Coconut Oil Health Benefits

The saturated fats found in coconut oil promote good health and are actually good for you, contrary to what is generally believed by both the lay public and medical professionals.

Medium Chain Fatty Acids have incredible nutritional and therapeutic benefits within this unique group of saturated fats.

A Little History

There are populations who have used this wonderful aromatic oil for generations. These people demonstrate a remarkable level of good health.

Historically,the coconut and it's oil has been used as a food and as a pharmaceutical.

Ayurvedic literature has long promoted the health and cosmetic benefits of coconut oil.

The Asian Pacific community have enjoyed many, many years of good health and longevity.

Studies on people who live in tropical climates, such as the Pacific Islands, Africa and Central America and have a diet high in coconut oil have fewer incidences of heart disease, cancer, digestive complaints and prostate problems.

In the late nineteenth century, North American and European recipes using coconut oil appeared. Heart disease and cancer were almost unheard of at that time.

The Truth About Coconut Oil

Saturated fat has gained a reputation as a dietary villain and should be avoided. But why is saturated fat so bad? Here is the reason: Saturated fat is converted by the liver to cholesterol. Cholesterol is implicated in an increased risk of heart disease.

Therefore popular opinion is that coconut oil is considered a health risk.

...but

Much of this information linking coconut oil and increased heart disease, is circumstantial at best and flawed at worst.

This oil is not a dietary poison as it contains a remarkable fat called monolaurin.

Monolaurin is a medium-chain fatty acid, which is one of the most exceptional and inspiring group of fats, ever found in nature.

This unique fat, available naturally from mother’s milk and coconut oil, is now commercially available as Lauricidin or Monolaurin Lauricidin. It is currently being tested in clinical trials as a treatment for genital herpes, hepatitis C and HIV.

Many Uses of Coconut Oil

• has been used in hospital IV solutions to feed critically ill patients
• is used in baby formula providing many of the same nutrients as human breast milk
• is considered by the FDA to be a safe, natural food
• is on the FDA’s exclusive GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe)list
• is used in many cooking recipes

Eat Fat, Lose Weight

When people go on diets to lose weight, the foods that are restricted most are those that contain the most fat. Fat is singled out because it is high in calories and the way it is digested and utilized in our bodies. Fat contributes the most to body fat. The fat we eat is the fat we wear - literally.

When we eat fat, it is broken down into individual fatty acids and repackaged into small bundles of fat and protein called lipoproteins.

These lipoproteins are sent into the bloodstream, where the fatty acids are deposited directly into our fat cells. Other nutrients, such as carbohydrate and protein are broken down and used immediately for energy or tissue building. Only when we eat too much is the excess carbohydrate and protein converted into fat. As long as we eat enough to satisfy energy needs, fat in our food ends up as fat in our cells. Only between meals, when physical activity outpaces energy reserves, is fat removed from storage and burned for fuel.

MCFA's are digested and utilized differently. They are not packaged into lipoproteins and do not circulate in the bloodstream like other fats but are sent directly to the liver, where they are immediately converted into energy - just like a carbohydrate.

Safe for Diabetics

MCFA's do not raise blood sugar. Many people report controlled sugar cravings and reduced hypoglycemic symptoms.

So when you eat coconut oil, the body uses it immediately to make energy rather than store it as body fat.

Don't you just wonder how some people are as skinny as rails and still eat like horses? They are full of energy and vitality.

The answer is metabolism.

That's me! As I have gotten older, my basal metabolic rate has slowed down. I don't burn up the same calories now, that I used to.

So, by being careful with my diet, sticking to it and exercising regularly, is the only way I can keep the weight off permanently.

Crash diets don't work. Crash diets only keep you constantly thinking of food and what and when can I eat next.

Lifestyle changes are the only true answer.

Occasionally, people say that they tried coconut oil for awhile but didn't see any real improvement. I emphatically say, that it is not the cure-all. It will not remedy every health challenge.

You cannot expect to see much improvement in a few days. Give it a chance. If you live on soda pop and donuts, you are not going to experience the same degree of improvement as someone who eats more sensibly.

