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Health Benefits of Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a pretty powerful food. It is a saturated fat – meaning it is stable when heated and doesn’t have any trans fats and it won’t oxidize. Thankfully it tastes pretty good too! When cooking, this is our go-to oil.
Coconut oil has been shown to increase your metabolism, help with thyroid issues, speed up weight loss, and strengthen your immune system. Learn more about coconut oil from Dr. Mercola here.
I can eat fat and still lose weight? Coconut oil actually improves vitamin absorption when you eat it with other nutrient rich foods. So you will be full of energy, losing weight, and getting all the nutrients your body needs. This sounds amazing!
Read more about healthy fats here.
This powerful oil is also antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, and soothing.
We eliminated Aidalyn’s cradle cap overnight by rubbing coconut oil on her scalp. We let it sit overnight and washed her hair in the morning. She hasn’t had an issue since.
I am now using coconut oil for oil pulling in the morning.
Oil pulling is basically putting a tsp of oil into your mouth and swishing it around for 10-20 minutes (or more!). The oil pulls out toxins and bacteria in your mouth leaving your mouth clean and healthier. You can reduce cavities, plaque and improve your immune system. Read more about using oil pulling for whiter teeth.
I recently read an article about 52 uses for coconut oil.
Some include: moisturizer for skin or hair, eating it for an energy boost (some people add it to smoothies or coffee in the morning), soothing agent for rash or burn on skin, diaper rash ointment (It is cloth diaper safe, mamas!), use it to flavor popcorn or spread on your pans before baking.
Here’s my sugar free kettle corn recipe using coconut oil.
I also make homemade sugar free chocolate using coconut oil I like to add in extra peanuts for crunch, maybe some shredded coconut too!
Where do you buy it?
We have bought coconut oil at Walmart, at Tropical Traditions online store, and at health food stores. Obviously there are varying degrees of quality – but coconut oil is better than margarine.
I now buy all my coconut oil on amazon. I look for virgin coconut oil. I’ve read that there is no such thing as “extra virgin coconut oil” but some brands will say that they are extra virgin.
Adding coconut oil into your diet is one simple change that can make a huge difference.
What are some of your uses for coconut oil? Write a comment, I’d love to hear what you think!
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I just started using coconut oil in place of body lotion and I love the results! Plus it smells fantastic. Good info!
Thanks Mary! We love it too!
I love coconut oil. I eat it by the spoonful. I cook with it, I bake with it. I use it on my hair and as a moisturizer. It smells fantastic and tastes even better.
My personal favourite is to stir a spoonful in a mug of my favourite celestial seasonings gingerbread tea. So divine!
Awesome! I started to get into coconut oil just before I had Samuel, but then life got really crazy with moving twice with 2 kids and halfway across the country…thanks for the reminder to pick it back up! I can’t wait to get started now with some of these uses…
We really love it. I just bought a gallon of it that was delivered last week. I read an article today about applying it every day for natural sunscreen. It is pretty amazing.
I actually used some the other night for the first time! Cooked some onions and peppers in it, and some chicken! It was great! It seemed to cook so clean, and was so light! I’m also glad to hear it helps with thyroid issues because I am hypothyroid. Also, a little seems to go a long way!
Is it supposed to smell like coconut? The kind I got from the store doesn’t have any taste or smell to it. I was kind of hoping for a sweet smell, but…none.
Meredith, if your coconut oil does not smell like coconuts you’ve probably purchased a refined version. While any coconut oil is better than none (in my opinion) you should look for extra virgin, or virgin coconut oil that is unrefined and preferably cold pressed. This way you know it hasn’t been processed, and thus has all the nutrients that are so good for you are still in tact! Refined versions are usually cheaper than unrefined, and don’t have the smell of coconuts!
Hope that helps 🙂
I love the virgin stuff and find the Nutiva brand to be the best priced.
Very very true. I have only bought extra virgin coconut oil. I haven’t always bought organic though.
I don’t know if you’ve heard about this but there are studies being done that are showing that coconut oil may even help to cure/treat Alzheimers, MS and autism… I’d say those uses are pretty cool, to say the least.
That sound amazing. I have read some about the healing properties of this oil. It is so incredible.
[…] already talked about how great coconut oil is: increasing metabolism, supporting immune system, promotes absorption of vitamins, detoxes the […]
Thanks for the link love to my 52 Uses post! 🙂
You are very welcome! Thanks for the great info!
[…] Coconut oil is so healthy for you, so I don’t mind Aidalyn enjoying these right along with us. […]
[…] Along with healthy fats like butter, coconut oil is another healthy saturated fat that you can find at your grocery store. Here are some amazing benefits of coconut oil. […]