MRSA is one of the highly contagious and serious infection which can often be fatal if not diagnosed and treated properly. MRSA is a bacterium belonging to the group Staphylococcus aureus. Its gram-positive bacteria found in clusters. The problem with MRSA is that it is resistant to all beta-lactams (most of the gram-positive bacteria are sensitive to beta-lactams). Many years ago, Staphylococcus aureus was sensitive to beta-lactams, but with time the bacteria developed virulence factors and became resistant to beta-lactams. This was the origin of MRSA. The emergence of MRSA was caused by healthcare providers who prescribe antibiotics unnecessarily and patients who take antibiotics frequently without any purpose.
Does Coconut Oil Kill MRSA?
So, scientists, doctors were searching for alternative methods to treat MRSA infection. Studies have found out that coconut oil has antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties.(1)
How Does Coconut Oil Kill MRSA?
Lauric acid is the most abundant fatty acid that is found in coconut oil (it is a 12-carbon fatty acid), about 50% of fatty acids in coconut oil is lauric acid. When lauric acid is digested it forms a metabolite called monolaurin. Lauric acid and monolaurin have properties that can kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Studies have been done to experiment whether coconut oil can kill MRSA and surprisingly it has killed MRSA. It is not just MRSA most of the other bacteria, viruses, and fungus as well.(2)
Coconut oil also has other benefits such as: it has a medium-chained fatty acid which metabolizes in the liver directly and used as energy, it helps to reduce weight, burns excess fat, increases the good cholesterol HDL, reduces satiety, reduces seizures, protect skin, hair and dental health; and increase memory in Alzheimer’s disease. As you see coconut oil has many health benefits.(3)
How To Take Coconut Oil?
If you have the MRSA infection take 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil per day (do not take excess amounts).
Our skin is naturally acidic so that organism cannot penetrate the skin barrier. It acts as a protective layer for the body. But what happens is with the use of soap and other disinfectors this protective layer is washed away. Coconut oil has properties to kill the bacteria even on your skin. If you are a carrier of MRSA bacteria you can apply the coconut oil on to your skin, this should be applied after having a wash or a bath since the protective layers washed away with soap.(4)
Now that MRSA is present it is really difficult to eliminate the infection and when someone gets the infection it is difficult to treat it since it is resistant to most of the strong antibiotics. Only a very handful of antibiotics remain sensitive until now. There are some strains of Staphylococcus resistant to even those antibiotics. Administering more and more antibiotics to MRSA infected people make them resistant to that antibiotic and if they get re-infected then that antibiotic might not work since resistant has developed.
Also, administration of frequent antibiotics makes your immune system weak, and then the natural body defense mechanisms are low. This gives the MRSA bacteria a great opportunity to attack your body. As you all know immunocompromised people are at higher risk of getting the MRSA infection.
Conclusion
Coconut oil can kill MRSA. Many studies have done on the health benefits of coconut oil and one of them is the ability to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungus. This is due to the presence of lauric acid and monolaurin, 50% of fatty acids in coconut oil is lauric acid when it is digested it form the metabolite monolaurin. Both of these have ant-bacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties. If you have the MRSA infection take 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil per day (do not take excess amounts). Coconut oil has properties to kill the bacteria eve on your skin. If you are a carrier of MRSA bacteria you can apply the coconut oil on to your skin which should be applied after having a wash or a bath.
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