Coconut Oil is truly amazing for you. More research is being presented on how this product can improve your health, and change your life. If you haven't tried Coconut Oil yet, this post is a perfect read for you! I'm going to share with you the benefits of this product and which type of oil to purchase (refined, unrefined, etc.), and the most exciting part: how YOU can incorporate it into your kitchen, your daily routine, and your beauty products!
First, let's start out with the fatty acids in Coconut Oil. Some people may think Coconut Oil is full of fats that make you gain weight. However, Coconut Oil does just the opposite; it aids in weight loss. Coconut Oil contains medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. MCTs has been researched and shown to help decrease body fat and help Alzheimer's patients, and because Coconut Oil is so rich in this fat, it's also been called to do the same. More about MCTs here.
Health Benefits of Coconut Oil:
- Supports Thyroid Function
- Prevents gum and tooth decay
- Helps absorb other nutrients
- Help improves/reverse Alzheimer's
- Boosts metabolism
- Balances Hormones
- Improves cholesterol
- Improves digestive system
- Helps weight loss: Especially abdominal fat!
- Improves Autism: Beneficial fats can help children
- Helps with depression and anxiety
- Boosts circulation
- Reduces inflammation & arthritis
- Prevents irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Increases energy
- Reduce seizures
- Reduces hunger
- Strengthens immune system
- Anti-fungal, Anitbacterial, and Antiviral properties: Contains Lauric Acid, Learn more here.
- Prevents Cancer
- Fights yeast and candida
- Helps improve sleep
- Treat/Prevent UTIs
- Increases mental alertness
Beauty Benefits of Coconut Oil:
- Softens hair
- Soothes dry scalps: Gets rid of cradle cap!
- Removes makeup
- Softens cuticles
- Moisturizes skin
- Helps reduce appearance/prevent stretch marks
- Natural sunscreen: SPF 4
- Anti-aging moisturizer
- Lightens age spots
- Banishes acne
- Moisturizes lips
- Improves eczema
- Whitens teeth
- Reduces spider veins
- Soothes sunburns
- Helps prevent and soothe chafing
- Help soothe poison ivy/chicken pox
- Also soothes mosquito bites
- Treats athletes foot/foot fungus
Recipes/Uses the Kitchen:
Coconut Oil can be used in place of any oil you may use now to sauté vegetables, chicken, turkey.
I usually use 1 tbsp of Coconut Oil in place of Olive Oil, etc.
It also brings a great taste to the food, especially veggies!
Use in place of butter on your toast. Yummy!
Add a tbsp. to your smoothies/shakes. Delicious.
Coconut Oil can also be added into coffee. Great alternative to coffee creamer.
Gives the coffee a healthy boost and delicious flavor!
This is a great morning routine for those of you who start your day with coffee!
*Note, the trick to the best Coconut Oil coffee is to BLEND it. Comes out delicious.
I've done this many of times: Add to popcorn! Pop kernels with coconut oil, instead of butter.
Lifeatture Exclusive: Fried banana in Coconut Oil. This is the best snack or dessert, when you're in the mood for something sweet. Best part, it's guilt-free! Slice 1 whole banana, place in frying pan with 1 tbsp Coconut Oil. Fry until banana's soft, but not too mushy. About 3-5 minutes.
For your Body:
After Showering, spoon out some Coconut Oil and warm in hands:
rub over body as moisturizer or use directly on stretch marks.
During pregnancy: rub all over belly to prevent stretch marks.
Warm Coconut Oil in hands,
Massage on scalp to relive dryness/cradle cap.
(Work through the ends of hair, if using for conditioner)
Leave on hair 5 minutes, rinse with warm water.
Will leave your hair hydrated, shiny, and silky smooth!
Add 1 tsp to toothpaste, brush teeth to whiten and freshen breath.
Also will improve gum health!
Dab Coconut Oil on eye makeup, or rub on lips to remove lipstick, wipe off with warm cloth.
Warm in hands, apply to underarms, legs, etc. and shave!
Types of Coconut Oil:
Here's were it gets overwhelming...Coconut Oil comes in so many different ways, how do you know which way to buy it? Listed below are the basics. There is also a chart pictured for your convenience. It starts with the top quality Coconut oil, to the lowest quality of Coconut Oil. There's so much to it, I have linked another website here, if you still want more information after reading this post.
Coconut Oil comes in: unrefined or refined.
Then there's also: virgin, extra-virgin, or pure.
It also will have a method of extraction: cold-pressed, expeller pressed, or centrifuged.
I always purchase Organic Unrefined Cold-Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil.
Unrefined vs. Refined
The Basics:
Unrefined Coconut Oil~ Fullest of coconut flavor. Richer in nutrients. Cooks up to medium heat.
Refined Coconut Oil~ May be less of a odor or taste. Cooks up to high heat.
Virgin, extra-virgin, or pure:
There is no difference between virgin and extra-virgin Coconut Oil.
"There are no commonly understood or accepted definitions for “extra” virgin coconut oil, as there are in the olive oil industry." (healthimpactnews)
So now we have virgin vs. pure
Virgin is unrefined but pure can be unrefined or refined.
Therefore, for quality reasons, I choose unrefined and virgin.
Difference in methods:
Cold-pressed, expeller pressed, or centrifuged.
"Cold pressing: This is one of the oldest methods of extraction and involves the use of mechanical means to squeeze oil out of the coconuts. Heat pressing methods (including centrifuge and expeller) can degrade the oil’s quality and alter characteristics like taste, odor, color and texture.
Cold pressing extracts a relatively smaller amount of oil but retains most of its nutrients.
Expeller: Heated coconut is placed into the barrel where it is crushed by a rotating metal rod to break down and prepare the meat for oil extraction. Then, the extractor uses a chemical solvent (hexane) to separate the coconut from the oil. Further refining is often necessary to cleanse the extract.
Centrifuge: During this process, coconut meat is emptied into a machine that chops it into tiny pieces. First, the milk is extracted from the meat; then the remaining coconut is placed in a high speed centrifuge that rapidly spins the contents (and generates a high amount of heat due to friction). Through this spinning process, the oil is separated from the meat. Centrifuge coconut oil retains a strong coconut taste and smell and requires no further refining." (thebeautygypsy)
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| Picture Credit: thebeautygypsy |
Live
Happy,
Healthy,
&
Coco-nutty!
Sources:
https://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/
http://draxe.com/coconut-oil-uses/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/287991-what-is-the-difference-between-expeller-pressed-coconut-oil-cold-pressed-coconut-oil/
http://thebeautygypsy.com/choosing-coconut-oil/
http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/what-type-of-coconut-oil-is-best-how-to-choose-a-coconut-oil/
Good article. Me likey. I use coconut oil more than ever.
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