Three Experts Presented During Webinar on Virgin Coconut Oil Arranged by ICC and NAM CSSTC
Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is a functional food with essential dietary components. As an MCT ingredient, VCO’s taste is stronger than palm kernel oil’s based MCT.
With regard to medication, if the viral load of COVID-19 is not too high, VCO may be an efficient therapy in patients with COVID-19.
However, in daily life people are worried about coconut-based products. Coconut fats are often misunderstood. Most people in their childhood times heard that coconut fat and oil are bad for health. Young kids fear coconut oil and coconut milk, some doctors warn patients not to consume coconut milk.
Diar Nurbintoro, Acting Director of the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation (NAM CSSTC) said that VCO delivers the highest net return compared to other traditional coconut products. The studies and prospects of coconut oil and its derivatives for COVID-19 therapy could, however, lead to economic benefits for stakeholders in the coconut industry. “The long-term, brighter prospects of the VCO industry should therefore encourage the production of VCO,” according to him during Webinar on Health and Economic Benefits of VCO During COVID-19 and Beyond last Tuesday (12/8).
The event which was held in partnership with the International Coconut Community (ICC) also provided other speakers, namely Atmarita, Member of the Indonesian Nutrition Association Expert Team, Fabian Dayrit, Chairman of the ICC Scientific Committee on Health, and Annas Ahmad, Marketing Manager of VICO Bagoes. Atmarita said in her presentation that VCO has strong antioxidants and has a positive impact on the blood clotting that can prevent cardiovascular disease.
Meanwhile, Fabian Dayrit reported that 5 out of 29 COVID-19 patients receiving VCO had improved health in the second day of VCO intake, based on clinical trials with mild COVID-19 cases, compared to COVID-19 patients not being given VCO. During day 18, patients displayed no more COVID-19 symptoms compared with VCO-untreated patients whose COVID-19 symptoms had only vanished on day 23.
Compared with two previous resource persons, the Annas Ahmad presentation was more focused on the economic aspects of VCO. According to Annas, in addition to positive prospects for VCO contributions to health, there are three additional factors encouraging VCO marketing, namely natural trend, new research into VCO benefits and the use of social media for promotions.
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