Medical Evidence Urged to Back Up VCO Claims

By MARVYN N. BENANING

September 8, 2010, 4:41pm

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Coconut Authority Wednesday urged virgin coconut oil (VCO) and coconut oil (CNO) manufacturers to back up with solid medical evidence the touted beneficial effects of their products on human health.

PCA Administrator Oscar G. Garin said this is necessary to reassure consumers that there is ironclad evidence that VCO and CNO are good products that reduce cholesterol levels and guarantee better defense against diseases.

“Nine years after the market launch of the VCO, what we have secured so far is a rapidly growing market which gives credence to the health enhancing capabilities of the product as spread by personal testimonies and anecdotal stories of people from around the world” Garin noted.

“Without a solid clinical and medical study on our hand, we may not hold a secure and sustainable future for the VCO and other coconut-based food products” the PCA chief stressed.

Garin recalled that the coconut industry had been maligned by competitors who allegedly misinformed the market in the United States by declaring that coconut oil is bad for human health.

“We went down, the industry suffered badly to such an extent that it was considered as a sunset industry” the PCA chief emphasized.

“Thanks to researches undertaken around the world and the scientists who maintained their faith in the coconut industry, we were able to rebound,” Garin said.

He cited the work of Drs. Conrado Dayrit, Mary Enig, Bruce Fife and many others in defending the coconut industry and proving that the criticisms against coconut oil were scientifically untenable.

 “Their researches, which affirmed the beneficial effects of coconut oil and showed its being neutral to heart and vascular diseases, curative of HIV/AIDS, antimicrobial, and similar to mother’s milk, showed that coconut oil is probably the healthiest type vegetable oil on earth,” Garin said.

In spite of these, the PCA chief still called for definitive clinical studies to beef up the host of anecdotal evidence on the beneficial effects of VCO and CNO, particularly on control of cholesterol levels.

Considering the magnitude, precision and scientific rigor the clinical study requires, Garin said PCA is poised to call for public-private partnership for the activity in line with the call of President Benigno S. Aquino III for greater collaboration, particularly on R&D.

“We know that all business entities, including our coconut products manufacturers, are allowed by law to set aside a certain percentage of their income for use in their R&D, the same amount is allowable as deduction for tax due,” he said.

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Published in Manila Bulletin September 9, 2010.