teaspoon or so and work up to larger amounts to avoid stomach upset or diarrhea. Increase the amount every 2-3 days until you get up to 4-6 tablespoons per day for dementia according to Dr. Newport.

Axona is a prescription MCT oil that is available and showed 80% of the patients had improvement over 18 months with one dose a day. Dr. Newport recommends multiple doses daily. There are many diseases that respond to ketone therapy including ALS, Lou Gehrig’s, Parkinson’s, autism, seizures and epilepsy.

Dr. Newport’s book Alzheimer’s Disease, What If There Was a Cure? tells the story of her husband’s journey.