DISADVANTAGES OF COCONUT OIL
No matter how good something is, it will carry at least one or few drawbacks for us to ponder upon, always. Despite its powerful healing properties and massive health benefits, coconut oil is no exception.Disadvantage #1 – No Effect on "Cold"
According to Dr. Bruce Fife, the president of the Coconut Research Center in his book, The Coconut Oil Miracle, there is one common ailment (close to flu) that coconut oil has no effect upon.
That's cold.
Symptoms of cold and flu may look alike, but they're triggered by different viruses. The most common virus that causes cold is known as rhinovirus while the one that causes flu is called influenza virus. Only our own immune system can defeat cold virus. MCFAs in coconut oil can't do anything to the cold virus, hence you'll be down with cold even if you consume coconut oil regularly.
When cold strikes you, your immune system immediately sends white blood cells to combat the virus. This natural defensive response causes the overall immune system guard to weaken and become vulnerable to the invasion of other harmful germs. They'll enter and proliferate in your body, thereby aggravating your cold condition and might even lead to other problematic illnesses or diseases.
But good news is, though coconut oil can't help you fight off the bad cold virus, it's able to defend you against other uninvited microorganisms and ease your immune system so that it can concentrate on wiping out the cold virus effectively.
In a way, coconut oil still proves useful in fighting cold, albeit indirectly.
Disadvantage #2 – Not a Cure-All
Coconut oil can help prevent, relieve, or even cure a wide range of degenerative diseases and illnesses so long as the diseases or illnesses are caused by or associated with the invasion of bacteria, fungi, viruses, free radicals or protozoa. We're invariably in contact with these bad supergerms and harmful microorganisms at all times. With regular consumption of coconut oil, we can significantly reduce their harmful effects on us.
However, we need more than just coconut oil to step up our immunity to completely ward off all destructive diseases and illnesses.Coconut oil only provides us with its antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant and antiprotozoal properties, which no doubt, do help strengthen our immune system a lot, but it doesn't really give us much nutrients to build healthy cells. It only contains traces of few fat-soluble nutrients such as iron, vitamin K and E. For important nutrients like vitamin A, B-family, C, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, sodium etc, coconut oil has none of them (see nutrition facts of coconut oil).
On top of that, we need protein for hair growth and tissue repair, and carbohydrate to primarily fuel our brain function and bodily activities, but coconut oil doesn't provide us with any protein and carb. It's a 100% fat.
That said, our body still needs other foods to work hand in hand with coconut oil to supply us with a complete spectrum of nutrients in order to keep us in tremendous health.
In other words, you can never rely solely on one single food to stay perfectly healthy, even though coconut oil is one of the few select superfood that provides us with the most health benefits.
Disadvantage #3 – Distinctive Coconut Odor
Not all people like its natural coconut flavor and fragrance like me. Few people simply can't stand its distinctive smell or taste. Or when used on skin, it leaves a light "odor" behind (it smells aromatic to me). If you don't like that, choose RBD ("refined, bleached and deodorized") coconut oil instead.
RBD coconut oil bears no odor, color and taste. It's specially made for the minority who doesn't like the distinct aroma that unrefined coconut oil holds. Although it leaves no smell behind after applying to skin, most refined coconut oil (except fractionated coconut oil) may cause your skin pores to clog up.
So, when use topically, it's best to choose virgin coconut oil (or fractionated coconut oil). Learn to appreciate its natural coconut aroma and you'll gain more from virgin coconut oil than you would from RBD coconut oil.
Disadvantage #4 – Solidify in Cold Environment
If you live in a cold region, you'll face an issue with coconut oil because it solidifies below 76 °F (24 °C). The lower the temperature, the more rock-solid it gets. The only way to "break the ice" is to warm the oil to above 76 °F every time you need to use it for say, applying to your skin as moisturizer or as a dip or spread for bread. Kind of troublesome.
But if you're using it for cooking or stir-frying, you can simply dump the snowy-rocky oil in the pan and the heat will soon turn it back into its usable state.
Are you put off by these so-called drawbacks or disadvantages of coconut oil? Better not or you're losing big-time for not using virgin coconut oil for both your skin and health benefits. Learn to appreciate what nature provides rather than what the commercial world gives. (SOURCE: 107 EVERYDAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW TO TREAT HEMORRHOIDS NATURALLY WITH COCONUT OIL
Those who have suffered from hemorrhoids know how painful and annoying condition it is. Hemorrhoids are characterized by enlargement and abnormal downward displacement of anal tissues or lower part of the rectum. Hemorrhoids are very common among adults above the age of 50 years.Constipation and strain during bowel movement inflames the veins around the anus and lower rectum which lead to the formation of hemorrhoids. Although hemorrhoids is a painful condition, it is harmless in nature. It can be treated successfully with the help of natural ingredients such as coconut oil. Coconut oil contains a number of beneficial properties that help to heal the condition.
Is Coconut Oil Good for Hemorrhoids?
The anti-inflammatory properties of coconut oil make it the perfect topical and internal remedy for hemorrhoids. It soothes the inflamed veins and promotes fast healing of the infection.
Coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acid molecules (MCFA) – healthy fats that relieve irritable bowel syndrome and indigestion which can inflame the intestinal tract and lead to hemorrhoids.
Coconut oil also promotes better bowel movement by lubricating the rectum and relieves constipation, one of the main causes of hemorrhoids.
How to Use Coconut Oil for Hemorrhoids?
Here the best ways of using coconut oil to treat hemorrhoids. Choose any one method among them and try it regularly with some patience.
1. Coconut Oil
Dip a cotton ball in virgin coconut oil.
Apply it over the hemorrhoids and hold in on for 5 to 10 minutes.
Reapply coconut oil to the hemorrhoids 3 to 4 times a day till it is completely healed.
2. Coconut Oil Drink
Take 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and add it to a cup of lukewarm green tea.
Drink it up slowly.
You can consume up to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in this way throughout the day to relieve constipation that causes hemorrhoids.
Note: The maximum dose of coconut oil is 3 tablespoons per day, but it is best to start with a teaspoon few times a day till it suits you.
3. Coconut Oil Suppositories
Heat the coconut oil at around 70 degrees, so that the oil is in a semi solid state.
Spread a line of coconut oil on a wax paper or aluminium foil about the length and thickness of a pencil.
Wrap the wax paper or foil around the coconut oil and keep it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Take it out from the freezer, unwrap it and cut the coconut oil stick into 1 inch pieces.
Take 1 coconut oil suppository and place it in the rectum.
Repeat it 1 to 2 times a day.
Note – Coconut oil tends to melt quickly, so you have to work fast with the suppository.
4. Garlic and Coconut Oil Salve
Garlic has strong antibiotic effects that kill the germs causing any infection and blood pressure in the inflamed veins. It also increases blood flow to the area and reinforces the blood vessels in and around the rectum.
Peel a 2 inch piece of garlic and crush it to make a paste.
Add it to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and mix thoroughly.
Keep this mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Take it out and apply this salve to the hemorrhoids directly.
Repeat the application 2 times a day till the hemorrhoids are completely healed.
5. Turmeric and Coconut Oil Ointment
The potent anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric help to soothe and heal the inflamed veins around the anus and inside the rectum.
Crush an inch of fresh turmeric root and add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to it.
Mix it well to form a thick ointment.
Apply it to the hemorrhoids directly.
Reapply this remedy 2 to 3 times a day.
Note: If you don’t have fresh turmeric root, then use turmeric powder instead of it.
6. Aloe Vera and Coconut Oil Balm
The anti-inflammatory and cooling properties of aloe vera gel helps to reduce inflammation, itching and irritation associated with hemorrhoids.
Take an aloe vera leaf and scrape out the gel from inside the leaf.
Add a tablespoon of coconut oil to the aloe vera gel and mix with a spoon.
Apply this soothing balm to the hemorrhoids.
You can repeat this remedy as many times as you want in a day.
7. Witch Hazel and Coconut Oil Soak
The potent astringent property of witch hazel shrinks the swollen veins and stops bleeding. It also disinfects the area to reduce the risk of infections and relieves itching.
Add 10 drops of witch hazel to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and mix well.
Soak a cotton ball in the mixture and apply it over the hemorrhoids.
Leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes and then discard the cotton ball.
Repeat this process 1 to 2 times in a day.
8. Apple Cider Vinegar and Coconut Oil Mix
Apple cider vinegar is effective in treating hemorrhoids both internally and externally. It helps to reduce the swelling, pain and irritation associated with hemorrhoids.
Combine 1 tablespoon each of unfiltered apple cider vinegar and coconut oil in a bowl.
Dip a cotton ball in this mixture and hold it over the inflamed area for 3 to 4 minutes.
Reapply this remedy 2 times in a day till inflammation is completely healed.
9. Lemon Juice and Coconut Oil Rub
Vitamin C and other nutrients in lemon juice help to strengthen the capillaries and blood vessel walls. It provides relief from pain and stops bleeding.
Cut a lemon and squeeze out its juice.
Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to it and mix well.
Apply this mixture to the inflamed area.
Repeat this remedy 3 to 4 times in a day.
