Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Coconut oil is a great source of medium chain saturated fats. I tried to make it a mainstay of my diet, but it gave me terrible gastritis/GERD. Anybody else?

More details that may be relevant: I ate a LOT of coconut oil (3-5 tablespoons/day maybe) over a period of a few months before I ran into trouble. My discomfort started with viciously caustic burps/reflux, but progressed to a chronic intense gastritis/ulcer pain. It took a few weeks before I figured out it was the coconut oil that was causing the pain (as so many things in my diet/regimen have changed recently), but now I am nearly 100% confident it was the coconut oil. I take PPIs as I have serious damage from years of pre-paleo GERD. However, even profound acid suppression (80 mg nexium + zantac) did not help with the irritation that coconut oil caused. I have no symptoms without coconut oil. I also do not have any tree nut allergies, or any other food allergies, that I am aware of.

flag	asked Mar 10 2010 at 19:09 Jay 1,227●4●8

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What about other fats, like butter and other oils? Do they bother you? (I am asking as I had huge problems digesting fat, and docs thought it was gall bladder issues and GERD. Went on Nexium for a while, etc. It turned out to be gluten intolerance. Common occurance, I later learned.) About a month after eliminating gluten, I was able to eat sat fats without distress. But it took me about 6 months to be able to take fish oil caps.) Are you aware of any food intolerances? Have you changed brands? Do you eat it on an empty stomach? Sorry for all the ????'s! – Suzan Mar 10 2010 at 20:05

That's a very good question, but the answer is no, I have no issues with other fats. Also, I am already more or less gluten free and have tested negative for celiac anyway... I have tried different brands and the problem persists. I even have a problem with coconut milk. I think there is just something about the way I react to coconut fat... – Jay Mar 10 2010 at 22:13

Perhaps you are allergic to coconut? – Suzan Mar 10 2010 at 22:30

Many sympathies Jay. I'd listen to Melissa- she has been there and done that. Try the apple cider vinegar drink- I have used that for temporary problems and it worked. – henny Mar 11 2010 at 0:17

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Answer 1 · 2010-03-10 23:06:53Z UTC

I had a problem with coconut irritating my stomach for some time when I started paleo. I left it out for a few months and then added it back in without problems. Science is now showing GERD is an immune system problem. Probably like other such problems it's an issue of your immune system being like OMGWIEUHYWKEUWHQIUWEHWIQWE and attacking things that aren't causing the problem in the first place.

PPIs are seriously bad news and now that they know that GERD isn't an issue of tissue damage like they used to think, you should consider not taking them. They alter the digestive immune system in ways that are probably no good- affecting mineral absorption and predisposing you to infections are just two known problems. The burps, which I also had, are probably caused by some bacteria that have no business in your stomach, but have taken up residence thanks to PPIs lowering the acidity. Us humans evolved stomach acidity for a very good reason!

It took my several long painful months to get off them, with the aid of taking kombucha or apple cider vinegar after every meal. It was worth it! During the GERD recovery period I kept it simple though and eliminated all borderline foods: tubers, nightshades, caffeine, etc. I now have NO food intolerances and happily down tabasco sauce and other borderline foods I wouldn't have touched with a five foot stick before.

ALso, did you eat the coconut with other things? One thing that I found can help GERD is to eat fats separately from your other foods. Fats slow down digestion and if accompanied by other foods that bacteria love, that means some not so fun fermentation in your tummy.

MikeD · Answer 2 · 2010-03-10 19:37:24Z UTC

So far no GERD for me since going Paleo. I use to get it in association with alcohol consumption, sugars and carbs -- particularly whole grains back before paleo.

I get about a tablespoon minimum of coconut oil a day without GERD symptoms. I will keep on the look out tho.

Could it be your brand? There are many ways it can be processed I believe...

fejal · Answer 3 · 2010-10-13 13:34:24Z UTC

Lecithin to Help Coconut Oil Gastritis

I had the same problem with gastritis from coconut oil. At first I thought perhaps I burned my stomach from too hot food but this wasn't it because my throat wasn't burned. I take the oil 1 tablespoon 3x/day q8 hours along with three other supplements as part of the BALI proocol for L-form bacterial infections to boost my immune system because I appear to have a chronic bartonella spp. infection in L-form which suppresses the immune system and is very hard to shake.

