# Coconut oil for dogs?



## mi_ku_5 (Jun 2, 2008)

Is it safe? I know it's a great source of Omega 3 for people and it definately smells better that Fish oil.


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

Apparently it's OK - I found this site:


http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Nutiva-Organic-Coconut-Oil/255005.aspx


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Whole Dog Journal had a big article about it October 2005, they recommend unrefined (virgin) coconut oil for both internal and external use. Very good & informative.


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## totallytotontuffy (May 16, 2007)

Some dogs cannot tolerate fish oil, especially dogs that have protein losing enteropathy because their systems cannot tolerate Long Chain Triglycerides. Coconut oil has medium chain triglycerides and is thought to be easier for their systems to tolerate. As with any other dietary product, introduce it slowly and in a small amount to see how your dog tolerates it. Also keep in mind that it adds calories to their daily intake and therefore you might want to lessen the amount of food you are feeding if their is a weight gain. I'm sure Dwerten will add her thoughts, I seem to recall that she heard something adverse about using coconut oil internally. Something with the liver maybe.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/index.php?...20oil&st=15

here is the thread where i posted the info and it has to do with red blood cells 

now that being said dd was on it a year and had blood work twice that was fine. 

We had this discussion on a yorkie group and best coconut oil is in a glass jar and the person on there was very familiar and said the study i was referring to was when it was hydrogenated and was made differently back then 

here is the purest form of coconut oil. It really is not used for omega 3 that i am aware of it is more for antifungal and anti-bacterial properties for dogs with allergies. Fish oil is more for anti-inflammatory agent 

http://www.qualityfirst.on.ca/CVO.htm

this is only good for 9 months opened and for 3 years unopened in the jar - there is a definite difference in this and nutiva as i have both and nutiva is much more chunky as i use it as a topical for hot spots and it is excellent. 

If you buy the large jar and small jar it is $50 shipped and will last forever


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

I would not recommend giving your dog coconut oil - there's still a lot of controversy about it. Here's an MSN article which mentions some of the issues surrounding coconut oil use in humans. 

MSN article 


I haven't read any recent studies, but studies done decades ago on canines in which coconut oil was given to dogs, they developed coronary artery disease just like people.





Joy


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## luvmyfurbaby (Feb 11, 2007)

I use the Nutiva in their home cooked food instead of fish oil I change it up and sometime add olive oil. I also use it when I cook for the family even though my kids can taste it especially in the rice and complain I tell them to pretend they are on an caribbean island.....LOL I have read quite a few article of the benefits of coconut oil. I haven't tried it externally yet.


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## lovesophie (Jan 28, 2008)

I LOVE coconut oil. I do all my cooking with EVCO or ghee (clarified butter). My

fluffs get their eggs and veggies cooked with EVCO, too.


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## mi_ku_5 (Jun 2, 2008)

Thank you for all the information. It makes sense that hydrongenated oil of any kind would be bad b/c hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated means it's a transfat. You guys might want to check your fridge or pantries b/c even foods claiming to have 0g per serving still have transfats.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

this is the study i posted on the link in my post as this was the issue as well as the red blood cell count increased but someone said that was done a long time and the coconut oil was processed differently back then vs now but i still stopped giving internally and only use as a topical for hot spots and it is a miracle as it heals dd up fast and some use it on a cotton ball and rub lightly inside of ears and it works for ear issues as it is a natural antibacterial and antifungal. Honey is a natura antibiotic and lemon is a natural astringent. I prefer to go as natural as possible as my dd has horrible allergies and chemicals do her in


QUOTE (vjw @ Apr 28 2009, 09:01 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=769345


> I would not recommend giving your dog coconut oil - there's still a lot of controversy about it. Here's an MSN article which mentions some of the issues surrounding coconut oil use in humans.
> 
> MSN article
> 
> ...


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

I had a little time this evening to look up links to some of the studies where they use coconut oil as an atherogenic substance.

Maybe they'll come out with a study that proves the virgin coconut oil is safer than the regular coconut oil, but right now I'm too scared to give it to my pets as a supplement. 

One of the major reasons I'm so concerned about coconut oil is that whenever there's a study done on the efficacy of drugs/supplements for hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) or atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), many times they will feed their research subjects (like mice, rats, rabbits, hamsters, monkeys) high cholesterol diets to induce hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. Usually the animals are given *coconut oil and cholesterol * and it's amazing how fast they get the hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.

Here's just a few links to abstracts of the older studies.:



In this study, note in the third line down what the rabbits were given:

Link



Here's a fish oil study:

Link




I noted in my earlier post that I hadn't seen a recent study where the research was done on dogs, but here's a link to a really old study where the dogs were given hydrogenated coconut oil:

Link







Joy


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## lovesophie (Jan 28, 2008)

QUOTE (vjw @ Apr 29 2009, 05:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=769667


> I noted in my earlier post that I hadn't seen a recent study where the research was done on dogs, but here's a link to a really old study where the dogs were given hydrogenated coconut oil:
> 
> Link[/B]


I'm pretty certain the atherosclerosis was due to the oil being hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils have high levels of trans fats, which are like poisons to our bodies. Trans fatty acids also block essential fatty acids, which impedes cell function. Here is an excellent article that covers an experiment done on animals that were fed _hydrogenated_ coconut oil, which led to atherosclerosis. The author explains the animals had an abundance of trans fatty acids and became deficient in essential fatty acids, thus leading to atherosclerosis. 

www.getleanstaylean.com/LEANU/articles/A New Look at Coconut Oil.pdf 

This article is really good, as the author explains the health and nutritional benefits of coconut oil, as well as the misconception that saturated fats _cause_ heart disease.