Note – One might feel some tingling or burning sensation while applying lemon juice, but it won’t last very long.
10. Almond Oil and Coconut Oil Mix
Almond oil is an effective treatment for external hemorrhoids due to its emollient and deep tissue absorption properties. It moisturizes the inflamed areas and provides relief from burning as well as itching
Add 1 tablespoon each of almond oil and coconut oil in a bowl.
Dip a cotton ball in this mixture and apply it on the inflamed area.
Repeat this process several times a day for best results.
11. Olive Oil and Coconut Oil Mix
Olive oil is known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It helps to enhance the elasticity of the blood vessels which helps to relieve inflammation.
Add 1 tablespoon each of extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil in a bowl.
Apply this mixture to the hemorrhoids 2 to 3 times every day.
You can also consume this mixture on a daily basis to reduce inflammation of the rectum.
12. Tea Tree Oil and Coconut Oil Soak
Tea tree essential oil has potent anti-inflammatory effects that reduce the inflammation of capillaries and tissues of the rectum.
Add 3 to 4 drops of tea tree oil into 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.
Soak a cotton ball into it and hold it over the inflamed area.
Wait for 5 minutes and discard the cotton ball.
Repeat this remedy 1 to 2 times in a day.
Tips and Precautions:
It is best to opt for extra virgin and organic coconut oil for maximum benefits. Processing the oil affects its healing properties.
The recommended daily dosage of coconut oil is up to 3 tablespoons.
Make sure that the affected area is clean before the application of coconut oil. You can wipe the area with Witch Hazel to disinfect it.
Maintaining hygiene is of utmost importance. Always use a clean and unused cotton ball to apply the remedy to the affected area.
Keep a separate bottle of virgin coconut oil for your bathroom uses and a separate one for other purposes.
An effective way to cure hemorrhoids from the root is to include coconut oil in your diet. You can use it for cooking and add it to your beverages and smoothies.
Avoid consuming coconut oil if the hemorrhoids are caused by diarrhoea as it can aggravate the condition.
Drink plenty of water daily to prevent hemorrhoids.
Including fiber-rich foods such as oats, nuts, beans, etc. can help to relieve constipation and prevent the formation of hemorrhoids.
Coconut oil is a tried and tested remedy for treating hemorrhoids without any side effects. Try these remedies regularly for positive results. Don’t forget to share your suggestions and tips with us in the comments section below. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW TO USE COCONUT OIL FOR YEAST INFECTION
Suffering from yeast infection can be a horrible experience. Yeast infection is caused by candida which is present in everyone. The good bacteria present in our body controls its growth but certain factors like hormonal changes, antibiotics, and pH imbalance can lead to overgrowth of candida leading to an infection.Yeast infection can develop on any part of the body like mouth, vagina, intestine and skin. People often depend on medicines or ointments to treat yeast infection but simple home remedies can be safer and effective option compared to them.
You can use coconut oil, apple cider vinegar or yogurt to treat yeast infection. In this article let’s learn how coconut oil provides relief from yeast infection.
Can Coconut Oil Cure Yeast Infection?
Coconut oil is high in three active ingredients (lauric, capric, and caprylic acid) which have antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. These compounds target harmful bacteria while leaving friendly bacteria.
It is proven in a laboratory that caprylic acid in coconut oil breaks down the cell membrane which controls the yeast population and prevents it from proliferating and replicating itself.
Virgin coconut oil contains a generous amount of lauric acid, a nutrient that strengthens and supports the body’s immune system to fight against the yeast fungus.
Coconut oil is an antioxidant and effective agent in killing yeast and other fungal growths in the body. It also aids in the absorption of vitamins and minerals.
Adding a moderate amount of coconut oil to your diet is considered safe as it contains unrefined fats which are easily converted into energy instead of storing as fat.
How to Use Coconut Oil to Treat Yeast Infection?
We have listed different ways of using coconut oil as per the affected area. Try the remedies regularly to treat the infection. coconut oil application will treat the yeast infection externally. In order to treat yeast infection from inside out, you have to include probiotics in your daily diet.
Coconut Oil to Treat Vaginal Yeast Infection:
As per a study, vaginal yeast infection affects almost 75% of the women at least once in their life. Burning sensation, redness, swelling of the vulva and thick discharge are some of the symptoms of vaginal yeast infection. Below are few remedies to treat a vaginal yeast infection with coconut oil. Try any of them as per your convenience.
1. Topical Application
Rinse the affected area with water and dry thoroughly. If the area is sensitive, then dry it using a hair dryer.
Spread a thin layer of coconut oil on the affected area.
Follow the process twice or thrice in a day until the yeast infection clears.
2. Coconut Oil Tampon
By following this process, you can ensure a close contact of coconut oil to vagina walls. It provides great relief from burning sensation and itching.
Take an unbleached tampon.
Soak it in coconut oil for few minutes.
Insert the soaked tampon into the vagina.
Leave it overnight or up to 8 hours and remove it.
Rinse off the area and pat dry completely.
Repeat the process daily for 4 – 5 nights.
3. Coconut Oil Suppositories
This process also works like the tampon but here we will insert solid coconut oil suppositories into the vagina. You can reduce the symptoms within one or two applications.
Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
Add 4 drops each of lavender essential oil and melaleuca essential oil. You can use any essential oils of your choice instead of them.
Stir well and pour the mixture into a silicon mold (which has shapes like a stick).
Refrigerate them to solidify for 15 – 20 minutes.
Remove the suppositories from the mold and store them in a container. You can break them as per the size you require.
Place one coconut oil suppository and leave it overnight. The oil melts down as soon as it touches the body, so it is better to wear a pad avoid any mess.
Repeat the process as necessary until you find relief from yeast infection.
4. Coconut Oil Douche
During douching, the coconut oil solution is sprayed directly into the vagina which helps to cleanse, reduce itching and discharge.
To 2 quarts of warm distilled water, add 3 – 4 tablespoons of coconut oil.
Douche using this solution.
Repeat this process daily until the infection clears.
5. Coconut Bath
You can follow this process along with any other process mentioned above. It provides relief from irritation and itching.
Add few drops of coconut oil into your bathtub filled with lukewarm water.
Soak in it for few minutes and pat yourself dry.
Repeat as necessary.
Coconut Oil for Skin Yeast Infection:
Redness, itching, swelling are some of the symptoms of skin yeast infection. Coconut oil application to the affected areas discourages the yeast growth. You can just apply coconut oil on the affected areas and leave it to dry completely. By following this regularly you will see the improvement. Apart from that, you can also combine coconut oil with other ingredients to increase its effectiveness. Let’s have a look at them below.
1. Coconut Oil with Cinnamon Oil
This process is effective in controlling the yeast growth, reduce the symptoms and prevent yeast infections.
Combine equal amounts of coconut oil and cinnamon oil.
Apply the mixture on the affected areas.
Leave it to dry completely.
Repeat the application regularly as needed until you achieve the results.
2. Coconut Oil with Garlic Oil and Vitamin E
The antibacterial and antifungal properties of coconut oil and garlic oil fight off the yeast causing infection. Vitamin E nourishes the skin and encourages the new skin cells production.
Add few drops of garlic oil and vitamin E oil into enough amounts of coconut oil.
Apply the oil mixture on the affected areas.
Let the skin absorb the oils completely.
Repeat the process regularly to notice the results.
3. Coconut Oil with Oregano Oil
Oregano oil contains anticandidal properties which help in killing off the yeast. Coconut oil makes a good emulsifier for the oregano oil apart from treating yeast infection.
Combine enough amounts of coconut oil and oregano oil.
Apply the mixture on the affected areas.
Leave it to dry completely.
Repeat the process as needed to get relief from yeast infection.
Coconut Oil for Oral Thrush:
Overgrowth of yeast in the mouth leads to oral thrush. It can develop on the tongue, gums, inner cheeks and palate. Slight swelling, cottage cheese color, pain, and bleeding are the symptoms of oral thrush. Coconut oil is also helpful in treating oral thrush. See the process below…
Melt 1 – 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
Ensure the temperature of coconut oil is warm enough to swish.
Swish the warm coconut oil for up to 10 seconds and spit it out.
Make sure to avoid eating and drinking for at least 30 minutes after spitting out the coconut oil.
Repeat the process as needed until the infection is cleared.
Coconut Oil for Yeast Infection in Intestines:
A digestive imbalance leads to overgrowth of candida in the gastrointestinal tract. Persistent burping, constipation, diarrhea, bloating and stomach cramps are some of the symptoms. You can use coconut oil to treat yeast infection in the intestine. In the below process we will use lemon juice as well to enhance the effectiveness of coconut oil. This combination flushes out the candida toxins.
1. Coconut Oil with Lemon Juice
To a glass of lemon juice, add some coconut oil.
Drink this on an empty stomach in the morning.
Repeat daily to notice results.
2. Coconut Oil Enema
Coconut oil can be used to treat candida with no side effects. It also contains weight losing and cholesterol controlling properties.
To 1.5 quarts of water, 8 ounces of coconut oil.
Warm up the mixture up to 105 Fahrenheit.
Pour the solution into an enema pump.
