Coconut oil is one of those products you can use for so many things, that it’s necessary to keep it stocked. From cleaning to beauty, it’s uses are truly endless. And it’s good for you! Read on to find the benefits of coconut oil and how you should be be using it every day!
Benefits of Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is one of those things that started as a health trend, but has become a staple in many households. But why is it so good for you?
1. Antioxidants
Coconut oil contains certain antioxidants like phenolic antioxidants, which reduce the oxidation of LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins) or bad fats and reduces your risk of coronary heart disease.
Coconut oil also helps your body process other antioxidants. For example, it improves your body’s ability to absorb carotenoids, which are essentially pigments that give fruits and vegetables their color, like making tomatoes red. They also have other health benefits, which include boosting your immune system, preventing certain types of cancer and reducing your risk of heart disease. Those who ingest coconut oil, are better able to absorb these carotenoids.
2. MCFA (Medium-Chain Fatty Acids)
Most oils contain long-chain fatty acids, but coconut oil is different in that it contains medium-chain fatty acids. This may not seem like a big deal, but MCFAs are much more quickly and easily absorbed and digested, are converted into energy faster, and they boost your metabolism.
MCFAs also combat yeast overgrowth in the body and act as a natural skin conditioner.
3. Lauric Acid
Coconut oil contains a substance call lauric acid. Surprisingly enough, two of the only places to get lauric acid are coconut oil and breastmilk. Your body converts lauric acid to monolaurin, which combats tons of bacterial and viral infections in your body from measles to hepatitis C to the flu.
4. Caprylic Acid
Caprylic Acid is also found in coconut oil and has great anti-fungal properties that kill Candida cells, which helps to control yeast overgrowth. It’s also helps restore your stomach acid to normal levels, which helps in digestion and a number of other digestion-related issues.
5. Capric Acid
Capric Acid is the last of the three in the MCFAs. It is great at destroying Candida cells and has similar qualities to lauric acid and caprylic acid, and it, along with lauric acid, is great at helping your pancreas secrete insulin, which is good news for diabetics.
Uses for Coconut Oil
So now that we’ve talked about some of the reasons coconut oil is so good for you, let’s talk about how you can use it.
- Moisturizer – From lotions, to lip balms, to cuticle creams and even for stretch marks, coconut oil is great at moisturizing and conditioning your body from head to toe. I personally used it as lotion during my first pregnancy and didn’t get a single stretch mark.
- Treat Eczema and Psoriasis – Because of it’s amazing health benefits and fatty acids, coconut oil is great at treating all kinds of skin rashes including eczema and psoriasis. I even used it on my son when he was younger as diaper rash cream and it worked wonders!
- Deep Hair Conditioner – Coconut oil works great as a deep hair conditioner because of it’s moisturizing capabilities. Simply take a couple tablespoons of coconut oil and melt it until it’s completely liquid, and work it into either dry or damp hair. You can use it just on the ends of your hair or your entire head and use it as a scalp treatment for dandruff. Leave it on for about 30 min. and then wash your hair as you normally would. Repeat this weekly and watch your hair become stronger and grow longer in no time! It works very well on split ends too!
- Make-Up Remover – This one may not seem so far-fetched to everyone, but coconut oil is an oil, therefore, it makes a great make-up remover. It also nourishes and moistens your skin after taking your make-up off, which is an area many other make-up removers fall short.
- Teeth Whitener – If you’ve ever tried to make your own toothpaste, you know that a lot of recipes out there contain coconut oil. That’s because of it’s antimicrobial lauric acid that fights plaque and bacteria in your mouth, which contribute to yellow teeth. It can also help your breath stay fresh. Just swirling a small amount around in your mouth every morning should do the trick!
- Sunburn Care – I’ve used coconut oil and aloe to treat sunburnt skin before and it works like a charm. The moisturizing quality of the coconut oil and the cooling effect of the aloe make the perfect balm to heal your toasted skin. Try my All Natural All-in-One Lotion for this remedy.
- Weight Loss – Ok, this one probably should’ve been at the top of the list, because who doesn’t want to lose weight just by consuming coconut oil? Basically, all of the benefits we mentioned earlier, like killing yeast overgrowth and regulating your insulin, etc. are all factors that can contribute to weight gain. So while it may not be the next magic diet pill, (although some seem to think so) it can contribute to weight loss as well as an overall healthy lifestyle.
There are many other uses for coconut oil too, especially in the world of natural cleaning products. But even if you’re just replacing your current products with something else that works just as well, remember that coconut oil is all-natural and doesn’t contain any additives or preservatives. So you’re using less chemicals overall and exposing yourself to less toxins, which always leads to a healthier lifestyle.
Where Do I Start?
These suggestions are a great place to start, but you need to know first how to buy coconut oil, because you shouldn’t just buy the first one you see on the store shelf. Here’s what to look for:
- Organic – This is pretty self-explanatory. Organic means less processed, and not chemically altered, and that goes for anything you can incorporate into your life.
- Cold-pressed – This one has to do with how the coconut oil is processed. If it is cold-pressed, it means that it’s not heated or put through any other processes that could affect it’s make-up or how well it works, as opposed to expeller-pressed, which uses heat to extract the oil. You want it as pure as it comes.
- Un-refined – This one goes along with being cold-pressed. You want to buy coconut oil that has not been refined or altered in how it’s made to therefore alter how it works. If you buy refined oil, it has essentially been deodorized and bleached to make it more “appealing” to the general public. And, it’s not even made from fresh coconuts, it’s made from dried copra, which is the dried meat of the coconut. The fresher, purer coconut oil you can buy will not only best the best for you, but it will work the best as well.
- Extra-Virgin – This goes along with being un-refined, in that essentially, oil that is extra virgin is considered to be un-refined.
Where Do I Buy The Right Coconut Oil?
So you may be thinking that with all of these qualifications for coconut oil, where do I find such a pure substance? Likely, your local grocery store will have it. Be careful though to watch for those four categories I said should be on the label. You’re wasting your time if you buy anything else. Whole Foods is a great place to look, as well as Wegmans or order it from Amazon. Get yours today and start detoxifying your life one scoop at a time!