COCONUT OIL 2005
Yes, It Is Really Good For You!
I still get asked so often that people are not sure coconut oil is a healthy or even an acceptable food to eat. My rule of thumb is that if healthy fats are raw and moderately consumed, they will be healthy for us 99% of the time!
RAW COCONUTS AND THEIR OILS ARE HEALTHY!
In the 1980s it became considered taboo to eat tropical oils. The negative campaign discrediting the health benefits coconuts and palm oil industry was true if the oil was processed at high temperature, bleached…depleting or eliminating all its natural raw living benefits!
Unfortunately there was little great quality coconut oil available and a blind eye to the fact that coconut oil has been used nutritionally and medicinally for centuries in many cultures around the world!
Not only does a truly raw, virgin, cold pressed coconut oil taste delicious, but it has many amazing health benefits.
BENEFITS
- A Delicious Source of MCT Fatty Acids That Helps to Lower Cholesterol!
- Can Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease
- Helps with Diabetes, Thyroid and Chronic Fatigue
- Great Energy Food – goes to the liver and is quickly utilized!
- Easy to Digest and Helps those with Ulcers, Colitis, Crohn’s and IBS
- Help Reduce Inflammation and Immune Responses caused by Allergies
- Promotes Beautiful Skin by protecting against the free radical damage that causes aging
- Topically Rejuvenates Skin, Prevents Wrinkles!
- Less Calories than Other Fats!
- Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Viral, Anti-Parasitic funguses, yeast.
- Helps to Heal Wounds and Reduce Acne
- Stable = Stays Fresh for 3 years!
- Immune System Boosting, Even Helps HIV and many immune deficient conditions!
- Lauric Acid makes up 50 to 55 percent of the medium-chain fatty acids in Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. In the body lauric acid converts into monolaurin, a compound which is adept at fighting viral pathogens, and is also present in large quantities in breast milk, where it protects infants from viral, bacterial and parasitic infections.
RAW COCONUT OIL can be used as a salad dressing, in shakes, in dessert recipes, and even as an amazing skin moisturizer! It can help reduce the discomfort of psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis and dandruff. Some companies sell less expensive, inferior grades of coconut oil for cosmetic purposes. Internally and topically it is important to choose high quality coconut oil.
QUALITY COCONUT OIL
Your taste buds will know immediately when you taste a bleached high temperature processed oil vs. a raw organic virgin cold pressed pure coconut oil! The best Coconuts come from Hawaii, Philippines, Mexico, Yucatan, Fiji, Florida, India, Sri Lanka, Bali, Indonesia. Although the taste of the coconut oil will vary depending upon the region in which the coconut is grown, many coconut products I have tried have absolutely no taste! You can bet they have been deodorized and processed at high temperature.
Other than a slight diversity in tastes, check for the following characteristics (which may be listed on the label) when choosing a high quality, virgin coconut oil:
- Certified Organic
- Non-GMO
- Unrefined, low heat process or cold processed
- Un-bleached
- Non-deodorized
- Pure 100% Coconut Oil = make sure that the company is not using the lower quality oil from copra that comes from dried, aged coconut.
COCONUTS are HEALTHY!
Coconut oil is a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) that is very easy to digest. It bypasses your gallbladder and is sent directly to your liver where you use it for instant energy. Bodybuilders and athletes love taking coconut oil prior to exercising, as it seems to increase their energy and improve their endurance.
Starting in 2003, coconut sales soared due to articles written extolling the weight loss benefits of coconut oil. This happens because coconut oil can help regulate blood glucose levels, increase metabolic rate and, consequently, cause you to burn more calories.
Not only does coconut oil contain caprylic acid (8%), it is also loaded with another potentially more powerful anti-microbial nutrient called lauric acid (normally present in mothers milk) (48%) making coconut oil a tremendous food as it is anti-yeast, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic and anti other pathogens such as viruses.
WEIGHT LOST!
Yes most people trying to lose weight are weight lost! There is some much confusion about raw fats such as coconut oil and fats in general. HEALTHY RAW FATS will help you lose weight! Provided you don’t overdo them! Please see our other articles on healthy fats.
For 2 years I overate on avocados! I mean I overate! How about 3-6 a day! And I was never even close to being overweight because I ate so much raw food! So it’s virtually impossible to be overweight by eating healthy fats. But please do not over eat on even healthy fats!
On many tropical islands, coconut oil was used daily. Furthermore, when anyone in the community became ill, high doses of coconut oil were used to help with their recovery. In some cases, people take up to 10 tablespoons per day, but a maintenance amount could be up to 2-4 tablespoons per day. I love to make a healthy dressing for my salads with it.
Coconut oil is a very stable oil and can be kept at room temperature and out of direct sunlight for up to 3 years! Along with Ghee, its one of the only fats you can cook at low temperatures and not render coconut oil a harmful fat!
• Tip = avoid letting the oil “smoke”
In addition overheating coconut oil could compromise the taste and destroy many valuable nutrients.