Under qualified professional supervision, pump the solution into the colon through the anus.
Repeat the process whenever needed.
Coconut Oil Diet to Treat Yeast Infection From Inside:
Apart from topical application, including coconut oil in diet boosts your immune system and control the yeast growth naturally. Here are some ways you can include coconut oil in your daily diet.
Replace your regular cooking oil with coconut oil.
You can add it to fruit/vegetable juices, coffee, cornflakes or oatmeal.
You can apply coconut oil on your toast instead of butter.
Apart from this, add probiotics to your diet for added benefits.
Tips and Precautions:
Always use organic virgin coconut oil. Avoid using hydrogenated coconut oil as this destroys the beneficial attributes and makes it high in dangerous trans-fatty acids.
Avoid using coconut oil if you are allergic to it.
Consumption of coconut oil provides additional benefits like shiny hair, healthier skin, lower cholesterol levels, and healthier immune system.
If you don’t like the taste of coconut oil then you can take them in pills forms. For proper dosage as per your medical history, consult a doctor.
Yeast feeds on sugar so avoid intake of sugary items at least until the infection clears.
Avoid bubble baths, scented pads, and bleached tampons until the infection clears.
If none of the home remedies work, consult a doctor.
Have you tried coconut oil to treat your yeast infection? Share your experience, suggestions and queries in the comments section below.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Which Form of Coconut Oil is best for Treating Yeast Infection?
Direct application of coconut oil is effective if the infection is present on the skin, mouth or vagina. But for yeast infection in the intestines, it good to consume it. Coconut oil capsules can be used for internal consumption but it doesn’t show much effectiveness for treating infections outside. Yet, it helps to boost the immune system.
How Long Does It Take for Coconut Oil to Treat Candida Infection?
It depends on the severity of the yeast infection. You can notice the improvement within few applications. With regular application, you can clear the infection as well in few days.
How to Take Coconut Oil to Kill Candida?
Coconut oil shows the effect as soon as you apply it on the affected areas. So, we recommend you to take a slow start with coconut oil to avoid severe die off symptoms. Start with 1 teaspoon of oil 3 times in a day and slowly increase it to 3 tablespoons per day. You can increase the dosage as per the die off symptoms. Once the infection clears, we recommend to include coconut oil in your diet to prevent future occurrence of yeast infection. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW MUCH COCONUT OIL FOR WEIGHT LOSS?
As much coconut oil as your body can take it. I said that because coconut oil not only helps to stimulate metabolism for burning fat, it also helps to increase your colon motility for more frequent bowel movements.Sounds good if you have chronic constipation issue and don't forget that detox is a critical element for losing weight. But if you take more than what your body can handle, the runs can zap you out.
Which is why I cannot give you a specific amount of coconut oil that you should take for weight loss because each person has different body condition and constitution, and may react differently to the detox effect of coconut oil.
However, I can tell you that as long as you increase the amount progressively, you won't likely get the diarrhea-like effect. Even if it does, it won't hurt you as much as a real diarrhea would.
For example, start off with 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) of coconut oil spreading over the day first, such as 1 teaspoon added to your breakfast, 1 teaspoon to your lunch and 1 teaspoon to your dinner.
Will this amount effect any fat-burning?
Not quite, because it's only 1 tablespoon per day. Even if there is, your scale won't deflect too much. Eating coconut oil this way is more for allowing your body to adapt to coconut oil's detox effect first. So, don't expect much fat to burn at this amount. Do this for about 5 to 7 days and then try increasing your daily intake to 1.5 tablespoon and so forth. This should gradually condition your body for greater intake of coconut oil for a real effective weight loss without getting its "undesirable" effect.
It takes a pretty good amount of coconut oil to break down your fat store and effect weight loss on you because the fat deposited via your other food intake can easily out-calorie what coconut oil has burned off. Hence, you should also lower your intake of other high-cal food as you increase your intake of coconut oil because ultimately, calorie still counts when it comes to weight loss.
The max for most people in general is 3 or 4 tablespoons daily. If you can up coconut oil to 5 or even 6 tablespoons, that would give you an even stronger and longer lasting fat-burning effect.
But remember, do not force it upon yourself. If you max out at 3 tablespoons per day, leave it at that. You'll lose weight at a slower pace, but at least you don't throw yourself to the toilet too often.
On the other hand, If you can put up with 3–5 bowel movements a day, then of course you can eat more coconut oil for weight loss. Having bowel movements twice per day with regular consumption of coconut oil is good enough for most people. And it's more normal that way so that you can quickly get rid of the toxic waste before its toxins get back into your body and get stashed in your fat cells, preventing your body from utilizing the fats to fuel your metabolic activities.
In short, there are no hard and fast rules about how much coconut oil you should take for weight loss. It all depends on how fast you want the pace to be and how far you can go. But before you go into that, you must first condition your body by increasing your intake of coconut oil gradually and progressively. And adjust its amount accordingly to best fit your lifestyle and the pace you feel more comfortable with.
In fact, besides increasing the amount of coconut oil, you should also reel in exercises to step up your metabolism further for more burning of fat. Exercising can suppress your appetite so you don't eat too much food unnecessarily. And if you employ the principle of high-intensity-interval training (alternating between high and low intensity levels) into whatever exercises you do, for example, cycling or jogging, you can speed up your fat-burning and result in greater weight loss in shorter time.
Coconut oil
benefits weight loss by:
Reducing your calorie intake.
Increasing your metabolism.
How Coconut Oil Reduces Your Calorie Intake
Did you know that coconut oil has earned its reputation as the world's only natural, low-calorie fat?
If you pick a few brands of virgin coconut oil and calculate their energy value (calories) contained in one gram of fat, you would have gotten a range of 9 kcal +/- few percent, which has pretty much the same calorie per gram (i.e. 9 kcal/g) as animal fats and other vegetable oils.
In fact, coconut oil carries fewer calories because it contains medium-chain fatty acids that are smaller in size than the fatty acids in animal fats and other vegetable oils.
For example, MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil has an effective energy value of 6.8 kcal/g. It carries only caprylic and capric acids – the 2 medium-chain fatty acids that are also found in coconut oil. But because coconut oil also contains the relatively longer medium-chain lauric acid and other long-chain fatty acids such as myristic, palmitic and oleic acids etc (these fatty acids have energy values ranging from approx. 8 to 9.4 kcal/g), the overall actual energy value of coconut oil becomes roughly 8.6 kcal/g.
That's just a few percent lower than the actual energy values in animal fats and other vegetable oils, which I think is the reason why coconut oil manufacturers simplify the caloric calculation by rounding it up to 9 kcal/g and make coconut oil appear as having somewhat similar energy value as those in animal fats and other vegetable oils.
Apparently, this small discrepancy in energy value is not significant enough for coconut oil to get its low-calorie reputation as a fat. It actually attributes to coconut oil's inherent fat-burning characteristic that makes it well-known as a low-calorie fat. Let me explain.
Suppose your daily diet contains 500 kcal of fat coming entirely from olive oil. (Olive oil comprises entirely long-chain triglycerides, aka LCTs.)
What your body does upon ingesting olive oil is that it'll first break down the LCTs in the oil into smaller individual fatty acids (LCFAs) in your small intestine. It then absorbs the LCFAs through the intestinal wall and from there, reassembles them into LCTs again and package them together with phospholipids, cholesterol and proteins into chylomicrons, which then enter your bloodstream through your lymphatic system. (See LCFA vs MCFA for full illustration.)
If your body does not use the LCFAs in the bloodstream immediately to fuel your metabolic and physical activities because it still has sufficient carbohydrates (derived from food) on tap, the LCFAs will eventually end up in your fat cells.
Unless you raise your physical activity to the point where your body needs to burn more calories to fuel the activity, your body fat remains "untouchable". In other words, the fat you eat is literally the fat you wear, even if the fat you consume comes from the health-beneficial olive oil.
But when you eat coconut oil instead of olive oil, you'll dramatically reduce your fat deposition because our body metabolizes the fats in coconut oil very differently.
How different?
Unlike olive oil (and most other dietary oils, as well as animal fats) that composes entirely of LCFAs, coconut oil contains about 64% medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are smaller in size.
Because of their smaller size, our body digests MCFAs very quickly (just as it does to carbs)... so quickly that our body prefers to use them as immediate energy source by shuttling them directly to the liver for energy production and to cells for fueling metabolic activities after they're broken down from medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in our small intestine, rather than packing them away as body fat reserves like LCFAs.
That means, MCFAs do not practically contribute to fat gain and cause weight gain as a result.
Assuming the same 500 kcal daily fat intake but this time around coming entirely from coconut oil, now you have 64% less calorie stashed in your fat stores. That means, you cut your fat gain by 320 kcal (64%) up front.
That's a massive reduction of effective daily calorie intake. Isn't that amazing?
That's not all. According to numerous studies and researches, MCFA encourages the burning of LCFA too. So chances are, before the remaining LCFAs (about 35%) from coconut oil land in your fat stores through the bloodstream, they could have already been utilized and burned off as fuel too, leaving even lesser contribution to your body fat.
