Saturated fats and cholesterol
Unlikely heroes in the fight against the flu and other viral diseases

Saturated fats and cholesterol are two unlikely heroes that help us fight infections, particularly viral infections like the flu. These two substances have constantly been labelled Bad! Bad! Bad!

And we are constantly advised to reduce our intake of sat fats and cholesterol.

But do you know what your cell walls are made of? Your cell walls are made primarily of saturated fats and cholesterol. Adequate intake of these two food substances is therefore critical for maintaining the integrity - the strength - of your cell wall structure.

This is particularly important for the prevention of viral diseases like the flu, Hepatitis or HIV. Because viruses need to enter our cells - they need to break through the cell wall structure - before they can cause any harm.

On their own, viruses cannot grow and multiply. They need a cell host. And they enter our cells only when the cell wall structure has been weakened.

And what causes our cell wall structures to weaken? Among other things:

• polyunsaturated oils, which make our cell wall structure soft and flexible
• artificial trans fats in margarine, vegetable shortening and other partially hydrogenated oils - found in a wide range of processed foods - which distort the cell wall structure.

So all the advice that doctors and nutritionists dish out, about avoiding saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and about taking margarine instead of butter, actually weaken your immune system. They make your cells more vulnerable to attack by viruses.

Why do they give such poor advice? Because they are obsessed with the mistaken idea that saturated fatty acids and cholesterol cause heart disease. Click here to learn about the true causes of coronary heart disease. And click here to learn about a long list of benefits of saturated fats, which doctors and nutritionists have ignored because of their obsessive fear.

Also click here to learn about the harm of polyunsaturated fats. The subject of fats and oils is a broad-ranging subject with lots of misunderstanding. You can learn more from my natural cancer cures and stop trans fats websites. Here, we are only concerned about how they help, or hinder, our efforts to prevent the flu and other infectious diseases.

Medium chain triglycerides

While saturated fatty acids in general help to maintain the integrity of cell walls, a special class of saturated fats deserve mention. These are the medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs.

Fats, besides being classified as saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, may also be classified according to the number of carbon atoms that they contain. Those with fewer than six carbon atoms are called short-chain, those with six to 12 carbon atoms are called medium chain, while those with 12 or more carbon atoms are called long chain.

Two medium chain triglycerides, Caprylic acid (C8, having eight carbon atoms) and lauric acid (C12, having 12 carbon atoms) are known to be powerful destroyers of bacteria and viruses. In particular, they destroy those bacteria and viruses that have a coating of oil around the cell and they work by simply dissolving this coating of oil, so that the bacteria or virus simply disintegrates and falls apart. And they do this without causing harmful side effects the way antibiotics and antiviral drugs do.

Caprylic acid is known to be effective against:

• Staphylococcus aureus that can cause a range of illnesses from minor skin infections, such as pimples and boils, to life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis and endocarditis. It is also one of the four most common causes of nosocomial infections, often causing postsurgical wound infections.
• Streptococcus bacteria linked to throat infections (Strep throat) as well as meningitis, bacterial pneumonia and necrotizing fasciitis - the 'flesh-eating' bacteria.
• Candida yeast infection.

Lauric acid, as well as its extract, monolaurin, has been found to be effective against the HIV virus linked to Aids.

Both caprylic acid and lauric acid are found abundantly in coconut oil, which consists of 95 percent saturated fats. Their antibacterial, antiviral properties are just some of the many reasons why coconut oil, which had long been condemned as being the unhealtiest of oils, have gain a new reputation as a health food.

Click here to learn more about caprylic acid and the benefits of coconut oil.