IT’S NOT THE TYPE OF FAT
Coconut oil is a tremendously healthy saturated fat! Again I tell people not to get so caught up in what type of fat because it is secondary! The fact that it’s raw and not high temperature processed is more important! Get a variety of raw fats from nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, coconuts and you will be getting a balanced variety of all types of saturated, unsaturated, and essential fatty acids.
Coconut oil is, indeed, a saturated fat that is healthy for your heart and does not increase blood cholesterol! It can also protect against osteoporosis, support the immune system and act as an antioxidant.
It tastes fantastic. Introducing coconut oil to your diet will add variety to your day and health to your body. I get comments from people all the time how their hair, skin, nails look better and ‘raw’ healthy coconut oil has helped balance thyroids and warmed their cold hands and feet (which can be caused by a low functioning thyroid). Bonus for sluggish livers as many report they don’t get as tired eating coconut oil because it is processed in the liver as energy and quickly used up for energy!
TYPES OF FATS
Monounsaturated Fatty Acids Raw Fats Are Healthy Fats!
- Tends to lower levels of LDL-cholesterol in the blood and raise HDL-cholesterol (“healthy cholesterol”)
- Liquid at room temperature.
- Found mostly in plant and sea foods
- 9 calories per gram
- Sources: Olives, olive oil, avocado, canola oil, peanuts, peanut oil…
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Raw Fats Are Healthy Fats!
- Tends to lower levels of LDL cholesterol (which is bad cholesterol so that’s good) in the blood and raises HDL cholesterol (which is good cholesterol which is good)
- Include Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats
- Essential source of fatty acids for a healthy lifestyle
- Liquid at room temperature
- Found plant and seafood
- 9 calories per gram
- Safflower oil, vegetable oil, corn oil, flaxseed, nuts, wheat germ, fish
Saturated Fatty Acids Raw Fats Are Healthy Fats!
- Tends to raise levels of LDL-cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) in the blood
- Elevated levels of LDL-cholesterol are associated with heart disease
- Solid at room temperature
- 9 calories per gram
- Meat, whole milk, butter, chicken skin, lard
Trans Fatty Acids – High Temperature, Highly Refined, Extremely Damaging To The Body
- Trans fats are unsaturated fatty acids formed when vegetable oils are processed and made more solid or into a more stable liquid. This process is called hydrogenation.
- Studies suggest that trans fats may raise LDL and total blood cholesterol levels much like saturated fats do.
- Studies show that the consumption of trans fats lower blood oxygen levels up to 30% and have been shown to cause immediate cellular damage, therefore, contributing to many disease.
- Thick liquid or solid at room temperature.
- 9 calories per gram
- Sources: Baked goods, fried foods, some margarine products, low amounts in meats and dairy products, etc…
- Cholesterol is produced by the body to help build cell walls and produce many essential elements like hormones and digestive fluid. Too much cholesterol in the blood stream can lead to heart disease, stroke, and other illness.Cholesterol link here for more info on how to prevent cholesterol!
- Cholesterol is found in animal foods such as meat, fish, chicken, eggs, milk and cheese.
- Food with fiber, such as fresh fruit and vegetables can help remove cholesterol by trapping it in the gut and helping to move it out.
- There are two main types of cholesterol in the blood stream:
Low Density Lipoprotien (LDL) – Cholesterol
- ‘Bad’ cholesterol
- Carries cholesterol from the liver and to the cells
- Can block blood vessels leading to heart disease
- Lower by including high fiber foods daily
High Density Lipoprotien (HDL) – Cholesterol
- ‘Good’ or ‘healthy’ cholesterol.
- Carries cholesterol from the circulation to the digestive fluids, into the gut and out of the body.
- Keep physically active
- If you smoke commercial cigarettes – Quit yesterday!
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FAT FOODS |
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SATURATED |
MONOUNSATURATED |
POLYUNSATURATED |
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Raw Cacao |
Avocado |
Pumpkin seed |
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Brazil Nuts |
Olive Oil |
Pumpkin seed oil |
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Coconut/Oil |
Almonds |
Sunflower Seeds |
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Macadamia Nuts |
Cashews |
Hazelnuts, Filberts |
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* Cheese |
Olives |
Walnuts |
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* Butter |
Wild Raw Peanuts |
Hemp seed/oil |
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* Milk |
Sesame Seeds |
Flax seed/oil |
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Refined Chocolate |
Pecans |
Safflower Oil |
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Beef |
Tahini |
Sunflower Oil |
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Hydrogenated Palm Oil |
Canola Oil |
Sesame Oil |
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Poultry |
Peanut Butter |
Fish |
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Pistachios |
Peanut Oil |
Mayonnaise |
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Lard |
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Margarine |
• Best choices are bolded! Non bolded are best avoided
* Occasional use of ‘raw’ milk, ‘raw’ cheese and ‘raw’ cream is fine
Cheers to Raw Coconut Oil!
For more info please read more on HEALTHY FATS
http://foreverhealthy.net/html/archives/articles/howfat.asp
http://foreverhealthy.net/html/archives/articles/cocoOil.asp
References: “Know Your Fats” by Mary Enig
Please Live Forever Healthy!
Wayne Gendel, President, Life Extension Specialist