Dr. Julian Whitaker, a well-known authority on nutrition and health says, "LCTs are like heavy wet logs that you put on a small campfire. Keep adding the logs, and soon you have more logs than fire. MCTs are like rolled-up newspaper soaked in gasoline. They not only burn brightly, but will burn up the wet logs as well" (Murray, 1996).
I'm not finished yet.
All dietary fats produce appetite-suppressing hormones, that's why you feel more easily satisfied with fat added to your diet. As dietary fat also delays the emptying of stomach, you get to forestall hunger longer. In addition to these "special features" that all dietary fats possess, MCFA creates a more satisfying experience and thus making you feel full even longer than any other dietary fats.
Here's a study that proves the point:
In a group of women, some were fed MCT drink while the rest LCT drink. 30 minutes after the drink they were allowed to choose and eat as much as they wanted for their lunch. Those who had the MCT drink before the meal ate lesser than those who took the LCT drink.
If you're not convinced, another study involving a group of normal-weight men shows the same result. Men who took breakfast that contains MCT ate less at lunch. What's even more encouraging is that these men who ate less at lunch did not make up for the lower calorie intake at lunch by eating more at dinner. Why?
That's because MCTs or MCFAs in coconut oil can enter cells with absolute ease to supply quick energy. When these cells feel satisfied, your body will respond by slowing down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream (i.e. stabilizing your blood glucose levels), thus releasing a steadier and longer supply of energy to fuel your cells and keep you satisfied longer.
When your blood glucose levels stabilize and you feel full longer, you won't crave sugar and feel hungry easily. These could also help to control your binge eating, resulting in overall lower calorie intake.
So that's how coconut oil earns its reputation as a "low-calorie fat".
Now you know how coconut oil helps you consume less calorie without you having to force it on purpose, let's move on to see how coconut oil boosts your metabolism at the same time for a more complete and effective weight loss.
How Coconut Oil Increases Your Metabolism
Bustling cells rev up metabolism. Any food you eat can raise cellular activity. But no food can boost your metabolism to the level where your body can burn fat all day long like coconut oil. Here's why.
Carbs and LCFAs from food generally take only one path (by traveling through the bloodstream) to energize our cells and hike cellular activity. But MCFAs in coconut oil use two approaches to accomplish the same mission. How so?
Our body essentially breaks MCFAs into 2 groups, sending one group directly to the liver via hepatic portal vein for energy conversion while transporting the other group via bloodstream to each and every cell of our body.
Energy conversion (burning of MCFAs) in the liver produces heat (thermogenic effect), which in turn excites the entire body cells (cells that are closer to the liver get more heat energy). Just like when you heat up water its molecules move rapidly (molecules that are closer to the fire move faster).
At the same time, MCFAs in bloodstream also enter directly into other cells of our body to give an extra energizing boost to our metabolism.
When cellular activity increases, your cells naturally demand more energy to stay at that level. MCFAs alone can't sustain for long. In view of that, your body will obtain energy from carbs and LCFAs via the food you consume. It'll draw on energy from your fat stores as well, resulting in body fat burning.
This chain reaction will continue as long as you keep your MCFA supply incessant. Just one meal alone can activate your metabolism and keep it elevated for several hours (of course, depending on the amount of coconut oil you eat with that meal).
Imagine you include coconut oil in every meal you eat, you're literally putting your body on a full-day fat-burning mode, even while you're sleeping like a bear.
This unique way of handling MCFAs by our body makes coconut oil a perfect metabolism booster for those who need to lift up their metabolism for weight loss, regardless of whether their sluggish metabolism is caused by low thyroid problem, genetic issue, diabetes, age, fatigue or something else.
Boost Your Metabolism for Maximum Weight Loss Now!
Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil in glass jarGet Nutiva organic, unrefined, cold-pressed, virgin coconut oil in glass jar now! (Glass jar means ZERO plastic-leaching hazard)
Warning: If you're allergic to peanuts, DO NOT buy Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil because it's bottled in a facility that also packs peanut oil. Try these brands.
I've had people asking me whether they can use coconut oil topically by massaging the oil into their skin and get the same fat-burning effect as eating the oil.
Well, I did come across people who rub coconut oil on their belly get 1-2 inches off after many weeks of sheer topical application. But not all get the same result. Some reported the exact same waistline before and after the rub but almost all experienced the same thing – their belly skin felt smoother and softer than before.
That's because coconut oil speeds up the removal of dead cells on the outer surface of our skin, allowing new cells to quickly take their place. So when you use coconut oil on your skin, it actually benefits your skin more than it does for weight loss.
For those who do really get some inches off their waistline, I think the act of massaging itself is more likely the "culprit" that helps to "scrape" some inches off as massage might break down the fibrous tissue that holds the fat in place, dispersing (not burning) the fat as a result. Additionally, repetitive massaging encourages your lymph glands to flush out excess fluid, which might also have a slimming effect on your belly.
Having said that, don't be surprised to rub off some belly inches even when you use other oils or just normal cream on your skin instead of coconut oil because it is essentially the act of massaging that works.
Actually, if you want to use coconut oil for weight loss, why not just eat it? It's so much easier and convenient that way! Most important of all, eating the oil definitely works to help you lose weight more effectively since you can eat more of it to raise its fat-burning effect on your body fat. Already tested and proven by many overweight people!
How to Eat Coconut Oil for Weight Loss?
Here are the few points you must take note before you start taking the first dose of coconut oil for weight loss:
1. Use virgin coconut oil (best, organic) because this type of coconut oil best benefits both weight loss and health as it contains the best combination of various MCFAs for boosting metabolism and toughening immunity.
If you want to soar your metabolism to greater heights, add MCT oil to your virgin coconut oil diet. This is because MCT oil carries only caprylic and capric acids, which are very short medium-chain fatty acids (usually extracted from coconut or palm kernel) that can infiltrate into your cells easily and then convert to energy quickly, thus providing an immediate boost to your metabolism.
For that reason, some people eat only MCT oil for weight loss. But I do encourage making virgin coconut oil as the staple in your weight loss diet and MCT oil a supplementary for weight loss because virgin coconut oil really provides plenty of health benefits besides its fat-burning property. MCT oil can never match up to the health benefits of virgin coconut oil.
Because I advocate healthy weight loss, I want you to lose weight and gain health at the same time.
Another thing is, if you find the distinctive natural coconut scent in virgin coconut oil a bit too strong for your liking, either you learn to like it or instead, use refined coconut oil that is odorless and as a matter of fact, contains slightly lesser MCFAs.
2. No matter how many extra pounds you wish to lose, whether 20, 50 or even 100 pounds, don't consume too much coconut oil in one go. True, the more coconut oil you eat, the more fat you can burn. But because coconut oil has bowel-loosening effect, it's best to start with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon daily for a few days first to allow your body to adapt itself to the oil and prevent diarrhea-like symptoms from occurring before your next increment.
3. You can consume coconut oil on its own if you don't mind its greasy feel in your mouth (I've tried before and find eating this way a bit disgusting, but when added to my food and beverages – Yummy!). However, based on my own experience as well as feedback from people whom I recommended the oil to, eating the oil on its own produces more potent bowel-loosening effect than mixing it with food. That's why I always suggest people to cook their food with it (substitute coconut oil for whatever cooking oil you're using now), or add it raw to their food or beverages (juices, smoothies etc). Doing so enhances the flavor of your food and drinks too.
4. Don't expect the weight loss benefits of coconut oil to manifest after eating it for only a few days or so. The toxic buildups in your body over the past years due to animal meat and junk food consumption can hamper the releasing of fats from your tissues for burning. As coconut oil has potent detoxifying properties, it'll deal with your toxins first before it can draw on the fats from your fat reserves and use them as fuel at its disposal. Therefore, it takes regular (i.e. every day for best result) consumption for at least 2 to 3 weeks before you can notice the difference on your weighing scale.
Of course, if you manage to detox well with coconut oil, the scale should show a dramatic drop of few pounds in a week, but that's only "weight loss" (due to an increase of waste removal via more bowel movements) and not fat loss yet. True weight loss is burning off of excess fat that results in weight loss. So, please take note of this.
5. There's simply no restrictions on how much or how many doses of coconut oil you can or should take for weight loss. That depends on how well your body can adapt to the oil's effect. If your body can only take up to 2 Tbsps daily after several weeks of gradual addition of coconut oil to your diet, so be it. But generally, most people can take up to 3 or 4 Tbsps every day, which are what I would recommend for weight loss.
6. Make sure you cut back on the calorie intake of other food while increasing your doses of coconut oil because excess calorie when not used as fuel will still convert to body fat. Calorie always counts when it comes to losing weight.
7. One study shows that after consuming a meal containing medium-chain fats, normal-weight people increase their energy expenditure by 48%, but obese individuals increase their energy expenditure by an amazing 65%. In other words, the more excess body fat you have, the stronger will be the fat-burning effect of coconut oil on your body. That means, you may come to the point where coconut oil starts burning lesser body fat even though your metabolism remains optimally elevated. That's good news because that shows you're getting closer to a normal BMI.
