Imagine for a second that you are not seated in your office or home but instead in Hawaii walking along the soft beaches of Oahu. You are soaking up the sights that can be found at most beaches. The thrill of watching people surf, swim, paddleboard. Suddenly you begin to notice the difference between the people around you – the tourists and those that are local to the region. Not only do the locals have a glow about their skin and trim figures, but they also seem to be oozing with abundant health and energy to spare! More importantly, none of the locales seems to be sneezing, coughing or suffering from a runny nose.

It’s an observation that’s bound to get you wondering. What is the secret behind their good health?. Could it be the sun? Or the stress-free life that they practice? The prevalence of salt in the air? Those things may play a role, but the real secret lies within the world’s largest seed.

The Coconut: A Nutrient Powerhouse…

Coconut has been used by the Polynesian and Malaysian cultures for many years. The body requires a number of essential nutrients in order to function naturally during the day. Coconuts provide more than 95% of these. As well as being an important provider of essential amino acids, coconuts are also a rich source of minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, vitamin B, vitamin C and calcium. There are even more options to be found with coconut oil. However, with its high percentage of saturated fat (over 85%), coconut oil is sometimes the subject of a lot of debate.

The Saturated Fat Controversy…

Coconut oil is derived from the dried flesh of the coconut fruit. The coconut fruit also contains plant-based saturated fat which is widely viewed by professionals in the medical health to be unhealthy. Coconut might be made up of 90% of saturated fat but nearly 50% of this is in turn made up of a fatty acid called lauric acid that is metabolized into monolaurin by the body. It is the presence of monolaurin in breast milk that helps to improve their immune system. Its actions are also effective in enhancing the healthy growth of the bones and brain.

Skeptics who suggest that the saturated fat content of coconut oil is simply too unhealthy fail to take these other details into consideration. Many people believe that it is unhealthy to eat the saturated fat which is found in animals that have been raised on an unnatural diet of corn and soy while housed in conventional feedlots. However, the fat content found in coconut oil is made up primarily of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). Medium-chain triglycerides are digested and metabolized very quickly giving you an excellent source of energy.

Medium-chain triglycerides are metabolized differently than other fats. The body’s cells are typically the storage destination of most fat. Unlike normal fat however, medium-chain triglycerides are sent to the liver where they are then converted into energy. What this simply means is that, instead of being stored in your fat cells (which is what happens when you eat your typical bacon and omelet breakfast), the fat content found in coconut oil is sent to your liver where it is almost immediately burned off.

More of Those Advantages…

Let’s now consider some of the proposed benefits of coconut oil. Coconut appears to be anti-just-about-everything:

* Anti-inflammatory
* Anti-pyretic (it reduces fever)
* Anti-fungal
* Anti-bacterial

A pharmacological study of virgin coconut oil found that it reduced inflammation in rats. Also discovered during the study was the fact that coconut oil could be used in reducing the symptoms of fever (anti-pyretic) and pain in rats suffering from induced hyperthermia. Based on these findings, researchers concluded that there was credible evidence supporting the view that coconut oil possessed “…”anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic properties.” In non-technical terms, it proved that coconut oil could be used in relieving the effects of fever, inflammation and pain. Great news – for the rats. The findings of the study would bear even more weight if they were done with humans.

To test the antifungal properties of coconut, samples of coconut oil were used in treating an infection caused by the fungi Candida. The response time was then compared with that of a similar treatment where fluconazole was used (fluconzaole is a known antifungal drug). Fifty-two different isolates of Candida were obtained from clinical specimens. Out of this sample, the isolate Candida Alibicans was the most commonly used. Candida Albicans is the most common cause of diaper rash, thrush and vaginitis. It is also the primary cause of yeast infections. All isolates were tested to see how susceptible they were to both virgin coconut oil and the antifungal drug. The results of the test showed that while strains of Candida Albicans could be treated with as low as a 1:4 dilution rate with coconut oil, researchers required twice as much (1:2) to achieve the same results with Fluconazole.

In summary: Samples of coconut oil were twice as effective in fighting the fungus. In simpler terms, the coconut oil worked better (in a smaller quantity) than the drug. A testament once again of the triumph of nature.

When it comes to antibacterial properties, one study in particular found that virgin coconut oil helped to treat skin infections. Performing a double blind, placebo-controlled study, researchers recorded the response time of 26 patients who suffered from atopic dermatitis – a skin condition, highly susceptible to the bacterium Staphylococcus Aureus with symptoms such as dry and painful skin .

Half of the participants of the study were required to apply coconut oil twice a day to two uninfected areas of their body for 28 days. The other half were requested to use virgin olive oil while following a similar routine. At the start of the study, 76% of the participants were found to be positive when tested for Staphylococcus Aureus. In the days following, the number of people using coconut oil who suffered from this bacteria dropped to less than 5 percent while as much as half of the people using olive oil still tested positive for the bacteria. The use of coconut was also found to be effective in relieving the dry skin of users.

