Coconut oil is a safe to eat oil that is refined and extracted from the kernel and the meat of fully-grown coconuts harvested from the palm. This oil is widely known for its high concentration of saturated fats that make it hard to oxidize and thus can be stored for a long time without getting bad. Coconut oil has gained a lot of popularity and usage in tropical countries including India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Philippines among others.
Physical Properties of Coconut Oil
These physical properties of coconut oil are well-known to almost everybody. However, there is nothing wrong with mentioning them again.
Odor: The smell of coconut oil is exactly that of coconuts, especially if not bleached, refined, or deodorized.
Color: Coconut oil is white when it’s solid, and colorless at or above 30o C.
Melting Point: This oil melts at 25o C (76o Fahrenheit).
Solubility in Water: Coconut oil is not soluble in water at room temperature.
Types of Coconut Oil
Virgin Oil
This is the unrefined type of coconut oil that is made from fresh coconut meat instead of dried coconut meat. It retains the distinct odor and flavor of coconut.
Refined Coconut Oil
This is made from treated and bleached coconut meat known as the copra. The treatment is to reduce the possible bacteria in the meat.
Benefits of Coconuts
Coconut oil is known to provide the following health benefits.
Prevent Cardiac Diseases
Researchers suggest that coconut oil capsules are beneficial to the heart. Coconut oil contains up to 50% of lauric acid, which is proven to prevent a wide range of heart problems such as high cholesterol and hypertension. The saturated oil you find in coconuts is just like the ones in vegetable oils; hence, they are not harmful. It reduces instances of injury and rupture of arteries and therefore prevents atherosclerosis.
Preventing High Blood Pressure
Poor diet, obesity and family history, are some of the causes of high blood pressure. Coconut oil has many benefits, and when used appropriately, can prove helpful in a regimen designed to lower this disease. Coconut oil capsules help prevent high blood pressure (HBP). These capsules regulate cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
It Helps in Preventing Diabetes
Coconut oil can help in regulating the blood sugar level and boost the secretion of insulin. The oil also improves the utilization of glucose in the blood preventing and treating diabetes.
Skin Care
Coconut oil is the perfect oil for massaging your skin. It is also used to moisturize all types of skin including dry skin. The ability of coconut oil is equivalent to that of mineral oil. Moreover, there are no possible effects that come along with the usage of coconut oil making it a safe ointment for dry and flaking skins. The oil also can cure the skin related ailments such as eczema, dermatitis and other skin infections making the skin look fresher and young.
It Boosts One’s Immunity
Coconut oil is composed of antimicrobial lipids, caprylic acid, lauric acid and capric acid, which contain antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial elements. This component strengthens your immune system.
It Helps in Digestion
When coconut oil is used in cooking, it helps in boosting the digestion of food and thus preventing the occurrence of stomach and other digestion related complications. It also helps in the absorption of nutrients into the body such as vitamins, minerals and amino acid.
It Aids in Healing
When coconut oil is applied to injured areas such as wounds, a chemical layer is formed that protects an injured part from external elements such as dust, fungi, air, viruses, and bacteria. This, however, speeds up the healing process of those parts.
COCONUT OIL DETOX AND WEIGHT LOSS BENEFITS
Not only is coconut oil a great source of energy, but has also been seen to comprise some of the most protective ingredients, as well as cleansing medium-chain fatty acids. These fats are ideal for cleansing and detoxification since they are sent straight to the liver rather than being stored in the body. They provide the body with enough energy that is sufficient even when the body has less food. They play a crucial role in boosting one’s metabolism, eliminating toxins from the body, as well as aiding in reducing body weight and fats.
Coconut oil is increasingly being incorporated as a detox diet due to its efficient results and its healthy ways of cleansing the body. Coconuts will effectively remove body toxins, increase the rate at which fat is burned and also heal some of the common ailments. This means that you will receive a total detoxification, get to achieve weight loss as well as heal diseases naturally.
You might be wondering how coconut oil contributes to all these. Well, coconut oil, unlike most fats, contains medium chain fatty acids which are metabolized in a different manner than long-chain fats. They are sent to the liver directly where they are used as energy sources, which increasingly boosts metabolism. This energy is helpful especially when you are consuming fewer foods or on a low diet. It will give your body the necessary energy without consuming extra food.