8. Don't limit yourself to just eating coconut oil. You can also include any coconut product such as coconut water, coconut meat, coconut butter and coconut cream or milk in your diet so that you'll never fall short of MCFAs to help keep your metabolism active at all times. Even when making snacks or desserts you can sprinkle desiccated coconut over to enhance the mouth-feel and flavor of your sweet treats. Isn't that cool?
In short, increase your coconut oil intake progressively to the point that it becomes a natural part of your diet and lifestyle because we're talking about long-term weight management, not short-term weight loss. If you treat coconut oil as a temporary weight loss solution, you're likely to fail on your quest to get down in shape and stay slim for good. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
Reducing your calorie intake.
Increasing your metabolism.
How Coconut Oil Reduces Your Calorie Intake
Did you know that coconut oil has earned its reputation as the world's only natural, low-calorie fat?
If you pick a few brands of virgin coconut oil and calculate their energy value (calories) contained in one gram of fat, you would have gotten a range of 9 kcal +/- few percent, which has pretty much the same calorie per gram (i.e. 9 kcal/g) as animal fats and other vegetable oils.
In fact, coconut oil carries fewer calories because it contains medium-chain fatty acids that are smaller in size than the fatty acids in animal fats and other vegetable oils.
For example, MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil has an effective energy value of 6.8 kcal/g. It carries only caprylic and capric acids – the 2 medium-chain fatty acids that are also found in coconut oil. But because coconut oil also contains the relatively longer medium-chain lauric acid and other long-chain fatty acids such as myristic, palmitic and oleic acids etc (these fatty acids have energy values ranging from approx. 8 to 9.4 kcal/g), the overall actual energy value of coconut oil becomes roughly 8.6 kcal/g.
That's just a few percent lower than the actual energy values in animal fats and other vegetable oils, which I think is the reason why coconut oil manufacturers simplify the caloric calculation by rounding it up to 9 kcal/g and make coconut oil appear as having somewhat similar energy value as those in animal fats and other vegetable oils.
Apparently, this small discrepancy in energy value is not significant enough for coconut oil to get its low-calorie reputation as a fat. It actually attributes to coconut oil's inherent fat-burning characteristic that makes it well-known as a low-calorie fat. Let me explain.
Suppose your daily diet contains 500 kcal of fat coming entirely from olive oil. (Olive oil comprises entirely long-chain triglycerides, aka LCTs.)
What your body does upon ingesting olive oil is that it'll first break down the LCTs in the oil into smaller individual fatty acids (LCFAs) in your small intestine. It then absorbs the LCFAs through the intestinal wall and from there, reassembles them into LCTs again and package them together with phospholipids, cholesterol and proteins into chylomicrons, which then enter your bloodstream through your lymphatic system. (See LCFA vs MCFA for full illustration.)
If your body does not use the LCFAs in the bloodstream immediately to fuel your metabolic and physical activities because it still has sufficient carbohydrates (derived from food) on tap, the LCFAs will eventually end up in your fat cells.
Unless you raise your physical activity to the point where your body needs to burn more calories to fuel the activity, your body fat remains "untouchable". In other words, the fat you eat is literally the fat you wear, even if the fat you consume comes from the health-beneficial olive oil.
But when you eat coconut oil instead of olive oil, you'll dramatically reduce your fat deposition because our body metabolizes the fats in coconut oil very differently.
How different?
Unlike olive oil (and most other dietary oils, as well as animal fats) that composes entirely of LCFAs, coconut oil contains about 64% medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are smaller in size.
Because of their smaller size, our body digests MCFAs very quickly (just as it does to carbs)... so quickly that our body prefers to use them as immediate energy source by shuttling them directly to the liver for energy production and to cells for fueling metabolic activities after they're broken down from medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in our small intestine, rather than packing them away as body fat reserves like LCFAs.
That means, MCFAs do not practically contribute to fat gain and cause weight gain as a result.
Assuming the same 500 kcal daily fat intake but this time around coming entirely from coconut oil, now you have 64% less calorie stashed in your fat stores. That means, you cut your fat gain by 320 kcal (64%) up front.
That's a massive reduction of effective daily calorie intake. Isn't that amazing?
That's not all. According to numerous studies and researches, MCFA encourages the burning of LCFA too. So chances are, before the remaining LCFAs (about 35%) from coconut oil land in your fat stores through the bloodstream, they could have already been utilized and burned off as fuel too, leaving even lesser contribution to your body fat.
Dr. Julian Whitaker, a well-known authority on nutrition and health says, "LCTs are like heavy wet logs that you put on a small campfire. Keep adding the logs, and soon you have more logs than fire. MCTs are like rolled-up newspaper soaked in gasoline. They not only burn brightly, but will burn up the wet logs as well" (Murray, 1996).
I'm not finished yet.
All dietary fats produce appetite-suppressing hormones, that's why you feel more easily satisfied with fat added to your diet. As dietary fat also delays the emptying of stomach, you get to forestall hunger longer. In addition to these "special features" that all dietary fats possess, MCFA creates a more satisfying experience and thus making you feel full even longer than any other dietary fats.
Here's a study that proves the point:
In a group of women, some were fed MCT drink while the rest LCT drink. 30 minutes after the drink they were allowed to choose and eat as much as they wanted for their lunch. Those who had the MCT drink before the meal ate lesser than those who took the LCT drink.
If you're not convinced, another study involving a group of normal-weight men shows the same result. Men who took breakfast that contains MCT ate less at lunch. What's even more encouraging is that these men who ate less at lunch did not make up for the lower calorie intake at lunch by eating more at dinner. Why?
That's because MCTs or MCFAs in coconut oil can enter cells with absolute ease to supply quick energy. When these cells feel satisfied, your body will respond by slowing down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream (i.e. stabilizing your blood glucose levels), thus releasing a steadier and longer supply of energy to fuel your cells and keep you satisfied longer.
When your blood glucose levels stabilize and you feel full longer, you won't crave sugar and feel hungry easily. These could also help to control your binge eating, resulting in overall lower calorie intake.
So that's how coconut oil earns its reputation as a "low-calorie fat".
Now you know how coconut oil helps you consume less calorie without you having to force it on purpose, let's move on to see how coconut oil boosts your metabolism at the same time for a more complete and effective weight loss.
How Coconut Oil Increases Your Metabolism
Bustling cells rev up metabolism. Any food you eat can raise cellular activity. But no food can boost your metabolism to the level where your body can burn fat all day long like coconut oil. Here's why.
Carbs and LCFAs from food generally take only one path (by traveling through the bloodstream) to energize our cells and hike cellular activity. But MCFAs in coconut oil use two approaches to accomplish the same mission. How so?
Our body essentially breaks MCFAs into 2 groups, sending one group directly to the liver via hepatic portal vein for energy conversion while transporting the other group via bloodstream to each and every cell of our body.
Energy conversion (burning of MCFAs) in the liver produces heat (thermogenic effect), which in turn excites the entire body cells (cells that are closer to the liver get more heat energy). Just like when you heat up water its molecules move rapidly (molecules that are closer to the fire move faster).
At the same time, MCFAs in bloodstream also enter directly into other cells of our body to give an extra energizing boost to our metabolism.
When cellular activity increases, your cells naturally demand more energy to stay at that level. MCFAs alone can't sustain for long. In view of that, your body will obtain energy from carbs and LCFAs via the food you consume. It'll draw on energy from your fat stores as well, resulting in body fat burning.
This chain reaction will continue as long as you keep your MCFA supply incessant. Just one meal alone can activate your metabolism and keep it elevated for several hours (of course, depending on the amount of coconut oil you eat with that meal).
Imagine you include coconut oil in every meal you eat, you're literally putting your body on a full-day fat-burning mode, even while you're sleeping like a bear.
This unique way of handling MCFAs by our body makes coconut oil a perfect metabolism booster for those who need to lift up their metabolism for weight loss, regardless of whether their sluggish metabolism is caused by low thyroid problem, genetic issue, diabetes, age, fatigue or something else.
Boost Your Metabolism for Maximum Weight Loss Now!
Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil in glass jarGet Nutiva organic, unrefined, cold-pressed, virgin coconut oil in glass jar now! (Glass jar means ZERO plastic-leaching hazard)
Warning: If you're allergic to peanuts, DO NOT buy Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil because it's bottled in a facility that also packs peanut oil. Try these brands.
I've had people asking me whether they can use coconut oil topically by massaging the oil into their skin and get the same fat-burning effect as eating the oil.
Well, I did come across people who rub coconut oil on their belly get 1-2 inches off after many weeks of sheer topical application. But not all get the same result. Some reported the exact same waistline before and after the rub but almost all experienced the same thing – their belly skin felt smoother and softer than before.
That's because coconut oil speeds up the removal of dead cells on the outer surface of our skin, allowing new cells to quickly take their place. So when you use coconut oil on your skin, it actually benefits your skin more than it does for weight loss.
For those who do really get some inches off their waistline, I think the act of massaging itself is more likely the "culprit" that helps to "scrape" some inches off as massage might break down the fibrous tissue that holds the fat in place, dispersing (not burning) the fat as a result. Additionally, repetitive massaging encourages your lymph glands to flush out excess fluid, which might also have a slimming effect on your belly.
