The coconut oil health benefits are numerous and there’s no wonder it is used in the beauty industry and also the food industry. The coconut oil, or, as I recently discovered, the copra oil, is an edible oil which is extracted from the meat of the mature coconut. It is used a lot in tropical countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, India but started to become popular also in the western countries.
It is said that when the western countries started to produce this oil, in the 1970s, a huge propaganda against the coconut oil started, and oils such as soy and corn were promoted instead of coconut. It was considered a harmful oil because of its high content in saturated fats. Later, people started to wonder if this was actually the truth.
Coconut Oil Health Benefits
The coconut oil has the following health benefits:
- Skin and hair care
- Weight loss
- Helps digestion and controls the metabolism
- Maintains a low cholesterol level
- Improves the immune system
- Strengthens teeth and bones
- Helps with kidney and heart diseases
On a more detailed level, here is what the coconut oil consists of:
- Saturated fatty acids (lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid and palmitic acid)
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid)
- Monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid)
- Poly-phenols (gallic acid)
- Derivatives of fatty acid
- Derivatives of fatty alcohols
- Vitamin E, vitamin K and minerals
Coconut oil finds itself in the “superfood” category. Although it’s an exotic fruit, coconut has started to be consumed by health conscious people. Studies have shown that people who eat A LOT of coconuts are among the healthiest people in the world. Should this be true? I have read about populations in the South Pacific who eat coconut on a regular basis, as in more than 60% of what they eat is coconut. The result? An excellent health and no heart disease. If this is truly the case, then I wouldn’t mind integrating a lot more of this amazing fruit in my diet.
The lauric acid in the coconut is very important to digestion and the fact that it kills bacteria and viruses and fungus infections. Say goodbye to Staphylococcus Aureus and Candida Albicans. This is truly great news if we can prevent such infections with coconut.
It’s known that coconut can reduce the appetite and increases fat burning. So, if you’re interested in losing some weight, then coconut oil is your answer. Studies show that it’s efficient in reducing abdominal fat, which is the most dangerous fat of all. Not to mention the fact that it reduces the risk of heart attacks and seizures by improving the blood cholesterol levels.
In the beauty industry, the coconut oil does wonders. Want to improve the health of your skin and hair? The coconut oil health benefits include a moisturized skin, makeup removal, and a healthy looking hair. It acts as sunscreen so it also protects the hair against UV rays. I can say for a fact that I have tested the coconut oil on my skin and it really is a great moisturizer.
You can incorporate the coconut oil in your beauty routine as follows:
- skin oil: you can use it from head to toe and hydrate your body in a natural way.
- hair mask: after shampooing your hair, apply coconut oil on your wet hair and let it act for about 5 minutes before rinsing.
- leave-in hair oil: it’s a great oil if you have frizzy hair.
- facial and body scrub: use it with sea salt or sugar.
- shaving cream: you can shave your legs easily if, instead of your regular cream, you add coconut oil on them.
- lip balm: it really hydrates your lips, trust me.
- nail strengthener: sink your fingers in this oil and see how your cuticles get softer and how your nails get stronger.
- eye cream: it’s great your under-eye zone because it prevents wrinkles.
- makeup remover: oh, what a great thing to remove your makeup with all-the-way natural products.
Coconut Oil Varieties
According to Organic Facts, coconut oil comes in 6 varieties.
#1 Pure Coconut Oil
It is the most known form of coconut oil, in its purest form, without any additives, extracted from dried kernels. It can be used as an edible oil, it has a cosmetic and medicinal use, but also an industrial use.
#2 Virgin Coconut Oil
It is the most respected form of coconut oil, it smells great and contains lots of antioxidants. It is obtained from the milk of fresh coconut meat.
#3 Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
There are no set standards for the virgin coconut oil, therefore, the extra virgin coconut oil is, more or less, a controversial variety, with an insecure existence.
#4 Organic Coconut Oil
A respected variety of coconut oil, since it is produced only “from coconuts obtained from coconut palms raised only on organic manure and no synthetic fertilizers or insecticides.” It is best used in the beauty industry as body creams and lotions, soaps.
#5 Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
The best and rarest form of virgin coconut oil that is produced from organic coconuts, organically.
#6 Refined Coconut Oil
This form of coconut oil is obtained through mechanical and chemical methods and the result is just pure saturated fats. This type is best used for cooking.
I haven’t got the chance to cook much with the coconut oil, just a few raw vegan deserts, where I used it as a topping and it was great. I hear you can cook almost everything with this oil, so I’m thinking about incorporating it in some of my meals. You can use it instead of butter on a toast or you can take a spoon just like that, you can use it to fry eggs, to blend smoothies, on popcorn, with potatoes, in the tea (yeah, you heard that right) or as salad dressing. There are plenty or ideas.
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to use and benefit from another of Earth’s miraculous fruit. It’s important for you to know that, no matter the variety you decide to buy, according to what you want to do with it, the properties of the coconut oil remain, mostly, the same. I hope I have convinced you to try this amazing oil and to benefit as much as you can from it. I, for sure, am going to continue to buy it!
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Feature image: pixabay.com
