Coconut Oil for Your Health and Beauty
Coconut oil has been consumed for many centuries. It contains saturated fats but the saturated fats unlike animal fats are healthy as many researches have shown and confirmed.
Coconut oil has what is called medium chain fatty acids or in short, MCFA. Unlike the more common longer chain fatty acids (LCFAs) found in other vegetable oils, the MCFAs are burned off very quickly in the body. The LCFAs are usually stored as fats and this pose a major health problem to many people.
What are the benefits of coconut oil?
For Good Health
Coconut oil contains mostly the fatty acids, lauric acid and caprylic acid. The MCFA in coconut oil are similar to the fat in mother’s milk and have similar nutriceutical effects. Lauric acid is proven to kill harmful viruses and bacteria both within and out of the body. The MCFA gets transform into monolaurin when consumed, is anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-septic. It is most effective against Candida and other yeast and fungi infections. These health benefits were recognized thousands of years ago in Ayurvedic medicine. For example, the monolaurin, derived from lauric acid was first recognized some 40 years ago.
For weight watchers, it is good to know that the medium chain fatty acids stimulates and raise the body metabolism when consumed. During digestion, it utilizes more energy from your body and as a results fats do not get stored in the body. As it helps in keeping the metabolism up, the body will burn up more fat.
Coconut oil is most suitable for high heat cooking as it can stand high temperature. The oil can be heated without turning rancid and breaking down unlike many vegetable oils it is really the best choice for cooking. Oils that have turned rancid, are harmful to the body as it can cause more free radicals in your body. There were many reports from people who have switched to coconut oil did see tremendous improvement in their health.
For Good Skin
You’ll be surprised what the coconut oil can do for your skin too. Coconut oil is used to treat skin problems such as acne, rashes, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. Overall, coconut oil reduces inflammatory conditions of the skin. The application method is far better than taking antibiotic or other drugs which may bring some side effects. Coconut oil used in skin lotion is good for the skin as it contains antioxidants to keep the skin supple and more youthful.
Coconut oil is good for your hair too. It helps in conditioning and maintaining the hair’s protein as it gets absorbed into the hair shaft. Try rubbing a small quantity onto your slightly wet hair and leaving it on for about 10 minutes before you wash it off. If you want healthy looking hair or if your chemically treated hair needs repair, go for the unrefined virgin coconut oil instead of those hair conditioners you often find in the market.
