After reviewing Brude Fife's first book, I thought well, that 's that -- just about all we need to know about this magnificent food. Boy was I wrong.

Coconut oil is first and foremost the best oil you can put on your skin. It’s antifungal. For jock itch, a baby bottom, or athlete’s foot, just a touch of coconut oil is very healing. Using coconut oil topically is also a great preventive measure.

And though we’ve talked about omega-3 essential fatty acids for a healthy heart, Bruce publishes a list of countries in the order of their heart attack rate and the Philippines’ incidence (where coconut is a staple) is at the bottom.

The book lists conditions and how using coconut oil can help relieve the condition.

Internally, coconut oil is turned into fatty acids that are very healing. I was not surprised to find out that these fatty acids are found in mother’s milk, but was not surprised to learn that one can guarantee even more of these oils being passed to one’s offspring if the nursing mother adds a bit more coconut oil to her diet.

My biggest and most delightful discovery in this book was that coconut oil aids in digestion. I’d received this from a reader after she'd read our first article on coconut oil:

Just wanted to tell you what a good article this is. I've been researching coconut oil for a while and your article summarizes the facts very well.  I started began using coconut oil recently and  I absolutely love it. It cleared up an on-going digestion problem almost immediately!

And then Bruce sent me a review copy of Coconut Cures and went quite deeply into the subject, explaining that coconut helps break down foods so that they are more digestible, and he even gives you a little demonstration you can try yourself.

Next time you’re about to toss some chewing gum in the trash, put a teaspoon of coconut oil in your mouth and continue chewing. The chewing gum will break down in your mouth as you chew and dissipate.

Interestingly enough, I discovered this principle on my own, but did not understand the reason behind it. I buy natural peanut butter. Natural peanut butter is not as smooth as the hydrogenated peanut butters, so I add a little butter to it. However, one day I decided to add some coconut oil to it, since both butter and coconut oil are both saturated fats. When I stirred up the mixture, I suddenly had peanut soup on my hand. I was totally at a loss as to why two thick substances mixed together would turn into a soup, that is until I read Coconut Cures and discovered that coconut oil helps break down foods. This is also the reason you can’t substitute coconut oil for butter in cookie recipes, though in most other recipes you can substitute it. In cookies, as I discovered, the cookie dough turns into slush and the cookies turn out very, very flat.

This book and a small bottle of coconut oil should be in every first aid kit. I was truly impressed with Bruce’s research.

However, being that we are investigative journalists, it is incumbent upon us to report on some criticism of Bruce’s work.

Most of Bruce’s research is accepted in the natural health circles, but his assertion about using coconut oil for hypothyroidism recently came under attack by a Dr Ken Woliner, MD, ABFP (American Board of Forensic Psychology), an “holistic physician.”

My first doubts about this criticism arose when Dr Woliner claimed that Dr Fife was a shill for the coconut industry. This is patently false. So I did a little more research, and Dr Fife answers Dr Woliner’s attack with his usual attention to detail and flawless writing style.

You can read the criticism at the About Network, and at that same site you can read Dr Fife’s response.

Personally, I feel that Dr Fife's work is well researched and his presentation, as he states himself, is not intended to substitute for care from a health care professional. Information is never a substitute, but it can be used by the healthy to stay healthy.

Personally, I’ve used coconut oil successfully as a preventive measure and I simply love the stuff. If you like cream in your coffee, try a tablespoon of coconut oil instead.