The South Sea Islands
The story starts when white sailors discovered and started staying in the South Sea Islands. One of the things that puzzled them was that the natives didn’t seem to catch colds or infectious diseases very often. Even the infectious diseases white people brought with them that devastated the American natives didn’t seem to have much effect on them.
It was only after many years that they noticed that when the natives started eating the white man’s food that they started getting these infectious diseases. The natives staying on the native diet did not. After many years of observation, it became apparent that it was the large amount of coconut in their native diet that was responsible. No one knew why, but the coconut (especially coconut oil) protected the natives.
Fast forward to the 20th century when science was finally able to discover that the coconut was over 50% lauric acid – a rarity in the natural world! Thinking they had the answer, they tried putting lauric acid on bowls of different bacteria to see if it would kill them. The lauric acid did have an effect – but not near what scientists had expected. Eating coconut oil seemed to have much better results against bacteria than the isolated tests would indicate.
Monolaurin
It wasn’t until a Dr. Kabara, a professor at both Universities of Detroit and Michigan State for over 20 years, started specializing in the effects of fatty acids and monoglycerides that the truth starting coming out. With specialties in pharmacology and biochemistry, Dr Kabara discovered the anti-microbial effects of fatty acids in mother’s milk – and it just so happens that lauric acid is one of those fatty acids!
What Dr. Kabara also discovered – and what is really important to us – is that the body converts some of the lauric acid in coconut oil into monoglycerides called monolaurin and monocaprin (as well as monocaprylin and monomyristin). Even more important, it was these monoglycerides that were the powerful germ-fighters.
Monolaurin, Monocaprin (and their cousins)
Effectively kills many viruses, protozoa
And ALL BAD BACTERIA!
Monolaurin, and its family, killed 100% of every bacterium it was tested on! It was even effective against many viruses including: Herpes Simplex virus (HSV 1 and 2), Measles virus, HIV, Hepatitis C, and Cytomegalovirus (CMV)!
How Does It Do It?
The way these monoglycerides accomplishes this, seemingly, miracle is really interesting. All bacteria (and many viruses) have very flimsy envelopes (skins) that are made of lipid fat molecules. This is their design so the bacterium and virus can penetrate its targets and cells easily. As it so happens, monolaurin’s family has the same size lipid fat molecules so they absorb into the skin of the pathogen bacteria and viruses.
Unfortunately for the bacteria, the monolaurin family doesn’t have very good binding power. The already loosely held bacterial and viral skins can’t hold together and the cells burst open (dies). The white blood cells clean up the debris by taking the dead cells to the liver and they are eliminated. Your body is much happier! It’s a good deal for everyone – but the bacteria and viruses!
Even better, unlike antibiotics, the monolaurin family only kills bad bacteria – not friendly ones! (It is almost like nature plans these things.)
What Makes Our Ultimate Monolaurin “Ultimate”?
Part of our focus has been helping hospitals, clinics and people with the deadly menicillin resistant staph infection called MRSA. In doing so, I had several conversations with Dr. Kabara about the usages of monolaurin and a special project we had in emulsifying monolaurin for MRSA products. We wanted to provide people with monolaurin skin cream and shampoo. (We were successful and they became available Fall, 2010.)
In addition, clinical studies were showing that, while monolaurin was the workhorse, there are a few bacteria that monocaprin was actually better at defeating. As in offering the full bioflavonoid family with vitamin C and all 8 forms of Vitamin E, I wanted to offer a fuller spectrum of the coconut monoglycerides to MRSA sufferers. Thus was born the Ultimate Monolaurin offering a minimum of 90% Monolaurin with added Monocaprin, Monocaprylin and Monomyristin. If I was under any bacterial or viral attack, especially with something like MRSA, I would want to use the full benefits of coconut monoglycerides! That is not the time to experiment.
To help out families and people on a budget, we are even able to pass along online savings! This includes both our 7 oz. and 21 oz economy size (21 oz for the price of 2 -7 oz). It is a win-win situation for all. (We will be continually adding and updating articles and information about monolaurin on this site.)