Virgin Coconut Oil is one of the absolute best oils you can possibly use for cooking and baking and it has so many benefits that I just had to devote a blog to it.
The first thing that you should know is that not all saturated fats are bad for you. The saturated fat in coconut oil is actually very good for you and can even help you to lose weight. Saturated fats were vilified a couple decades ago when some very flawed studies emerged which actually used hydrogenated coconut oil rather than virgin coconut oil. Hydrogenating oil turns it into a trans fat with very detrimental effects to your health, like promoting heart disease. Other industries jumped on the opportunity to denounce saturated fats and started to heavily promote their “heart healthy” oils like soy, canola and corn oils. What they didn’t tell you is how easily these oils go rancid and promote free radical damage and inflammation in your body. You can read about the dangers of soy here:
https://wisdomthatheals.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/put-the-fork-down-and-step-away-from-the-tofu/
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAT IN YOUR DIET………………
The importance of saturated fat in the diet cannot be overemphasized. For one, the membranes of every single cell in our bodies are 50% saturated fat and this is necessary in order to protect the contents of the cell. Without saturated fat, the cell membranes would lose their structural integrity and allow the contents of the cell to get crushed. Because of this fact, our brains are actually 60% fat so a low fat diet can in fact affect brain function.
Avoiding fat in your meals is NOT the way to lose weight and can have a negative impact on your body. Many vitamins like A, D, E and K are all fat soluble and therefore need fat in order for your body to be able to use them. Also, the mineral Calcium needs dietary fat in order for it to be absorbed and utilized by our bones and teeth in helping to prevent osteoporosis and tooth decay. Having fat in a meal also helps to slow down food’s absorption so that you feel fuller and more satisfied for longer and tend to eat less in the long run. It has also been shown that adding coconut fat to your diet actually helps to normalize body fat. It stimulates your metabolism thus increasing your fat burning potential and also signals your body to release white fat stores since you are giving it a normal supply of healthy fat and it doesn’t need to keep it in storage. So avoiding all fat is not the answer to weight loss, avoiding the WRONG types of fat is the answer.
Most of the saturated fat in coconut oil is in the form of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) which your body converts into energy almost immediately rather than being stored as fat. MCTs are well known by athletes to increase athletic performance and they are also antimicrobial so they benefit the immune system by helping to improve its anti-inflammatory response. Coconut oil is so easily digested that even people who have had their gallbladder removed can still consume it. The gallbladder is a key player in digesting fats so having it removed can make fatty meals very difficult to digest…. Unless the fat is from coconut that is.
If you want to know one of the causative factors behind the obesity epidemic then you should look to soy and corn oils (vegetable oils) in the diet rather than saturated fats. In the 1940s ranchers tried to fatten up their animals using coconut oil only to find that a high coconut oil diet made their animals lean, active and full of energy. They did find, however, that using soy and corn oils fattened the animals right up so they decided to use those oils instead.
SO LETS TALK ABOUT THE FAT IN COCONUT OIL………
About 2/3rds of the white fruit (copra) of a coconut is oil and from this copra is where the coconut oil is extracted. The oil can either be extracted from dried copra or from fresh wet copra but wet extraction is more expensive and time consuming so the final product will cost more.
The primary fat in coconut oil Lauric Acid which is a medium chain fatty acid and accounts for about 49% of the fat in coconut. Lauric acid can also be found in breast milk and is vital to an infant’s immune system so they also add it to formulas. When eaten, lauric acid turns into Monolaurin which the body uses to destroy viruses, bacteria and protozoa like HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, helicobacter pylori and giardia lamblia. It is able to destroy viruses by dissolving their protective envelope (think of this as their body armor) thus exposing them to the chemicals in our bodies and killing them. Monolaurin has also been shown to inactivate fungi and the yeast known as Candida albicans which can cause a whole host of bodily disorders if allowed to multiply in excess. Even one course of antibiotics can throw off the bodily balance and allow a Candida overgrowth.
The second highest fat content in Coconut is in the form of Myristic Acid and accounts for approximately 18% of the fat content. Myrsitic Acid is another MCT and helps to promote a healthy metabolism and to stabilize cellular proteins.
Another eight percent of coconut oil is Palmitic acid which the heart uses as one of its preferred energy sources. The surfactant in our lungs, which helps to keep the walls of the lungs from sticking together, is about 68 percent palmitic acid so this fat also helps to support lung health.
About seven percent of the coconut fat is another MCT known as capric acid which has also been shown to have antiviral effects against HIV and possibly the herpes simplex virus and the sexually transmitted disease known as Chlamydia.
Because Coconut Oil is such an effective anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, it also helps to improve overall digestion of foods and to maintain the healthy bacteria in the digestive tract along with reducing the burden on your immune system. There was actually a study done on AIDS patients where their viral load dropped to almost undetectable levels when they ate a half coconut or 3 ½ tablespoons of coconut oil per day… that is how effective of an antiviral this stuff is. Just imagine if your immune system wasn’t burdened with all these random virus, bacteria and fungi the work it could do to promote your overall well being.
