Healthiest Oil

[Sol Invictus]

The truth about coconut oil is obvious to anyone who has studied the health of those who live in traditional tropical cultures, where coconut has been a nutritious diet staple for thousands of years.

Those living in tropical populations who follow traditional diets high in coconut oil and coconut products enjoy overall good health.

Back in the 1930’s, a dentist named Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet.

Similarly, in 1981, researchers studied populations of two Polynesian atolls. Coconut was the chief source of caloric energy in both groups. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that both populations exhibited positive vascular health. There was no evidence that the high saturated fat intake had a harmful effect in these populations.
[...]
Benefits like:

Promoting your heart health
Promoting weight loss when and if you need it
Supporting your immune system health
Supporting a healthy metabolism
Providing you with an immediate energy source
Helping to keep your skin healthy and youthful looking
Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland
[...]
The U.S. Department of Health and the FDA estimate that artificially hydrogenated trans-fats — the type found in fast food, processed foods and your favorite pastries — are ultimately responsible for a huge number of fatal heart attacks every year. These dangerous unsaturated fats are the ones you should ban from your diet, not naturally pure coconut oil, which is a better alternative because it contains very few fats with highly perishable double bonds — and also has NO TRANS-FATS.

Plus, those commonly-used polyunsaturated fats encourage the formation of blood clots by increasing platelet stickiness. Coconut oil helps to promote normal platelet function.
[...]
Coconut oil is comprised of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs.

Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of these healthy MCFAs.

By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides or LCTs.

There are several reasons to explain why these long-chain fatty acids are not as healthy for you as the MCFAs in coconut oil:

LCFAs are difficult for the body to break down — they must be packaged with lipoproteins or carrier proteins and require special enzymes for digestion.
LCFAs put more strain on the pancreas, the liver and the entire digestive system.
LCFAs are predominantly stored in the body as fat. (That’s why most people buy into the myth that fats are automatically “fattening”.)
LCFAs can be deposited within arteries in lipid forms such as cholesterol.
On the other hand, however, the MCFAs in coconut oil are more health-promoting, because:

MCFAs are smaller. They permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require lipoproteins or special enzymes to be utilized effectively by your body.
MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system. This is especially important for those of you with digestive or metabolic concerns.
MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.
MCFAs in coconut oil can actually help stimulate your body’s metabolism, leading to weight loss.
http://products.mercola.com/coconut-oil/

Experience the many benefits of coconut oil

Coconut oil is truly the healthiest oil you can consume. It is rich in lauric acid, which is known for being antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal, and contains no trans fat (even olive oil has some trans fat). You can even use it on your skin to help prevent wrinkles.

http://www.nutritionbynatalie.com/

“If there was an oil you could use for your daily cooking needs that helped protect you from heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative conditions, improved your digestion, strengthened your immune system, and helped you lose excess weight, would you be interested? This is what coconut oil can do for you.

What Coconut Oil DOES NOT Do:

Does not increase blood cholesterol level.
Does not promote platelet stickiness or blood clot formation.
Does not contribute to atherosclerosis or heart disease.
Does not contribute to weight problems.
What Coconut Oil DOES Do:

Reduces risk of atherosclerosis and related illnesses.
Reduces risk of cancer and other degenerative conditions.
Helps prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal (including yeast) infections.
Supports immune system function.
Helps control diabetes.
Provides an immediate source of energy.
Supports healthy metabolic function.
Improves digestion and nutrient absorption.
Supplies important nutrients necessary for good health.
Supplies fewer calories than other fats.
Promotes weight loss.
Helps prevent osteoporosis.
Has a mild delicate flavor.
Is highly resistant to spoilage (long shelf life).
Is heat resistant (the healthiest oil for cooking).
Helps keep skin soft and smooth.
Helps prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin.
Helps protect against skin cancer and other blemishes.
Functions as a protective antioxidant.”
http://www.coconut-connections.com/healthiest_oil.htm



Suggested Further Reading:

Coconut (Cocos nucifera)
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/
Coconut Oil - The Healthiest Oil on Earth by Brian Shilhavy
http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nut...il_healthy.htm
A New Look at Coconut Oil
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...conut_oil.html

http://1phil4everyill.wordpress.com/...on-the-planet/

[Fortis in Arduis]

I use it for my skin and hair, but not for cooking.

I understand that it increases metabolic rate if you include it in your diet.

[Skandi]

Promoting your heart health
Promoting weight loss when and if you need it
Supporting your immune system health
Supporting a healthy metabolism
Providing you with an immediate energy source
Helping to keep your skin healthy and youthful looking
Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland

Now how are those two not mutually exclusive?

Supplies fewer calories than other fats.

Extra Virgin coconut per 100g = 900 kcal (from that article)
Extra Virgin olive oil per 100g = 823 kcal (from back of bottle)
Butter per 100g = 740 kcal


Moral? don't believe everything you read especially not when the company involved is trying to sell the product!

[WinterMoon]

I use virgin coconut oil in cooking..... but from my understanding, the benefits derived from coconut oil as listed in the article above only extend to virgin coconut oil and do not include regular coconut oil. From what I have read in the past regular coconut oil can cause poor effects in the body. In my experience, virgin and regular coconut oils are very different in taste, texture, smell, and look.