Extra virgin coconut oil is my absolute favorite oil (EVOO is a close second). EVCO is wonderful to cook with, as it's highly heat resistant and doesn't easily oxidize. Coconut oil is not only delicious, but it has a plethora of health benefits, too. You can learn more about its benefits here: http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

I just don't buy into this whole cholesterol theory that high blood cholesterol causes atherosclerosis, which leads to cardiovascular disease. I really think cholesterol and saturated fats have been given bad reputations for nothing. Studies show that they both play an important role in our health.

Here are some great articles that claim the whole lipid hypothesis as being bogus (I had them saved on my computer):

http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases...ts_cholest.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/fats_phony.html

http://westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/hd.html

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/index.html

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ae7yFEFhV6...result#PPA96,M1

I have some more articles, if anyone's interested.


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's a "saturated fats" paragraph of an article from the American Heart Association:


*Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. Foods from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2 percent milk. All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol. Foods from plants that contain saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter.*



The entire article is really a good one for persons who are wanting to lower their cholesterol or lower their risk of heart disease:


Know Your Fats



Joy


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

There's a whole bunch of articles from reputable sources here:


MedlinePlus Link to Cholesterol Articles





I just read Harvard's Fats and Cholesterol article under the nutrition section and it's really good.





Joy


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

QUOTE (LoveSophie @ May 12 2009, 10:45 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=775503


> QUOTE (vjw @ Apr 29 2009, 05:05 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=769667





> I noted in my earlier post that I hadn't seen a recent study where the research was done on dogs, but here's a link to a really old study where the dogs were given hydrogenated coconut oil:
> 
> Link[/B]


I'm pretty certain the atherosclerosis was due to the oil being hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils have high levels of trans fats, which are like poisons to our bodies. Trans fatty acids also block essential fatty acids, which impedes cell function. Here is an excellent article that covers an experiment done on animals that were fed _hydrogenated_ coconut oil, which led to atherosclerosis. The author explains the animals had an abundance of trans fatty acids and became deficient in essential fatty acids, thus leading to atherosclerosis. 

www.getleanstaylean.com/LEANU/articles/A New Look at Coconut Oil.pdf 

This article is really good, as the author explains the health and nutritional benefits of coconut oil, as well as the misconception that saturated fats _cause_ heart disease.

Extra virgin coconut oil is my absolute favorite oil (EVOO is a close second). EVCO is wonderful to cook with, as it's highly heat resistant and doesn't easily oxidize. Coconut oil is not only delicious, but it has a plethora of health benefits, too. You can learn more about its benefits here: http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

I just don't buy into this whole cholesterol theory that high blood cholesterol causes atherosclerosis, which leads to cardiovascular disease. I really think cholesterol and saturated fats have been given bad reputations for nothing. Studies show that they both play an important role in our health.

Here are some great articles that claim the whole lipid hypothesis as being bogus (I had them saved on my computer):

http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases...ts_cholest.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/fats_phony.html

http://westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/hd.html

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/index.html

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ae7yFEFhV6...result#PPA96,M1

I have some more articles, if anyone's interested.  


[/B][/QUOTE]

:goodpost: I am in total agreement. I'm a big fan of Weston Price Org. 
We have been using organic EV olive oil, organic EV coconut oil, local, raw, unpasteurized milk and grass fed beef for a couple of years now and the benefits are great. 

I have trouble trusting some "big" nutritional studies because they are often funded by Big Pharma, or The Processed Food Industry.


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## lovesophie (Jan 28, 2008)

QUOTE (Nikki's Mom @ May 13 2009, 09:16 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=775720


> I have trouble trusting some "big" nutritional studies because they are often funded by Big Pharma, or The Processed Food Industry.[/B]



I'm reluctant to trust them, as well. It's pretty hard to defy the medical community. Many physicians and lecturers advocate what these 

pharmaceutical companies tell them, which is biased research they use to make profit. There is so much corruption that goes on behind 

these closed doors.

Here are a few articles exposing what goes on at Harvard Medical School, one of the nation's most respected medical schools:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/business.../Wilson,%20Duff

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22237

http://www.naturalnews.com/026223.html

If anyone's interested in this whole debate about cholesterol contributing to heart disease, I suggest reading _The Cholesterol Myths_

by Uffe Ravnskov. I think it's definitely a good read.

Mr. Ravnskov also formed The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS). http://www.thincs.org/index.htm

You can also learn more about him here: http://www.ravnskov.nu/uffe.htm

ETA: Here are a few informative videos from YouTube, if anyone's interested, LOL: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8WA5wcaHp4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SSCNaaDcE...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPPYaVcXo1I...feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xrr8MjDJ78...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE_RIQY53ys...feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHIA8usGxEM...feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na_Ear8OdJM...feature=channel


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Guess this'll be a topic we disagree on.




Joy


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## lovesophie (Jan 28, 2008)

QUOTE (vjw @ May 13 2009, 01:45 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=775855


> Guess this'll be a topic we disagree on.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Agreed.


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