Virgin Coconut Oil Benefits

Juicing For Health - Virgin Coconut Oil Benefits

Overview

Coconut oil has been deemed the healthiest oil on earth and with good reason too, were going to take a look at the make-up of this tasty health promoting oil and some of the benefits assosiated with it.

This highly versatile oil has been used for thousands of years in tropical countries and has many uses, you can cook with it, use as a butter replacement, use it on your skin and hair and use interally for the many benefits listed below. With such an amazing soothing taste it is extremely easy to implement into your diet.

Controversy

Coconut oil was once mistakenly believed to be unhealthy and heart disease promoting due to its high saturated fat content, a campaign against coconut and palm oil resulted in less manufacturers using these health promoting oils and introducing oils high in trans-fats. It is now known that the saturated fat content in coconut oil is unique and different from most other fats/oils and possesses many health giving properties.

The studies were found to be using hydrogenated coconut oil rather than naturally occuring oil. All studies done on coconut oil have came to the conclusion that it is a very good oil at promoting health.

Composition Of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil contains approximately 92.1% saturated fatty acids, 6.2% monounsaturated fatty acids and 1.6% polyunsaturated fatty acids. Coconut oil is composed predominately of a special group of fat molecules known as medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). Medium-chain fatty acids (also referred to as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) are thought to be metabolised very easily and rapidly without passing through the liver and provide a quick source of energy.

Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid which has been shown to account for near 50% of coconut oils saturated fat content. Apart from coconut oil, the only other abundant source of lauric acid is found in human breast milk. Lauric acid is converted into monolaurin in the human body, monolaurin has been shown in studies to have antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal properties amongst other health benefits.

Other fatty acids such as capyrlic acid and capric acid are assosiated with similar benefits to the above, capyrlic acid in particular has shown promise in treating candida overgrowth and is commonly sold in supplemental form.

Benefits Of Coconut Oil

Some of the reported and researched benefits from the use of coconut oil include improved digestion, weight loss and supports metabolic function, stress relief, increased immune functions, anti-microbial/bacterial/viral/fungal properties, reduces viral load in HIV patients, hair and skin care, anti-oxident, maintaining cholesterol levels and blood pressure, heart disease prevention and much more.

Most of coconut oils benefits have been attributed to the lauric acid, caprylic acid and capric acid content. Coconut oil has shown great results in killing several different types of candida in studies and sufferers of candida overgrowth are reporting great benefits from using this oil interally at therapeutic dosages of 2-4 tablespoons.

Notes

Their are many different brands of coconut oil available online and at your local health stores. Heres some tips on how to find the best. Always make sure that the oil your buying is virgin coconut oil and try to find organic where possible so that the chances of other chemicals being used are relatively small. Coconut oil always has a beautiful coconut smell and taste to it so if yours doesnt look for another brand. Here is a link to a good brand which is organic and virgin coconut oil - Coconoil Single Pack Organic (1X460G Tub)