Coconut oil has been a dietary and beauty staple
for millennia. It’s a powerful destroyer of all kinds of microbes, from viruses
to bacteria to protozoa, many of which can be harmful, and provides your body
with high-quality fat that is critical for optimal health.
Around 50 percent of the fat in coconut oil is
lauric acid, which is rarely found in nature. In fact, coconut oil contains the
most lauric acid of any substance on Earth.
Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, a
monoglyceride that can actually destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV and
herpes, influenza, measles, gram-negative bacteria, and protozoa such as
giardia lamblia.
This is undoubtedly part of what makes it so
medicinally useful—both when taken internally and applied externally.
Coconut oil is comprised of medium chain fatty
acids (MCFAs) that are easily digested and readily cross cell membranes. MCFAs
are immediately converted by your liver into energy rather than being stored as
fat. This is in part why I recommend coconut oil as an ideal replacement for
non-vegetable carbohydrates.
Coconut oil is easy on your digestive system and
does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream, so for a quick energy
boost, you could simply eat a spoonful of coconut oil, or add it to your food.
In the video above, I also share my recipe for a scrumptious yet healthful chocolate
treat, courtesy of the healthy fat from coconut oil.
To get more coconut oil into your diet, you can add
it to your tea or coffee, in lieu of a sweetener. It will also help improve
absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, so taking a spoonful of coconut oil along
with your daily vitamins may help boost their effectiveness.
Coconut oil is ideal for all sorts of cooking and
baking, as it can withstand higher temperatures without being damaged like many
other oils (olive oil, for example, should not be used for cooking for this
reason).
Furthermore, coconut oil does not go rancid, which
is a huge boon when you’re making homemade concoctions. Coconut oil that has
been kept at room temperature for a year has been tested for rancidity, and
showed no evidence of it. Since you would expect the small percentage of unsaturated
oils naturally contained in coconut oil to become rancid, it seems that the
other (saturated) oils have a powerful antioxidant effect.
General Health Benefits of Coconut Oil
In all, coconut oil offers a truly impressive array of
health benefits when included in your daily diet. In addition to its
antimicrobial properties, coconut oil is beneficial for:
Promoting heart health
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Supporting proper thyroid function
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Promoting healthy brain function
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Strengthening your immune system
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Providing an excellent “fuel” for your body and
supporting a strong metabolism that can aid in weight loss
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Maintaining healthy and youthful looking skin
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While coconut oil is an ideal food for fostering
health and beauty from the inside out, it also has a staggering number of other
uses, from topical beauty applications to first aid treatments, to general
household cleaning.1,
2
Once you’re done reading through this article, you’ll probably be inspired to
stock up for all eventualities!
Stay tuned for Part 2!
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