Coconut Oil

Thanks for your patience! Lucky for me since I started this on Friday it will still post that way, and not throw my rhythm off. Coconut oil, what? When Danny came home and first told me about it I was like okay sure. So I went to find information at my first source for all my questions, wikipedia. I readn and I thought, well it sounds like good stuff, but I will stick with Olive Oil and Butter. He brought home a jar, it looks like criso, smells like coconuts. I didn't want to cook with it because I didn't want everything to start tasting like coconut. So it sat in the cupboard, and the one or so days of the week that Danny would cook he would use it. I believed what I had read about it's health benefits, but I wasn't sold until... I was going to saute some zucchini squash, as a new food for us, I wanted the girls to like it. I thought to myself, well the sweet of the coconut may just be good. Well I was right about that! A little coconut oil, chopped up zucchini, and some sea salt was great! It is what we use now to do most all of our cooking EXCEPT potatoes. Those little buggers do a good job of holding onto the taste of coconut, so unless that is what you are going for I advise olive oil.
I also use it to make popcorn on the stove (that is one of the latest to get the boot at our house microwave popcorn. A couple of tablespoons coconut oil, 1/2 cup popcorn seeds med-high heat =really gooooood popcorn.

I use it after I shave on my legs. I usually have some itchy, burning after I shave, not after using the coconut oil. It has antioxidants in it so on my face it goes. It is the only "lotion" I use on Nathan, and Annika thinks it marvelous. Alison and Lisa associate it the smell with popcorn, but they think that makes it even better. We had the bottle about 4 months before I decided to really start using it. We had about 2/3 of the bottle left when I made the switch. In just under a month it is almost gone! Can I say I LOVE IT! Please keep reading to find all the goodness it has to offer.
What makes it so good for you? Among several things is that it contains Lauric Acid, the only other abundant supply of lauric acid is found in breastmilk. Well you ask, what is lauric acid? I found this information at Lauric Acid (this is were I copy/pasted from, the information showed up in several places.)

"Much research on the nutritional and medicinal benefits on coconut oil has surfaced in recent years. Much of that research has been done by Dr. Mary Enig. Dr. Enig has classified coconuts as a "functional food," which provides health benefits over and beyond the basic nutrients. She has specifically identified lauric acid as a key ingredient in coconut products:

"Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid."

Now if that isn't enough to make you want to run out and buy some here are 7 more reasons! Seven reasons coconut oil good:

Wait don't read on yet, I do want to point out before you buy any coconut oil that it MUST be RAW, Extra Virgin, and Pure White to receive the health benefits. The best places to find it would most likely be a health food store such as Whole Foods Store.

This is the brand we buy.

7 Reason to use coconut oil

1. Coconut oil doesn't turn to fat in your body.

Unlike many other common oils, like soy (vegetable) and corn, coconut oil won't make you fat. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which are an easy fuel for the body to burn, without turning to fat. Most other cooking oils and fats contain long-chain triglycerides (LCT). LCT's are usually stored as fat. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is more easily absorbed and converted to energy quicker.

People in the tropics have relied on coconuts as a traditional staple in their diet for centuries. They consume large amounts of coconut oil every day. Instead of getting fatter, it helps them stay healthy, lean and trim. When they switch from coconut oil to our modern oils, they develop obesity and the health problems that our modern society faces.

Some other people who have known this truth for a long time are people who are in the animal feed business. When livestock are fed vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. When they are fed coconut oil, they become very lean.

2. Coconut oil increases your metabolism.

Not only does coconut oil convert to energy quicker in your body, it increases your metabolism, which promotes weight loss. Because it boosts your metabolism, it helps your body burn fat more effectively.

Coconut oil may triple your calorie burn. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is converted to energy so quickly that it creates a lot of heat. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, MCT's burn three times more calories for six hours after a meal than LCT's.

The February 15, 2005 issue of Woman's World magazine stated that coconut oil is the "underground high-metabolism secret."

This is great news for people who have thyroid problems, since coconut oil improves sluggish thyroids by stimulating the production of extra thyroid hormones. Most other common oils, like vegetable (soy) and corn have been shown to inhibit thyroid function.

3. Coconut oil contains healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

Most cooking oils contain omega 6 fatty acids, something we get way too much of in the United States. Our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio should be 1:1 but it is more like 50:1. We need to drastically cut back our omega 6 oils and consume much more omega 3 oils to be healthy. And coconut oil is filled with these healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

4. Coconut oil gives you energy.

Because of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the fact that it increases the metabolism, most people that switch to coconut oil feel a burst of added energy in their daily life.

This is because coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy.

This is because coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia have found that adding coconut and coconut oil to their diet was helpful to them.

5. Coconut oil is one of the best things you can use on your skin and hair.

One of the best things you can apply directly on your skin and hair is coconut oil. It gives temporary relief to skin problems like rashes. It aids in healing and restoring skin to a younger appearance. It has also been known to help with people who suffer from yeast infections in the skin, as well as many other skin problems.

Not only does is soften and smooth your skin, coconut oil has antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. Coconut oil makes excellent massage oil too.

6. Coconut oil has healthy benefits that most other oils do not.

Evidence is mounting that coconut oil has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects when both consumed and used topically on the skin.

Most oils oxidize and turn rancid very quickly causing free radical damage in our bodies. Coconut oil is not easily oxidized and does not cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Free radical damage is thought to be responsible for many ailments in our body from arthritis to increased susceptibility to cancers.

Coconut oil also helps our bodies absorb other nutrients more effectively, such as Vitamin E.

7. Coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use for cooking.

It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, which means it can take higher temperatures better. There are several healthy omega 3 oils we can choose to consume, such as flax and olive oil, but they don't do well under the high heat we use for cooking. Coconut oil can be used in higher cooking temperatures.

It is harder for coconut oil to go rancid, unlike other cooking oils, which are usually rancid long before you even bring them home. Rancid oils cause free radical damage in the body, which is a leading cause of cancer. Coconut oil is stable for over a year at room temperature.