Benefits of Coconut Oil

I told you last week that my skin practically burned off because of a prescription topical my dermatologist gave me.  After having chats with my friend Courtney, I’ve decided to stop using that medication and use a more holistic approach for my skincare.  Courtney is a yoga teacher and Certified Nutrition Consultant, and has the most amazing skin!  So I’m going to listen to her advice.  I also did some research.  The information below came from the following sources: DoctorOz.com, OrganicFacts.net and Huffington Post.

What is coconut oil?

Coconut oil an edible oil extracted from matured coconuts.  Throughout the tropical world, it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millions of people for generations. Coconut oil is very heat-stable, which makes it suited to methods of cooking at high temperatures.

Coconut oil consists of more than 90% of saturated fats with traces of few unsaturated fatty acids.  Here is what’s inside coconut oil:

• Saturated fatty acids: Most of them are medium chain triglycerides, which are supposed to assimilate well.
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids: Linoleic acid.
• Monounsaturated fatty acids: Oleic acid.
• Poly-phenols: Coconut contains gallic acid, which is phenolic acid. These poly-phenols are supposed to be responsible for the fragrance and the taste of coconut oil.
• Certain derivatives of fatty acid like betaines, ethanolamide, ethoxylates, fatty esters, fatty polysorbates, monoglycerides and polyol esters.
• Fatty chlorides, fatty alcohol sulphate and fatty alcohol ether sulphate.
• Vitamin-E, Vitamin-K and Iron.

What are the internal benefits of coconut oil?

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Studies have shown that ingesting coconut oil can help our bodies resist viruses and bacteria, while also fighting off yeast and fungus.   Coconut oil also positively affects hormones for thyroid and blood sugar control, because it boosts thyroid function by increasing metabolism, energy and endurance.

Coconut oil also helps keep weight balanced.  A 2009 study found that women who consumed about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil daily for 12 weeks not only gained no weight, but actually had lowered amounts of abdominal fat.

When purchasing a coconut oil, it’s important to purchase an organic unrefined oil to reduce the absorption of toxin and pesticides.  The jar I bought is refined, so I won’t be ingesting this until I purchase a new bottle of unrefined.

What are the external benefits of coconut oil?

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Believe it or not, but coconut oil is a great moisturizer for skin and hair.  (Please note: I’ve only ever tried this on my skin).  Coconut oil has antioxidant Vitamin E, which protects your skin.  Moisturizers by many “top” beauty brands contain a large amount of water, which makes you feel like your skin is being moisturized.  However, once the water dries, your skin becomes dry.  Commercial moisturizers also contain petroleum-based ingredients that can suffocate the skin.  Coconut oil, on the other hand, helps strengthen underlying tissues and helps remove excess dead skin cells. Victoria’s secret supermodel Miranda Kerr swears by coconut oil.  You can read her story here.

Coconut oil also delays wrinkles and sagging of skin, helps in treating psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections because of its antioxidant properties.  

There are so many health benefits of coconut oil that it would take a whole series of posts to talk about – maybe I’ll do that!  My next post about coconut oil is how to use it for your skin and the process that I’m currently doing to clear my skin the natural way. 

Talk to Me

• Have you ever used coconut oil?  If so how?
• What types of recipes do you use with coconut oil?
• Do you use coconut oil for your skin?  If so, how do you like it?