Q. I heard that a man with Crohn’s disease got relief from diarrhea by eating coconut. My husband had been having diarrhea almost every day since 2004. We never knew what caused it and the gastro doctor could not cure it.
I talked my husband into taking shredded coconut (a spoonful morning and night). He was skeptical, but after a couple of months the symptoms faded and now they are gone.
When we moved to Florida my husband weighed 175 lbs. Starting in 2004, his weight kept dropping, eventually to 127 (very thin for a man 5’10”). He was miserable. I thought that if he kept losing weight he would die.
He is now back to 160 lbs., looks great and has his energy back. My life has improved too because my husband is once again enjoying life with me!
A. There is no scientific evidence that coconut can ease symptoms of Crohn’s disease or other chronic conditions that cause diarrhea. Nonetheless, we have heard from hundreds of readers who have benefitted from this inexpensive and safe approach.
When we first hear about this remedy, the recommendation was for two coconut macaroon cookies a day. Some people who try to avoid cookies and other sources of excess sugar experimented with unsweetened coconut, either fresh or dried, and found that it too frequently could help deter diarrhea. We suspect that some of the fats in coconut may be responsible.