Today I decided to test an idea. Yesterday I purchased lecithin granules so I ate half of the oil on brussel sprouts, started to get the gastritis, then I mixed 1 teaspoon of granulated lecithin (no soybean oil in it) in about 5 oz of water and drank it. Within 5 minutes my gastritis was better. I finished the oil with no problems.

Apparently the lecithin emulsifies the fat very quickly so that the lining of the stomach doesn't get irritated and cause gastritis. This is similar to enteric coating of drugs so it allows the oil to get absorbed in the intestine and get to the target white blood cells without irritating the stomach.

Good luck.

Bryan Rankin · Answer 4 · 2010-03-10 22:15:43Z UTC

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I experienced this as well, when I got to around 4 Tablespoons a day. I was also consuming about 5 egg yolks per day and overall 80% calories as fat. I cut the fat % back to 70 and it went away.

answered Mar 10 2010 at 22:15

Bryan Rankin
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Appreciate you sharing your experience with me. Thanks. – Jay Mar 11 2010 at 15:21

Allan · Answer 5 · 2010-03-25 21:24:16Z UTC

I had similar symptoms one morning when I made a milkshake using an entire can of coconut milk (70 grams of fat by the label). I figured it was just because of eating too much fat all at once, but maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was from coconut. Either way, it's not an experiment I want to replicate.

Amy · Answer 6 · 2010-03-23 21:19:40Z UTC

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Jay, I would be very curious to see how your Barrett's looks after 6-12 months of grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free. You can have it monitored more frequently with Transnasal esophagoscopy if you ever decided to go off your PPI.

answered Mar 23 2010 at 21:19

Amy
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Unfortunately, from everything that I have been able to find out, once the tissue changes associated with Barrett's have occurred they will not revert back to normal healthy cells. Even primal/paleo-friendly digestive specialists seem to agree that if you have Barrett's you are probably stuck w/the PPIs to prevent further damage and possible cancer. So, as Jay said, for us the "stakes are higher". I changed my diet back in February but - unlike some people - it has basically made no difference in my GERD. One day w/o the PPI and heartburn is back with a vengeance. (continued below) – JCB Oct 13 2010 at 15:05

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(continued) The standard suggestions about apple cider vinegar or digestive enzymes don't help and there is only so far I will carry this because the possibile consequences are so serious. I just try and obtain the best nutrition that I can and work with the situation I've got. And Jay, that means that I also limit the amount of coconut oil/milk because you are not the first to mention problems with consuming large amounts – JCB Oct 13 2010 at 15:09

My Barrett's seems to have gone away actually. It could be sampling error but last scope (about 1 month ago) couldn't find any BE with 6 samples in the distal 2cms. Btw, I went off the PPI about 1.5 yers ago and have been limiting my reflux by liming FODMAPs and by taking betaine HCL occasionally. – Jay Feb 12 2012 at 20:35

guy · Answer 7 · 2013-03-08 01:05:29Z UTC

I have been taking PPI's for about 1-1/2 years after severe sore throat. Nexium worked for some time, then I changed to Losac which seems better for me. Sometimes my stool appears yellow in colour, whih can be a cause for concern. Two weeks ago I started taking d-limonene and wow...major relief of acid reflux and my stool returned to a healthy colour. Has anyone else used d-limonene for gerd issues ?

Eugenia · Answer 8 · 2013-03-08 01:16:06Z UTC

I have trouble with coconut flour and cream (gerd, gastro issues, as you do). But I can tolerate coconut oil and milk. Others, can tolerate all of these, and others can't tolerate any of these. I haven't tried coconut sugar and coconut aminos.

jstern · Answer 9 · 2013-03-08 13:09:56Z UTC

So I was just diagnosed with silent reflux and told to limit high fat foods. I've been pretty strict Paleo for more than 2 years and never had any problems with reflux before (am 59 yr male). I do use coconut oil and milk regularly. Figure I would stop coconut milk for a bit, but was unsure if coconut oil is considered a high fat food. I am confused as most people on here suggest Paleo diet cures their reflux. For me it seems to have caused it-- or at least something related has as my diet hasn't changed much these past 2 years. Biggest change was eating more carbs--sweet potatoes and rice mainly.

So thought I would chime in here as no one responded to my post on silent reflux.

Any suggestions/advice?

Coconut oil & Gastritis/GERD

9 Answers