The remaining fatty acids in coconut oil include about eight percent as an MCT called caprylic acid, six percent as oleic acid which is an Omega 9 fat also found in olive oil, two percent as stearic acid and another two percent as linoleic acid which is an Omega 6 fat.
Coconut oil does not contain any trans fat and since it is stable at high temperatures, it does not turn into a trans fat during cooking like olive oil has a tendency to do. Coconut Oil has an impressive shelf life compared to other oils and does not turn rancid very easily unlike most of the oils you buy at the grocery store which are unsaturated and therefore unstable so they have probably already turned rancid before you buy them due to the light and heat exposure they experience.
One of the most important things to realize is that Saturated fat and Trans fats are NOT the same. Good saturated fats have many beneficial attributes like raising “good” cholesterol and lowering blood levels of heart disease causing (atherogenic) lipoproteins. Trans fats, on the other hand, have been shown to lower “good” cholesterol, raise atherogenic lipoproteins, cause a tissue loss of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, inhibit insulin binding, interfere with enzyme functions and interfere with immune system function.
SO WHAT OTHER BENEFITS DOES COCONUT OIL PROVIDE…………..
Since coconut oil provides the cells with a quick energy source without raising blood sugar levels and without inhibiting insulin binding, it is also a great food for diabetics and those worried about diabetes.
Coconut oil has also been shown to preserve tissues stores of omega 3 fatty acids and can therefore help to balance the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio in your body which is very important considering how many omega 6 fats are in the typical American diet compared to omega 3 fats.
Another reason to replace your vegetable oil in cooking with coconut oil is because unsaturated fats like vegetable oils tend to impair thyroid function which can affect your metabolism, cholesterol levels and many more bodily functions. The saturated fats in coconut, on the other hand, have been shown to be supportive of healthy thyroid function. To find out how important the thyroid gland is you can go here:
https://wisdomthatheals.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/how-important-is-the-thyroid-gland/
Coconut Oil has also been shown to protect against alcohol damage to the liver.
The small structure of the saturated fat in coconut oil makes it one of the best oils to use on your skin. Not only does it make your skin very soft since it is absorbed quickly and easily but it also protects your cells against the aging and carcinogenic effects of UVA light from the sun. It is also 100% natural, unlike most lotions, creams and oils sold in stores which contain many toxic chemicals that absorb directly into your bloodstream. A motto to live by is that you should never put anything on your skin that you would not put into your mouth. Besides, think of how much money you will save on all those expensive creams and lotions that are loaded with toxic chemicals. If you want scent then you can always add essential oils of your choosing or cocoa butter to the coconut oil.
Using coconut oil on wounds can also help to soften scabs and reduce scarring.
Always buy VIRGIN Coconut Oil rather than the Bleached, Deodorized or Refined Oils as many of the health benefits are stripped from the oil during these processes. You can also reap the benefits of coconut fat by eating fresh or dried coconut and by using coconut milk in your cooking or smoothies. Make sure to buy the full fat versions of anything coconut as the fat is what makes the product healthy.
Coconut oil is solid up to 76 degrees Fahrenheit where it will then turn liquid so it will often be a solid white creamy mass during the winter and melt to clear liquid during the summer. You can buy it in most health food stores or online. I usually buy mine in bulk (five gallon bucket which lasts me about a year) because I use it for cooking, baking and on my skin as a daily moisturizer and mixed with Aloe vera gel as a sun protectant.
Here are a few of the online merchants that sell high quality Virgin Coconut Oil:
Now Foods Coconut Oil at Vitaminlife
There are some great books on the benefits of coconut oil if you are interested in finding out more detail but I have hopefully inspired you to at least try out some coconut oil and experience the benefits for yourself.
The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife
Eat Fat Lose Fat by Mary Enig & Sally Fallon
– For Educational Purposes Only
– Not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition
-These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA
– These statements are my opinions and conclusion from the knowledge I have thus far
References:
1. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/09/13/coconut-oil-part-three.aspx
Accessed: 04/06/09, Author: Dr. Joseph Mercola
2. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/08/17/saturated-fat1.aspx
Accessed: 04/07/09, Author: Mary Enig, PhD, and Sally Fallon
3. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/07/28/coconut-health.aspx
Accessed: 04/09/09, Author: Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N.
4. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/07/28/coconut-health3.aspx
Accessed: 04/09/09, Author: Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N.
5. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/03/24/coconut-oil-part-one.aspx
Accessed: 04/09/09, Author: Ray Peat
6. http://www.naturalnews.com/022313.html
Accessed: 04/09/09, Author: Teya Skae
7. http://www.naturalnews.com/025388.html
Accessed: 04/09/09, Author: Sheryl Walters
8. http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html
Accessed: 04/09/09
9. Enig & Fallon, Eat Fat Lose Fat, 2005, Pg. 44
10. Enig, Know Your Fats, 2000, Pgs 114-115, 241, 256, 261, 264
Wisdom That Heals 