Having said that, don't be surprised to rub off some belly inches even when you use other oils or just normal cream on your skin instead of coconut oil because it is essentially the act of massaging that works.
Actually, if you want to use coconut oil for weight loss, why not just eat it? It's so much easier and convenient that way! Most important of all, eating the oil definitely works to help you lose weight more effectively since you can eat more of it to raise its fat-burning effect on your body fat. Already tested and proven by many overweight people!
How to Eat Coconut Oil for Weight Loss?
Here are the few points you must take note before you start taking the first dose of coconut oil for weight loss:
1. Use virgin coconut oil (best, organic) because this type of coconut oil best benefits both weight loss and health as it contains the best combination of various MCFAs for boosting metabolism and toughening immunity.
If you want to soar your metabolism to greater heights, add MCT oil to your virgin coconut oil diet. This is because MCT oil carries only caprylic and capric acids, which are very short medium-chain fatty acids (usually extracted from coconut or palm kernel) that can infiltrate into your cells easily and then convert to energy quickly, thus providing an immediate boost to your metabolism.
For that reason, some people eat only MCT oil for weight loss. But I do encourage making virgin coconut oil as the staple in your weight loss diet and MCT oil a supplementary for weight loss because virgin coconut oil really provides plenty of health benefits besides its fat-burning property. MCT oil can never match up to the health benefits of virgin coconut oil.
Because I advocate healthy weight loss, I want you to lose weight and gain health at the same time.
Another thing is, if you find the distinctive natural coconut scent in virgin coconut oil a bit too strong for your liking, either you learn to like it or instead, use refined coconut oil that is odorless and as a matter of fact, contains slightly lesser MCFAs.
2. No matter how many extra pounds you wish to lose, whether 20, 50 or even 100 pounds, don't consume too much coconut oil in one go. True, the more coconut oil you eat, the more fat you can burn. But because coconut oil has bowel-loosening effect, it's best to start with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon daily for a few days first to allow your body to adapt itself to the oil and prevent diarrhea-like symptoms from occurring before your next increment.
3. You can consume coconut oil on its own if you don't mind its greasy feel in your mouth (I've tried before and find eating this way a bit disgusting, but when added to my food and beverages – Yummy!). However, based on my own experience as well as feedback from people whom I recommended the oil to, eating the oil on its own produces more potent bowel-loosening effect than mixing it with food. That's why I always suggest people to cook their food with it (substitute coconut oil for whatever cooking oil you're using now), or add it raw to their food or beverages (juices, smoothies etc). Doing so enhances the flavor of your food and drinks too.
4. Don't expect the weight loss benefits of coconut oil to manifest after eating it for only a few days or so. The toxic buildups in your body over the past years due to animal meat and junk food consumption can hamper the releasing of fats from your tissues for burning. As coconut oil has potent detoxifying properties, it'll deal with your toxins first before it can draw on the fats from your fat reserves and use them as fuel at its disposal. Therefore, it takes regular (i.e. every day for best result) consumption for at least 2 to 3 weeks before you can notice the difference on your weighing scale.
Of course, if you manage to detox well with coconut oil, the scale should show a dramatic drop of few pounds in a week, but that's only "weight loss" (due to an increase of waste removal via more bowel movements) and not fat loss yet. True weight loss is burning off of excess fat that results in weight loss. So, please take note of this.
5. There's simply no restrictions on how much or how many doses of coconut oil you can or should take for weight loss. That depends on how well your body can adapt to the oil's effect. If your body can only take up to 2 Tbsps daily after several weeks of gradual addition of coconut oil to your diet, so be it. But generally, most people can take up to 3 or 4 Tbsps every day, which are what I would recommend for weight loss.
6. Make sure you cut back on the calorie intake of other food while increasing your doses of coconut oil because excess calorie when not used as fuel will still convert to body fat. Calorie always counts when it comes to losing weight.
7. One study shows that after consuming a meal containing medium-chain fats, normal-weight people increase their energy expenditure by 48%, but obese individuals increase their energy expenditure by an amazing 65%. In other words, the more excess body fat you have, the stronger will be the fat-burning effect of coconut oil on your body. That means, you may come to the point where coconut oil starts burning lesser body fat even though your metabolism remains optimally elevated. That's good news because that shows you're getting closer to a normal BMI.
8. Don't limit yourself to just eating coconut oil. You can also include any coconut product such as coconut water, coconut meat, coconut butter and coconut cream or milk in your diet so that you'll never fall short of MCFAs to help keep your metabolism active at all times. Even when making snacks or desserts you can sprinkle desiccated coconut over to enhance the mouth-feel and flavor of your sweet treats. Isn't that cool?
In short, increase your coconut oil intake progressively to the point that it becomes a natural part of your diet and lifestyle because we're talking about long-term weight management, not short-term weight loss. If you treat coconut oil as a temporary weight loss solution, you're likely to fail on your quest to get down in shape and stay slim for good. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW TO USE COCONUT OIL FOR FLU
I've heard much about how coconut oil can kill flu virus. But when I got attacked by flu virus, I didn't know exactly how to fix it with coconut oil at first.I then try various amount of coconut oil and in the meantime, carry out some measures to supplement and complement my flu treatment with coconut oil whenever flu hits me. I also experiment the oil's effect on my wife when she's down with flu (she's more prone to flu attack, "thanks" to her work environment that is so densely floated with viruses, bacteria and other germs that I have the "honor" to perform several reality experiments).
The entire experiment spans across several months and I finally found a natural remedy for flu. It's exceptionally effective and what's even better is that, you never have to suffer these flu symptoms anymore:
Sore throat that makes you swallow even saliva painful, let alone enjoying your food.
Loss of voice that makes you totally "speechless".
Runny nose that causes mucus to flow out of your nose profusely like running river, which is irritating.
Blocked nose that forces you to breathe through your mouth like a fish.
Severe coughing that makes you lose the quality of your sleep.
High fever that triggers severe headaches and makes you feel dizzy and weak, and shiver with cold for hours. Constipation may come along too.
To top it off, you won't need medication that makes you feel drowsy and spiritless all day long, and you won't have to suffer the terrible side- and after-effects of medication. These are the benefits of using coconut oil to treat your flu.
However, don't expect to take coconut oil today and cure your flu tomorrow. It takes time for coconut oil to spot, fight and kill all flu viruses and repair whatever internal damages (to the tissues and organs) the viruses have inflicted on. Also, it largely depends on how weak your immunity has become after the virus attack and how much coconut oil you're taking as well as how far you're willing to go to get your flu cured.
It generally takes about 5 days to wipe out flu viruses with coconut oil and get your immunity back up to its self-defense state (you can sense its return). But you'll need an extra 2–4 days to completely heal from the discomfort to your nose and throat as healing of tissue normally takes longer.
But that's not the point. What matters most is that during the treatment, you can still enjoy your food without painful swallow, your voice may change but at least you can still speak loud and clear, you can still smell and taste delicious food, you'll still sleep well and you can still perform your job... when you follow my lead.
How to Kill Your Flu Virus with Coconut Oil?
Here are the things you should do if you want to cure your flu without suffering from severe flu symptoms.
#1 – Detect the Onset of Flu Symptoms
You have to be extremely observant of the onset of flu symptoms signaled by your body.
It usually begins with an irritating dry throat (sometimes it could happen near the upper throat). And you thought it's a sign of thirst. So you start drinking lots of water. But the dryness just won't go away. Chances are, you've been attacked by the notorious influenza virus!
So, the false sign of thirst is the onset of flu symptoms. But sometimes the dryness may be too subtle for you to notice and may also accompany with some "heaty" sensation in the throat (which shows your body is very acidic).
Anyway, listen closely to your body and watch out for those telltale signs. This is extremely crucial because if you can detect the signs earlier, it'll be easier to strike the viruses at this point before they run wild and multiply ferociously since at the onset of symptoms the viruses are still weak and in minimal quantity and hence, of less threat.
If you don't fight the flu virus as early as you can and let the symptom advances to sore throat, you won't be able to enjoy your food and swallow them without pain like you used to. Also, you won't be able to sleep well as the pain may wake you up several times in the middle of the night when you swallow saliva.
But that's not the worst!
Have you ever gone through a cough that lasts for an entire month and when you cough, you feel an extreme sharp pain in your ribs? That's the sign of inflamed muscle tissues between ribs. Your rib bone may even break if your terrible cough persists. I've been there and I lost my sleep throughout that month. And I suspected my ribs have broken.
But I was considered lucky because some people have had their lungs infected or even kidney damaged from persistent cough. Brain damage may even occur if coughing goes extreme.
What I'm trying to tell you is that, the last flu symptom you would ever want to deal with is cough, not sore throat since sore throat will eventually subside after few days when you're cautious about what you eat even without the help of coconut oil. But cough is the real deal. No other flu symptoms can turn out as lethally destructive as cough.
So, don't take the early symptoms lightly. Treat it as an emergency and take action immediately before the flu viruses break out and start wrecking your body like hell.
#2 – Choose the Right Type of Coconut Oil
Most refined coconut oils are not as good as virgin coconut oil because virgin coconut oil holds a complete set of antimicrobials in it, consisting of mainly lauric acid (50%), capric acid (6%), caprylic acid (7.5%) and others. Lauric acid possesses the strongest antiviral prowess of all the virus-fighting components.