Other than that, you will also find out that coconut oil has appetite loss properties that help in reducing the amount of food one consumes. Weight loss is all about calories intake versus calories output. If you eat more calories than you can expend, your body will store the extra calories as fat, which in turn makes you gain extra weight. However, with coconut, you get to reduce appetite, which makes you intake fewer calories without having to be on a diet plan. Coconut oil increase feelings of fullness and reduce hunger pangs as well as sugar cravings, which automatically reduce calorie intake.
Similarly, most people fail in weight loss programs due to thyroid related issues. No matter how much you might be contributing towards weight loss, a thyroid problem will make all your efforts null and void. Coconut oil has been seen to actively help the thyroid gland to function properly. Unlike saturated oils that suppress thyroid functions, coconut oils boost its functions, which in turn help people maintain and achieve their ideal weight.
As a detox diet, coconut oil actively cleanses the body by eliminating parasitic, as well as microbial infections. This is due to the presence of acids such as lauric and caprylic that are basically antifungal. They cleanse the whole system off any fungal growths including ringworms among others. Similarly, coconut oil detox can help in banishing digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and leaky gut syndrome. Furthermore, lauric acid is converted into a strong antiviral property once in the body, and this protects the body from viruses such as influenza and herpes.
HEALTH ISSUES THAT COCONUT OIL FIGHTS
The healing benefits of coconut oil are attributed to the presence of lauric and caprylic acids, antifungal properties, antioxidants as well as antibacterial properties. Coconut oil has specifically been found to be beneficial in stress relief, skin cares, hair care, maintaining cholesterol level, weight reduction, boosting the immune system, boosting digestion, regulating body metabolism as well as acting as an antiviral against lipid-coated viruses.
Coconut oil actively flushes out body toxins within a short time thus enabling the body to combat some of the major infections. Here are some of the infections that coconut oil can eliminate.
Candida
Candida is a tragic infection brought about by excessive and uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans; yeast found in the stomach. The inflammation caused by Candida has often been observed to be epidemic. Coconut oil is, however, has been seen to prevent and even heal this dreadful infection. It not only helps in relieving internal and external pains caused by Candida but also keeps the skin moisturized thus preventing it from cracking and peeling off. Coconut oil is a natural cure for Candida since unlike most other cures; it is gradual and not drastic. This gives the patient ample time to adapt to the withdrawal symptoms.
Thyroid Infections
Hypothyroid is an infection of the thyroid whereby one’s thyroid functions become low and leads to adrenal failures. Here you experience various changes from exhaustion, hair loss to weight gain. Some of the symptoms of this thyroid infection are low body temperature, fatigue, low energy, weight problems, and slow healing processes. You might also experience depression, anxiety, allergies, headaches, menstrual disorders and loss of libido. Coconut oil offers a natural way to nourish adrenal as well as thyroid systems
This is not actually done as a onetime cure, but it is a detoxification process which takes some work and time. This process cleanses the liver and removes body toxins from the internal body organs. Coconuts medium chain fatty acids aid a lot in this process.
Fungal Infections
These include infections from bacterial and fungal imbalances in the body. They will include conditions like ringworms, jock itch as well as skin rashes. Coconut oil combats these infections due to the presence of lauric acid as well as caprylic acid, which are antifungal. They remove fungal toxins from the body and people with these conditions have been seen to undergo a complete recovery within a short period of detoxification.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
This is one of the several digestion related infections that coconut oil combats. Coconut oil improves and prevents digestion related ailments since the saturated fats present have antimicrobial properties that deal with several bacteria, parasites, and fungi that lead to indigestion. Similarly, coconut oil helps in improving the absorption process thus restoring the balance in the digestive system.
Herpes
Coconut oil has also been observed to fight lipid-coated viruses. One infection brought about by these viruses and has been actively prevented and cured by coconut oil is herpes. Lauric acid contained in coconut oil is turned into monolaurin once in the body. This substance has strong antiviral properties which help the body fight against this infection.
In conclusion, we can say that the use of coconut oil can help one stay healthy and also enjoy life without tiresome visits to the doctor.
