Health Benefits of Coconut Oil | From Prevention to Treatment
Shunned for many years because of its high saturated fat content, coconut oil’s reemergence as a health food has left some people scratching their heads. An increasing volume of recent research has suggested that not only is coconut oil not harmful, it in fact seems to offer its consumers a number of health benefits. Scientists are now attributing the health benefits of coconut oil to its unique medium chain fatty acids.
Coconut Oil Offers Numerous Health Benefits
The health benefits of coconut oil are amazing; the oil possesses antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant properties. The lauric, capric, and caprylic acids within the oil are credited with many of these benefits. It’s the lauric acid, for instance, that is converted into monolaurin, which in turn fights the bugs associated with herpes, giardia, listeria, influenza, and even HIV.
Read on to learn more!
Manage Symptoms of Type-2 Diabetes
Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia found that coconut oil increased the oxidative capacity of muscles and led to less fat storage in muscle and better insulin action.
In this study, the animals were fed a diet with 45% of calories as fats, in order to mimic the high fat diets typical in obese humans. Although the authors speculate that a lower fat diet would likely offer additional benefit, the positive effects of coconut oil were observed even without reducing fat intake.
Assist with Weight Loss
Brazilian scientists investigated the effects of supplementation with coconut oil on cholesterol and waist circumference of 40 women. The women were divided into two groups to receive daily supplements of either 30 ML of soybean oil or coconut oil over 12 weeks. They were also instructed to reduce caloric intake and walk for 50 minutes a day.
At the conclusion of twelve weeks, both groups had lost weight, but only the coconut oil group decreased waist circumference. This study suggests, again, that the fat in coconut oil is processed more effectively and may thus be useful in sustaining satiety without negatively affecting the lipid profile. Coconut oil is effective if you’re looking for how to lose visceral fat (deadly fat on the inside of your body).
Coconut Oil for Skin and Hair
Topically, coconut oil can be used on the skin and hair.
Long used by many cultures in massage oils, skin creams and hair treatments, research has confirmed that coconut oil is an effective moisturizer for both dry skin and damaged hair, once again likely because of its rich lauric acid content. It can also help with irritation from rashes.
Common skin disorders like psoriasis and eczema can be taken care of, along with simple chores like removing eye makeup without the use of chemicals.
Coconut oil may also be great for warts, and has been reported to be among many home remedies for itching.
Researchers are also attribute coconut oil’s role in skin health to its antibacterial properties.
Used on your hair, coconut oil can increase shine and reduce static electricity. It can also be used as a scalp massage to eliminate flaking and itchy dry scalp.
Promote Bone and Dental Health
Coconut oil appears to improve absorption of calcium and magnesium, among other minerals, which in turn promotes bone and dental health.
Additionally, having coconut oil available can also allow you to experience oil pulling benefits. Oil pulling is something that can help greatly to achieve healthy teeth and gums, and may also be great for detoxing.
Preventing and Reversing Alzheimer’s Disease
Coconut oil for Alzheimer’s and dementia has been proven especially beneficial.
Lifestyle choices such as diet can help prevent the disease, with some research pointing to the relationship between coconut oil and Alzheimer’s – and how this oil can help prevent and potentially even reverse the problem.
A telling story with an elderly man facing dementia reveals how over the course of just a single year, coconut oil was able to reverse his dementia completely, enabling him to run, read, comprehend, and remember again. This may be among the most surprising health benefits of coconut oil.
Processing new information helps keep your brain healthy. And on that subject, one more article to consider, perhaps the most interesting potential health benefit of coconut oil of all: brain health. More research is certainly needed, but the potential is certainly interesting. You heard it here first.
Coconut Oil was Once Vilified
Several decades ago, coconut oil was vilified. It was made to look like the “bad guy” in comparison with its competitors from the corn and soy industries.
They were successful in their campaign to squash the coconut oil competition by highlighting it’s saturated fat content and tying that to heart disease. Now, however, coconut oil and its medium chain triglycerides (saturated fats) are back on top and being recognized for numerous health benefits.
Additional, past research on coconut oil seems to have been flawed.
Dr. Thomas Brenna, professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University notes that many of the older studies on coconut oil have been discredited because of their use of partially hydrogenated coconut oil. Essentially, coconut oil was being chemically altered into the trans-fats we now widely recognize as health disasters.
“Virgin coconut oil, which has not been chemically treated, is a different thing in terms of a health risk perspective,” he continues, “I think we in the nutrition field are beginning to say that saturated fats are not so bad, and the evidence that said they were is not so strong.”
Time to Dig Into the Coconut
A former foe becomes a formidable friend. Times change, the body of knowledge from whence we derive our information changes, and our understanding evolves. This is normal, and good.
Coconut oil benefits truly are many, and it doesn’t take much. Just a tablespoon or so a day could make significant differences in your health.
Coconut oil is easy to add to your daily regimen. Use it in sautéing vegetables, raw in smoothies and juices, and in your baking and cooking. It’s flavor goes well with sweeter dishes but can temper a spicy dish just as well.
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I like your phrase, "A former foe becomes a formidable friend,". Continuing research is helping us to discover a lot of things like this.
I wonder if coconut milk in the diet will give the same effect???
@Tengu, my experience indicates the benefits regarding reduced waist circumference can be experienced using coconut milk.
First off: we (my wife Barb and I Dean) love this site. Second, we have been using coconut products for as long as they have been around and they are all beneficial for us in many ways we use it for cooking because it is the best cooking oil we use the new coconut sugar because it seems to be less harmful to my wife since she is diabetic and the list goes on and on…