Hence, choose virgin coconut oil for your flu treatment and nothing else.
#3 – Eat the Correct Amount of Virgin Coconut Oil
Once you have detected the onset of flu symptoms and got yourself virgin coconut oil, follow these guidelines. But you're free to tweak and fine-tune the amount and dosage of virgin coconut oil to suit your preference, body condition and lifestyle.
If you're already a seasoned virgin coconut oil eater...
Take 1 tablespoon every 2 hrs while you're awake. Mix it with food or beverages (like juice, smoothies, soy milk, almond milk, rice milk etc) where possible. This will make it easier for you to swallow virgin coconut oil.
By taking so much on the first day, the flu symptoms may subside dramatically or even vanish within a day. But if you feel that's too much and too frequent for you, you can reduce to taking 1/2 tablespoon every 3 hours. Or, at least take 3 tablespoons per day, every day and spread out the amount like this – 1 Tbsp added to breakfast, 1 to lunch and 1 to dinner.
Your antibodies are essentially outnumbered, so you need at least that amount of virgin coconut oil to boost your immunity level. However, if you feel you can increase to 4 tablespoons or even more, by all means.
But make sure you spread out the amount. Taking 3 or 4 tablespoons (or even just 2 Tbsps) in one sitting may make you feel nauseous or cause some peculiar reaction in your stomach as coconut oil increases metabolism and expels toxins (detox). Detox is good no doubt, but it may appear too strong for some people (especially the elderly) to take it, so it's best to spread out the doses.
If you're a first-timer...
Take 2 tablespoons per day like this – mix 1 Tbsp into your breakfast, the other into your dinner.
Although virgin coconut oil may initially cause diarrhea-like effect on first-timers (because your body system has yet to adapt to its detox effect), as the medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in the oil that fight flu viruses are the same as those that loosen your bowels, you should not feel the runs easily since most of the MCFAs are busy fighting and killing flu viruses, leaving very little behind to loosen your bowels.
Please note that because you're taking only 2 tablespoons per day, the flu-fighting effect won't be as strong as when you take 3 tablespoons. However, just to be on the safe side, eat only 2 tablespoons each day for the first 2 days and leave at least a 9-hour interval between each intake. And then observe your body for any unusual reaction.
If you feel okay with your stomach (no diarrhea-like symptom) and you don't feel nauseous at all, you're safe and move on to increasing the dosage to 3 tablespoons per day after that, like this – 1 Tbsp with breakfast, 1 with lunch and 1 with dinner. And stick to just 3 tablespoons daily until your flu is completely cured.
#4 – Oil Pulling with Virgin Coconut Oil
Hold a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil in your mouth and swish and gargle for 15–20 minutes. It's best to tilt your head back and forth to make sure the oil touches the infected area in your throat.
By itself, coconut oil cannot kill flu virus. It's only when it reacts with the enzymes in our saliva (or in our stomach) that free up the fatty acids in coconut oil and make them the flu virus killer. And not just flu viruses, harmful bacteria are "scared" of coconut oil too.
Our mouth contains also other bacteria that can weaken your immune system and make your flu symptoms worse. So, rinsing your mouth with coconut oil will definitely improve your flu symptoms (especially sore throat and runny nose). Do it few times a day or as many as you deem fit. At least once in the morning and once at night before bed.By itself, coconut oil cannot kill flu virus. It's only when it reacts with the enzymes in our saliva (or in our stomach) that free up the fatty acids in coconut oil and make them the flu virus killer. And not just flu viruses, harmful bacteria are "scared" of coconut oil too.
You can omit this step if swishing oil in your mouth disgusts you or you can't stand the distinctive coconut odor of virgin coconut oil. But you'll heal relatively slower unless you perform extremely well in the following few points.But remember, after gargling and swishing virgin coconut oil inside your mouth, don't swallow it because there will be thousands of "dead bodies" left (after bacteria and viruses are killed) and loads of toxins (released by bacteria when they die) within the contents. Spit it all out.
You can omit this step if swishing oil in your mouth disgusts you or you can't stand the distinctive coconut odor of virgin coconut oil. But you'll heal relatively slower unless you perform extremely well in the following few points.
#5 – Maintain Good Oral Hygiene
Hold a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil in your mouth and swish and gargle for 15–20 minutes. It's best to tilt your head back and forth to make sure the oil touches the infected area in your throat.
By itself, coconut oil cannot kill flu virus. It's only when it reacts with the enzymes in our saliva (or in our stomach) that free up the fatty acids in coconut oil and make them the flu virus killer. And not just flu viruses, harmful bacteria are "scared" of coconut oil too.
Flu infection begins inside your mouth.
And if you compromise on your oral hygiene, it can further develop into flu complications such as sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonia or even heart attacks.
Therefore, keep the bacterial count in your mouth as minimal as possible by brushing your teeth well (for at least 3–5 minutes) before and after sleep. Remember to brush your tongue as well because the thin white coating (developed as a result of post food consumption) on your tongue is food for bacteria inside your mouth.
As important as oral hygiene, keep your hands germ-free with frequent washing.
#6 – Restore Your pH Balance
Did you know that flu virus thrives in an acidic body?
When your body turns acidic, it means that you have taken in too much acid-forming substances that cause the pH level of your blood to drop from its usual slightly-alkaline (pH of 7.35–7.45) state.
When this occurs, your body will attempt with all its might to purge the acidic components via your lungs and kidneys and at the same time, pull the alkaline resources from your body or food intake to help bring up the pH value back to its performing level.
Why is this regulation of blood pH so important?
As red blood cells carry oxygen to other cells in your body, an acidic blood can cause red blood cells to clump together and paralyze the delivery of oxygen. When oxygen fails to reach those cells (trillions of them) in hour of need, you will die. This is why our body needs to constantly maintain its blood pH at its performing range.
However, frequent and resource-intensive lifting of your blood pH can vastly deplete the nutritional resources in your body, which will stress out your system over time and drastically weaken the functions of your key organs like spleen and liver that in turn, cause your immunity to nose-dive as a result. When your immune system is compromised, it cannot produce sufficient antibodies in time to fight any pernicious intruders. This is where flu viruses start to thrive and colonize.
Hence, to drive flu away and keep it at bay you have to alkalize your body. How?
Don't smoke if you're a smoker. Smoking brings in countless free radicals into your body that damage your pH balance. A smoker's blood tends to turn acidic easily and that's why they're so much prone to flu infection. And when flu attacks them, they feel very much terrible and take very much longer to heal.
Even if you're a non-smoker, avoid second-hand smoke. Inhaling second-hand smoke may damage your pH balance even more since you don't know how to breathe out some portion of the smoke.
Avoid alcohol because it increases your blood acidity level.
Avoid all kinds of animal meat (including fish, crabs and other sea animals). Meat produces lots of acidic ash after digestion. A meat-eater's body is super acidic as a whole (see the pH scale above). That explains why meat-eaters always get attacked by flu and other viruses and bacteria frequently and fall sick very easily.
Avoid fried food, sparkling water (carbonated drinks), caffeinated drinks and high-sugar (refined carb) food and beverages because they can lower your pH level.
Eat more dark leafy greens like Swiss chard, collard greens, arugula, baby spinach, kale and broccoli etc. These greens are packed with antioxidants, vitamins and especially minerals (such as calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium etc) that can alkalize your body exceptionally fast. The easiest way to obtain most of their nutrients is to blend them into green smoothies. Eat them raw rather than cooked to avoid destroying their nutrients.
In short, avoid anything that makes your body become acidic easily so as to minimize the depletion of essential nutrients your body would need for building a powerful army of flu fighters.
#7 – Take Multiple Small Meals
Take multiple small meals to relieve your digestive load since as said earlier, your digestive system won't be able to perform at its best now. Burdening your digestive system can further weaken your immunity.
To give you an idea of "small meal", keep your satiety between 60 and 70% so that you don't feel too full and clumsy but yet at the same time you don't get hungry easily. Even when you've healed, you should never exceed 70%, which is the ideal satiety to maintain optimal immunity.
Chew well to aid in digestion. But be careful of your mastication because sometimes you might accidentally bite your lips, tongue or the inside of your cheek while chewing food. This causes open wound in your mouth and it can easily get exposed to both bacteria and virus attacks and then develop into ulcers or something more complicated, which can aggravate your flu condition. Choking on food or drink can cause injury to your throat too.
Speaking of wound or injury, steaming hot food or beverages may scald your skin and damage your tongue or other parts inside your mouth too, so make sure you wait till the food or drink turns less hot before you consume.
#8 – Avoid Chili
If you love chili, I know it's going to be tough to ask you not to eat it. But if you don't want your sore throat to aggravate, you don't want your runny nose to purge mucus out like mini waterfall, you don't want to cough your lungs up, chili is a no-no until your flu is completely cured.
#9 – Keep Your Body Hydrated
Adequate water can help to regulate your body temperature and reduce your discomfort when you got a fever in the event of fighting flu. It also helps to keep your blood circulation at normal rate so nutrients can timely be delivered to help rebuild and replace cells that have been damaged by flu viruses and boost your immune system.
