Why should you use coconut oil?

Some people think, albeit erroneously, that Coconut Oil is not healthy. The fact however remains that coconut oil has numerous health benefits. No doubts, people all over the world are experiencing the coconut oil benefits. Actually, coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils you can use.

Here are top 10 coconut oil benefits

1. Fatty acids in coconut oil help boost brain function

Coconut oil helps improve brain function in Alzheimer’s patients. Alzheimer’s disease is a cause of dementia, occurring commonly in elderly individuals.

Alzheimer’s patients may lack full ability to use glucose to energize some parts of the brain.

Research shows that ketones may be a good source of energy for sub-optimal brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients. Ketones may also help to reduce Alzheimer’s disease symptoms

Another study shows that intake of medium-chain triglycerides may improve the brain function of Alzheimer’s patients.

However, it may be too early to conclude that coconut oil for sure helps with Alzheimer’s disease.

2. Coconut oil is easily absorbed and converted to energy

People in the tropics have relied on coconuts as a traditional staple in their diet for centuries. They consume large amounts of coconut oil every day. Instead of getting fatter, it helps them stay healthy, lean and trim. When they switch from coconut oil to our modern oils, they develop obesity and the health problems that our modern society faces.

Some other people who have known coconut oil benefits for a long time are people who are in the animal feed business. When you feed livestock on vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. When they are fed coconut oil, they become very lean.

Unlike many other common oils, like soy (vegetable) and corn, coconut oil won’t make you fat. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides, which are an easy fuel for the body to burn, without turning to fat. Most other cooking oils and fats contain long-chain triglycerides. Long-chain triglycerides are usually stored as fat. Since coconut oil is a medium-chain triglycerides, it is more easily absorbed and converted to energy quicker.

3. Coconut oil boosts body metabolism

One of the major coconut oil benefits is that coconut oil may triple your calorie burn. Since coconut oil is a medium-chain triglyceride, it is converted to energy so quickly that it creates a lot of heat. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that medium-chain triglycerides burn more calories for six hours after a meal than long-chain triglycerides.

Coconut oil has been described as a high metabolism secrete in the Women’s World magazine. This goes to show how important coconut oil is in improving metabolism.

Also, this is great news for people who have thyroid problems. Coconut oil improves sluggish thyroids by stimulating the production of extra thyroid hormones. Evidence shows that most other common oils, like vegetable (soy) and corn inhibit thyroid function.

So not only does coconut oil convert to energy quicker in your body, it increases your metabolism, which promotes weight loss. Because it boosts your metabolism, it helps your body burn fat more effectively.

4. Coconut oil is high in omega 3 fatty acids

Coconut oil is filled with healthy omega 3 fatty acids. Therefore, I can infer here that coconut oil benefits also include the health benefits of omega 3 fatty acids. You can read about other foods high in omega 3 fatty acids. But you know what? Most cooking oils contain omega 6 fatty acids, something we get way too much of in the United States and many other countries in the world. Our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio should be 1:1 but it is more like 50:1. We need to drastically cut back our omega 6 oils and consume much more omega 3 oils to be healthy.

5. Coconut oil helps increase your energy levels

Because of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the fact that it increases body metabolism, most people that switch to coconut oil feel a burst of added energy in their daily life.

Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain triglycerides, which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. Medium-chain triglycerides promote thermogenesis, which increases the body’s metabolism, producing energy. Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia have found that adding coconut and coconut oil to their diet was helpful to them.

6. Coconut oil helps relieve skin problems and improve skin appearance

Coconut oil is one of the best things you can apply directly on your skin and hair. It gives temporary relief to skin problems like rashes. Coconut oil aids in healing and restoring skin to a younger appearance. It has also been known to help with people who suffer from yeast infections in the skin, as well as many other skin problems.

Not only does it soften and smooth your skin, coconut oil has antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. Coconut oil makes excellent massage oil too.

7. Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties

Most oils oxidize and turn rancid very quickly causing free radical damage in our bodies. Coconut oil is not easily oxidized and does not cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Free radical damage is thought to be responsible for many ailments in our body from arthritis to increased susceptibility to cancers. Coconut oil helps prevent and shrink cancer.

Evidence is mounting that coconut oil has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects when both consumed and used topically on the skin.

Coconut oil also helps our bodies absorb other nutrients more effectively, such as Vitamin E.

8. You can use coconut oil for cooking

It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, which means it can take higher temperatures better. There are several healthy omega 3 oils we can choose to consume, such as flax and olive oil, but they don’t do well under the high heat we use for cooking. Coconut oil can be used in higher cooking temperatures. Therefore coconut oil is healthy for cooking.

It is harder for coconut oil to go rancid, unlike other cooking oils, which are usually rancid long before you even bring them home. Rancid oils cause free radical damage in the body, which is a leading cause of cancer. Coconut oil is stable for over a year at room temperature.

Due to the wrong information about coconut oil, we have lost out on the coconut oil benefits that coconut oil has given the people of the tropics for centuries.

9. Coconut oil helps reduce hunger

Coconut oil contains fatty acids which help reduce hunger. This could be due to fat metabolism and the role of ketones in reducing appetite.

Research shows that healthy people that eat more of medium-chain triglycerides than long-chain triglycerides will eat fewer calories per day.

Another study revealed that people that eat medium-chain triglycerides instead of long-chain triglycerides for breakfast will likely eat fewer calories at lunch.

10. Coconut oil raises HDL cholesterol

Coconut oil is high in natural saturated fats. Natural fats increase the good cholesterol (HDL). They may also help convert the bad cholesterol (LDL) to a less harmful form.

Because it raises the good cholesterol, coconut oil could improve heart health compared to other fats.

A study revealed that coconut oil lowers total and LDL cholesterol and increases HDL cholesterol compared to soybean oil.

Research also showed an increase of good HDL cholesterol among people that took part in a nutrition program that included coconut oil.

Conclusion

There is proof that coconut oil is very effective. In fact, it won’t be long before we see coconut oil supplements widely promoted.

Once again, coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils you can use.

Therefore, you can get the jump on the popular crowd and start cooking with and consuming coconut oil today!

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