CooCoo for Coconuts

There are so many health benefits of coconuts! People in Asia, the Pacific Islands, Africa, and Central America along with Ayurvedic studies have been using coconut, coconut oil and milk for centuries. It has been known to help with weight loss, heart disease, psorisis, candida and chronic fatigue just to name a few. It helps with digestion and is safe for diabetics by helping to regulate blood sugar.

Coconut oil puts less of a demand on the enzyme production of the pancreas. This lessens the stress on the pancreas during mealtime when insulin is produced most heavily, thus allowing the organ to function more efficiently.1 It has a long shelf like unlike many other oils that become rancid and may still be in your cupboard! I personally use virgin unrefined coconut oil, coconut shavings, coconut water and coconut milk. Use coconut oil as if you are using butter. For those that are concerned with too much coconut flavor, there is refined coconut oil. Through the refining process, the ‘coconutee flavor’ is taken out but it looks and feels like coconut oil/butter. In temperatures over 76 degrees farenheit, the oil is liquid and under 76 degrees, it will solidify. If you need to use it in a liquid form, warm or heat it and voila! Other ways to incorporate the benefits is through your largest organ - your skin.

Put straight coconut oil on dry skin or use products that contain it. Coconut oil will absorb easily into your skin. It promotes healing and keeps connective tissue strong to help with wrinkles. It provides protection from free-radical formation and is soothing to wounds and rashes. After bathing or showering, our pores generally are open. This can be a susseptical time for infection. Try rinsing off with cool or cold water and/or applying coconut oil. For a deep conditioner, put a small amount of oil in your hair.

Let’s move onto the technical benefits of coconut oil since it has sooo many health benefits including weight loss. The medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) that make up coconut oil yield fewer calories than other fats. The energy value is 6.8 calories per gram compared to 9 calories per gram from other fats. The medium chain triglcerides (MCT’s) derived in coconut oil raise the body’s metabolism turning it into insta-energy. Medium chain fatty acids are processed directly in the liver and immediately converted into energy. There is less strain on the liver, pancreas and digestive system. When metabolism speeds up, more calories are burned. This is the effect of MCFA’s easily absorbed and and quickly burned. Coconut oil promotes thermogenesis which is the burning of calories which in turn helps increase energy. This is another example of how coconut oil can contribute to helping those with hypothyroidism. “The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are similar to fats in mother’s milk and have similar nutriceutical effects. These health effects were recognized centuries ago in Ayurvedic medicine. The medium chain fatty acids and monoglycerides found primarily in coconut oil and mother’s milk have miraculous healing power.”2

Despite the negative campaign against coconut oil to increase sales of hydrogenated oils (ew), there is so much to learn about coconut oil. I hope I have given you enough information to take a deeper look at the benefits of adding it in your life!

1. The Healing Miracle of Coconut Oil. By Bruce Fife, N.D.
2. J. J. Kabara “Health Oils From the Tree of Life" (Nutritional and Health Aspects of Coconut Oil). Indian Coconut Journal 2000;31(8):2-8.