With these results, most researchers came to the conclusion that there was credible evidence that the use of coconut oil could be used in treating conditions of fungal, viral or bacterial origins. Although we agree, we’d be even more delighted if this study was extended to an even larger participant pool as well as a larger variety of bacterial strain in order to further establish these results.

Heart and Fat Burning Benefits As Well…

Advocates of coconut oil point to its cardio-protective and fat-burning properties in addition to its antibacterial benefits. According to a population study of about 2,500 people from the Polynesian islands of Tokelau and Pukapuka, high coconut oil intake has no effect on cholesterol levels.

During the study, researchers focused on people whose diet was made up of high fat content that had primarily been derived from coconuts. The results of the study showed that the neither the overall health of the participants nor their vascular stamina was in any way compromised by their high coconut oil diet. Even more impressive was the fact that, in spite of the prevalence of coconut oil in their diet, none of the participants were found to have high cholesterol levels. This included the fact that more than 90% of the subjects had no records of ever suffering bowel disorders, colon cancer or any form of coronary disease. Based on these results Dr. Ian Prior – the lead researcher on the study – rightly concluded that there was no evidence that the high saturated fat content of coconut oil had any negative health effect.

This conclusion was really not surprising because it was something that many people had already known. As well as being safe for use, coconut oil also offers a number of important benefits such as enhanced gastrointestinal health. There is, however, no formal study backing up this view. Interestingly, when it comes to weight loss, it appears that coconut oil’s medium-chain triglycerides are the very reason it is effective. It turns out that when you eat coconut oil, your body uses it more quickly rather than storing it as body fat. Because of the thermogenic properties of medium-chain triglycerides, your body is able to burn calories at a much faster rate.

For example, according to several online sources, farmers from the 1940s wanted to fatten up their livestock, so they gave them coconut oil. However, the animals became leaner and more active. Although this example cannot be confirmed by any credible source, we did discover a human study that appeared to back it up. During a series of tests performed on the residents of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (a town where coconut is eaten almost daily), it was discovered that they had a metabolic rate that was 25% higher than those of the average American. Unfortunately, as was the case with the farmer/livestock example, this study cannot be properly substantiated. Both appear to be perpetuated by the same author, who never cites the studies he is pulling from.

Although there was enough reason to confirm the relationship between medium-chain triglycerides and the resultant loss in weight, we were prepared to ignore these details until they could be clinically proven. And then we stumbled across an insightful study involving a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind research in Brazil. In a study designed to test the effects of coconut on weight loss, 40 women with ages ranging from 20-40 were treated for clinical abdominal obesity with coconut oil. Half of the group received a daily dose of either soybean oil or coconut oil for 12 weeks. Each of these women were asked to walk for 50 minutes every day and to carefully follow a balanced low calorie diet.

At the end of the study period, those taking the coconut oil had a statistically greater loss of waist circumference that those taking the soybean oil. Participants of the coconut oil group also had a statistically higher level of HDL cholesterol and a lower LDL/HDL ratio when compared to the soybean group. Members of both groups recorded a decrease in their body mass index. At the end of the study, the women who used coconut oil were able to increase their “good” cholesterol level to healthy margins. They were also able to trim down their waist size by shedding a few extra pounds . Not bad for a big seed!

How to Use Coconut Oil…

Since the saturated fat content of coconut oil has been clearly shown to be different from the saturated fat in animals, it is clear that coconut oil is in no way unhealthy. More importantly, it confirms that despite its plant-saturated fat content, eating a diet rich in coconut offers none of the identified risks found with eating a diet high on animal saturated fat.

There is also significant evidence that supports the general consensus that coconuts offer effective anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. There is also some credibility behind the research on its weight loss and heart benefits. And if these weren’t enough, there is also the delightful taste of the coconut fruit and oil to look forward to. Most cooks enjoy using coconut oil in cooking because of its high smoking point – 350 degrees for the unrefined oil and even higher for refined oil. This allows people to enjoy the pleasures of baking or sauteing their favorite meals with little risk of the coconut oil transforming into trans fat when heated. Best of all, the ability of coconut oil to remain stable for years makes it a good choice for the kitchen of most homes.

So give coconut oil a try. You should however ensure that your choice has not been bleached or refined. It should also be primarily organic with no chemical content added during processing. And after only a few days with it, you’ll understand why the world is going loco for coconut too!

Author Bio: Visit our website for additional information concerning the wonderful beneficial properties of coconut oil, along with other natural health therapies that have been proven to be safe and effective and are reinforced by good scientific research.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: coconut oil, weight loss, saturated fat, boost metabolism, nutrition