Homemade Caprylic Acid

Caprylic acid is commonly used to help balance an intestinal yeast problem. Candida albicans abides in the digestive tract and vagina along with other beneficial microbes. Environmental, health and diet factors can cause an imbalance, allowing the Candida to overgrow and invade other systems. Caprylic acid is known to kill off C. albicans. While you cannot isolate this chemical to make supplements at home, you can get the benefit without buying ready-made supplements.

The Source

• Include Caprylic acid in your diet naturally by consuming coconut oil. Caprylic acid, capric acid and lauric acid are all medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil. According to a study published in “Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy” by a group of scientists at the University of Iceland, these fatty acids work by invading and disintegrating the plasma membrane of the yeast cell. Another study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food (June 2007) was done by several doctors from the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. It showed coconut oil was more effective against Candida than fluconazole, which is a common prescription anti-fungal medication.

  Caprylic acid supplements are derived from virgin coconut oil, so you can get yours right from the source.

The Strategy

• Follow a regimen that includes the daily consumption of coconut oil. You can find non-hydrogenated coconut oil at your local supermarket, health food store and online. It will usually be labeled as “virgin” or “cold pressed” oil. The dosage you want to work up to, in order to make sure you get plenty of Caprylic acid, is about 3 tbsp per day. You can simply take it by the spoonful, or work it into meals. Use coconut oil in place of vegetable oil for frying, or use it in place of butter on steamed vegetables.

The Signs of Success

• Watch for signs of the yeast “dying off” after you begin the Caprylic acid regimen. If you have had health issues related to Candida overgrowth, your symptoms will probably get worse for a few days before getting better. The faster you work up to the 3 tbsp per day dosage, the faster the die off will begin. Symptoms like diarrhea, headache, nausea and fatigue should fade as long as you also follow a low carbohydrate, high quality foods diet and drink at least 2 qts of water daily. That diet and the Caprylic should facilitate the elimination of the dead yeast.