OCTACOSANOL. Reliable brain fuel

In the early days of my nutritional career I was fortunate enough to work side by side with Dr Carlton Fredericks, one of the true greats in nutritional medicine. With tube feedings of octacosanol, he helped dozens of people emerge from comas that had left conventional doctors scratching their heads. The cases were so numerous and the results so dramatic that no one familiar with them could conclude anything but that octacosanol is a miraculously effective brain nutrient. But though the results are impressive, few medical studies have examined or attempted to explain its powers. The sad truth is this: no studies means no mainstream acceptance. So people in a coma will continue to miss the opportunity to benefit from octacosanol.

I began my own therapeutic use of octacosanol by prescribing it to patients complaining of a general lack of energy. Impressed by their improvements, I turned my attention to a group of people whose fatigue was associated with brain damage – multiple sclerosis (a lack of stamina is one of the autoimmune disorder’s most prevalent symptoms). Hundreds of them have since gone on to live fuller, more active lives. I’d estimate that some 90 per cent of my MS patients have reported that our programme, which always included octacosanol, reduced their feelings of fatigue. Even when the treatment’s benefits were not apparent neurologically, these people said they could do more than before and felt better doing it.

Octacosanol’s value was first demonstrated by Thomas Cureton, PhD, a pioneer in the field of exercise physiology. Supplements of wheat germ oil, from which octacosanol is extracted, can increase an athlete’s endurance and oxygen consumption at a high altitude, Cureton demonstrated. Scientists later identified octacosanol as the most potent ingredient of wheat germ oil, although other components (including triacon- tanol, tetracosanol and hexacosanol) may also contribute to its effectiveness, as Dr Fredericks believed.

NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

The sparse number of scientific studies published tends to confirm that octacosanol’s best therapeutic application is against certain degenerative neurological diseases. Taking 5 mg per day, one small experiment showed, improved muscular coordination for people with Parkinson’s disease. A larger dose, I’ve found, is even more effective. People with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) have noticed some slight improvement in their symptoms after taking 40 mg per day, although the changes are not dramatic. Octacosanol might also help people who have muscular dystrophy, other research suggests, although the benefit here might come from other compounds in wheat germ oil.

Supplement SUGGESTIONS

Therapeutically, a natural extract of wheat germ oil works better than synthetic octacosanol. In the small number of published studies, dosages ranged from 40 to 80 mg per day, although the average adult can easily tolerate up to 150 mg. I usually give my MS patients 15-30 mg a day. That’s also a good amount for anyone who wants additional nourishment for the central nervous system. Higher amounts can be somewhat expensive but are definitely worthwhile and apparently safe.