The Wonders of Coconut Oil

Although Fish oil is my favorite and in my opinion the healthiest fat, Coconut Oil comes in a close second. Coconut oil has Lauric Acid. The only other natural source of Lauric Acid is breast milk. Lauric Acid is antiviral, antibacterial, and anti fungal. Although Coconut Oil has been given a bad rap in the past because it's a saturated fat, it poses no risks for you. Not all saturated fat is bad. Fats are categorized in chains (short, medium, and long) and coconut is a medium chain fat. It is easily metabolized and has antimicrobial properties. It is the long chain fats that are so dangerous.
I can also assure you that coconut oil will not cause you to gain weight. There is such a "fat" phobia here in the US! Coconut oil can actually cause you to lose weight. They gave coconut oil to cattle years ago to try and fatten them up, but they ended up slimming down. Coconut stimulates your metabolism by increasing your thyroid's activity.
Coconut oil is one of the only oils that is safe to cook with at higher temperatures. Olive oil is wonderful for salads and such, but as it's heated the molecular structure of the oil changes causes it oxidize. This is a horrible and toxic thing to put in your body! Corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola oils are the same way. Plus these oils are omega 6 oils which just contribute to our Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio imbalance that I talked about in my fish oil post.
And this is not all folks!! You can rub this stuff all over your body! It was my ultimate fave while I was pregnant. It smells wonderful, has anti-aging benefits and protects your skin from free radicals! If you love to get a tan and slather up with baby oil, switch to coconut! It will help fight the sun damage! Coconut oil aids in exfoliating the outer layer of dead skin cells, making the skin smoother. It also penetrates into the deeper layers of the skin to strengthen the underlying tissues. It's also great for wrinkles!

So if you want to lose weight, strengthen your immune system, moisturize and keep your skin from aging....Coconut oil is for you!! Eat it off the spoon, mix it in your shake, or spread it on toast. A tablespoon or two a day will suffice! I've recently been using Coconut Butter for supplementing and the oil for cooking. The coconut butter is creamier and more palatable for me.
Coconut milk has a lot of the benefits too! I love to add coconut milk to my cooking. It makes things so creamy and delish! The coconut water is now a popular product too. It's full of potassium and other electrolytes. If only we lived in the tropics and could go pick fresh coconuts!!
A couple tips.... Make sure the Coconut oil is unbleached and unrefined!! It should say Extra Virgin Cold Pressed on the label. Any health food store will carry it. Same goes for the coconut butter.