I enjoy cooking with it, as it melts very quickly, under low heat, therefore producing no smoke, which makes it a healthier oil to use. There are different brands that are available. The raw, unprocessed oil smells just like coconut.

BRUCE FIFE,C.N.,N.D. says and I quote “I started using coconut oil myself and began recommending it to my clients (I am a certified nutritionist and naturopathic physician). I’ve seen it get rid of chronic psoriasis, eliminate dandruff, remove precancerous skin lesions, speed recovery from the flu, stop bladder infections, overcome chronic fatigue, and relieve haemorrhoids, among other things”.

There is scientific literature reporting its possible use for treating dental cavities, peptic ulcers, benign prostatic hyperplasia, epilepsy, genital herpes, hepatitis C, and HIV AIDS. It also has the ability to prevent heart disease.

Bruce Fife, C.N., N.D., has written a book called “The Coconut Oil Miracle” and every statement that is made in this very informative book is verified by published scientific studies, historical record and references and resources are listed in the back of his book.

Saturated Fats

No dietary oil is purely saturated or unsaturated. All natural fats and oils consist of a mixture of the three classes of fatty acids.

Saturated, Unsaturated and Monounsaturated

Olive oil is often called monounsaturated because it is predominantly monounsaturated, but, like all vegetable oils, it also contains some polyunsaturated and saturated fat as well.

Olive oil is called one of the good fats because those people who eat it in place of other oils have less heart disease. Olive oil is composed primarily of a monounsaturated fatty acid called oleic acid.

Oleic acid is a good fatty acid.

The saturated fatty acids found in Coconut Oil have no harmful effects and actually promote better health.

The studies done on these foods have found, that we are now unable to say one oil is bad, because it is saturated while another is good because it is monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

It all depends on the type of fatty acid and not simply on its degree of saturation.

So, again, it comes down to read those labels on the products that you purchase.

Coconut oil, palm and palm kernel oils are unique in that they are the best natural source of medium-chain fatty acids, which gives them their incredible health promoting properties.

MCFA is found in small concentration in Palm Oil.

These tropical oils are the richest dietary sources of MCFA’s.

Most fats in our foods, are stored as fat tissue on our bodies.

Because this wonderful oil is composed primarily of medium and short-chain fatty acids, it has a totally different effect on the body than the long-chain fatty acids found abundantly in meat and vegetable oils.

MCFA’s are broken down and used for energy production and seldom end up as body fat or as deposits in arteries or anywhere else. Energy is produced not fat. I think this would certainly be a bonus when doing a weight loss program, don't you?

Medium-chain fatty acids do not have a negative effect on blood cholesterol and help protect against heart disease.

Essential Fatty Acids

Fats are important nutrients and essential fatty acids (EFA's) are necessary for good health.

The two basic essential fatty acids that our body cannot make are Omega-6(linoleic) and Omega-3(alpha-linolenic) fatty acids and we must get them from our food.

The MCFA's (medium chain fatty acids) found in coconut oil, are also important and are just as important as EFA's.

The EFA's found in most vegetable oils are often damaged by refining and processing or destroyed by free radicals.

Conventionally processed vegetable oils are inferior sources of EFA's. The trans fatty acids found in hydrogenated oils, such as margarine and shortening actually block or interfere with the body's utilization of EFA's.

You can get the EFA's your body needs directly from your foods, unrefined cold-pressed vegetable oils or dietary supplements.

Coconut oil has only 2% of these fats. The benefit from using this tasty oil in your daily diet is that MCFA's work synergistically with the essential fatty acids, improving the body's utilization of these fats.

You can purchase Raw Organic Coconut Oil at Essential Living Foods. The fatty acids found in this oil are powerful antibiotics. They are known to kill bacteria that can cause numerous illnesses.

Coconut oil can enhance the efficiency of essential fatty acids and also acts as an antioxidant, protecting EFA's from destructive oxidation inside the body.

It appears that for optimal health we should consume a small amount of EFA's along with a significantly larger amount of MCFA's.



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