With adequate water, you can more easily purge toxins via sweating and bowel movements. How do you know you have adequate water intake? By observing your urine color.
Urine Color What It Means What You Should Do
Bright yellow Low body fluid Drink more water
Pale yellow or close to clear Sufficient body fluid Control your water intake to maintain at this color
Clear or transparent Too much body fluid Stop drinking water until it turns pale yellow
#10 – No Cold Stuff
Flu virus not only thrives in an acidic body, but it thrives in a low-temp body too. That's why you should never expose your body to cold drinks, cold food (such as ice-cream), cold shower or air-conditioned room no matter how hot the weather is at this point where you're at high risk of getting flu or already infected.
Although our body can adjust its temperature back to its norm (about 98.6 °F or 37 °C) whenever it detects a low temperature, setting your body temperature to 'Low' while drinking cold beverages, licking ice-cream, taking cold shower or staying in an air-conditioned room for even just a few minutes is long enough for influenza viruses to multiply like crazy.
Moreover, lifting temperature back up to its performing state may use up lots of nutritional resources (just like regulating blood pH as mentioned in #6) that are required for our body to fight flu. So, keep cold stuff away at all costs.
#11 – Avoid Outdoor Activities
When you overwork and your body doesn't get enough quality rest, it can't repair damaged cells and build new cells to replace dead cells timely and effectively to keep your body function normally and immunity in tip-top condition, so it becomes exhausted and weak over time. And you become prone to flu.
On top of that, take virgin coconut oil out with you so you can continue to fight your flu virus when you happen to dine out.
#12 – Rest More
When you overwork and your body doesn't get enough quality rest, it can't repair damaged cells and build new cells to replace dead cells timely and effectively to keep your body function normally and immunity in tip-top condition, so it becomes exhausted and weak over time. And you become prone to flu.
That said, allow your body to rest well especially during flu infection so that you can gain quicker recovery from flu since the yields of making new cells and repairing damaged cells are higher during resting or sleeping.
Resting well also enables your body to get rid of acidic components more efficiently, thus restoring your pH balance and stepping up your immunity level.
Of course, you can still carry out simple light chores at home. But low-intensity exercises even like brisk-walking could overload your body when it's busy fighting viruses. Exercising does improve your immunity. But not when you're down with flu. So, no exercises until you're fully recovered. Go to bed early and don't delay your sleep. If you've always had problem getting quality sleep, click here for some good sleep tips.
#13 – Prevention is Better than Cure
It sounds so cliché but it's so true.
Why let flu virus attack you in the first place then you start taking desperate measures to drive them out? Why not stop them dead in their tracks before they even get near you?
As a matter of fact, detecting the onset of flu symptoms is not a flu prevention. It merely prevents the flu virus from inflicting further damages. Actually, there's a good way to truly prevent flu.
Observe for cold hands and feet, especially when you're in a cool environment (like a mall or an office) or when you're in contact with water. That's the obvious signs of low immunity level, which means, you're NOW vulnerable to flu virus and other harmful germs.
In other words, some flu viruses have already entered your body and they're probably in their initial state of replication. Once the replication gets out of control, they'll begin to attack the weakest spot – your throat.
So, don't wait till the flu viruses break out and then start to take more virgin coconut oil and apply the measures I shared above. Even before the onset of flu symptoms, as soon as the detection of cold hands and feet, improve your diet by increasing your intake of whole food and greens, and at the same time, increasing your virgin coconut oil intake plus applying the aforementioned tips #4–12 until your hands and feet return to its normal warmth when they touch water or stay in cool environment.
Or even better, consume virgin coconut oil on a regular basis to keep your health at its best 24/7, 365 days a year.
Points to Take Note of When Treating Flu with Virgin Coconut Oil
1. It doesn't matter whether to eat virgin coconut oil before, during or after meal, you can literally mix it with all kinds of food and beverages since virgin coconut oil is a food itself. I mean, if you prefer to eat it straight out of the jar, as long as you can stand the oily mouthfeel, by all means. If not, it's better to add to your food (which is what I prefer).
2. If you're on special medication, please consult with your family doctor or specialist. Feel free to talk to me If you need my help.
3. Your feeling better on the third day might make you think you can reduce the doses because you've had enough of virgin coconut oil in the last couple of days. DON'T do that. The first few days are the most critical because your own immune system has not fully recovered to fight the viruses alone yet and if you get carried away and let your guard down at this juncture, the viruses will seize this opportunity to multiply and break out again.
4. Your sore throat may seem to improve when you're moving about (especially during daytime) because a warm body helps to keep virus in check. But when your body temperature drops to prep for sleep, this almost always encourages flu virus (without fail) to insanely grow and aggravate the soreness in your throat and cause pain as a result. My point is, same as the previous point, never lower your defense against the virus when you feel the pain in your throat (or any other symptoms) subsides. Continue to keep a close watch on the symptoms and be sure to discipline yourself on what you should or shouldn't do during this sensitive period.
5. If you're hit by cold virus rather than flu, though coconut oil can't kill cold virus, it does help to relieve stress on your immune system by getting rid of other harmful microbes (like bacteria, fungi, parasites and other viruses) that gain entry into your body so that your immune system can concentrate on fighting cold virus effectively. In a way, coconut oil does help to fight cold, but indirectly. And because cold is generally less severe than flu, you tend to heal faster with coconut oil, provided you begin the treatment earlier before it progresses to severe cold.
6. If unfortunately your flu symptom has already advanced to severe cough by the time you read this post, you must understand that right now it is the intense damage to your respiratory system (rather than the flu virus) that causes the severe cough and vice versa. And the damage made can easily outdo the repair work that coconut oil is helping with if you were to take coconut oil at this point in time. Which means, taking coconut oil at this juncture does not seem to help much with relieving the cough. The option you should take now is to seek help from a specialist. But that does not mean you should not take coconut oil at all. You should instead so that it can work hand-in-hand with the prescribed medication to help your body recover faster.
7. Add manuka honey (at least MGO 400+) to your flu treatment because it works exceptionally well with coconut oil to quickly reduce inflammation, hence preventing and healing sore throat. It helps to prevent cough as well. But if your cough has turned severe by the time you read this, manuka honey may sting your throat and trigger more coughing. This is actually a healing crisis, which is good for you. Continue taking it and your cough will improve.
8. Even though you take more greens and whole foods, and go all out to restore your pH balance and carry out other measures, your flu won't heal as fast as it should. That's because by improving your diet and restoring your pH, you're merely strengthening the production of your antibodies to fight the viruses alone. This is never enough especially when flu viruses have already taken hold. So, it's important to maintain your coconut oil intake throughout the flu treatment.
9. It may take you longer to cure your flu when weather turns cold because flu virus becomes particularly active in low temperature. Or when you expose yourself to polluted air.
10. Eating junk food will negate the effect of virgin coconut oil on flu treatment. Therefore, choose only healthy food to eat.
11. Dine in as much as possible since you'll never get to know 100% how those outside eateries handle the food, the quality of ingredients they use and their hygiene levels (you never know they might pass more viruses and bacteria to you via their food preparation). If you have problems coming up with nice dishes that aid in your flu healing and give you more energy than ever, I strongly recommend Robyn's delicious yet energizing recipes. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW TO USE COCONUT OIL FOR CONSTIPATION
When you didn't take enough fiber-rich food like vegetables and fruits, drink adequate water, or exercise on a regular basis, you're likely to suffer from constipation.
That's not all. Taking certain drugs, under stressful situations, experiencing changes in your lifestyle or routine, ignoring the urge to move your bowels, abusing laxatives, having irritable bowel syndrome, traveling or hormonal changes can also cause constipation.
So, what can you do to treat constipation?
Needless to say, all you have to do is take more fiber-rich food, drink more water and exercise regularly, right?
Well, not exactly. These good eating habits and lifestyle may work for most people. But some people just couldn't move bowels smoothly or fail to pass stool at all for days even with more intake of water and fiber.
When that occurs, you need something really powerful to override whatever that stops you from loosening bowels. And that would be coconut oil.
Thanks to its abundant amount of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which is the secret for constipation relief. That's because MCFAs provide quick energy for your intestinal cells that boost their metabolism and hence, stimulate your bowel movements. MCFAs help to soften your stool too.Some people mistakenly thought that coconut oil causes constipation. It actually cures constipation instead. In fact, eating coconut oil is the best natural laxative that helps to relieve difficulty in pooping or infrequent bowel movements.
However, you have to be cautious about its dosage because suddenly taking too much dose can over loosen your bowels and cause the reverse diarrhea-like symptoms.Not only acute sufferers get to effectively relieve their constipation, chronic sufferers find eating coconut oil good for their chronic condition too.
To make matters worse, there's no best dosage for different individuals. Some people after taking 1 teaspoon already can feel the bowel-loosening effect while others require at least 2 tablespoons daily. That said, how much you need for treating constipation depends on how your body reacts to the MCFAs in coconut oil and how serious your constipation is.
If this is the first time you use coconut oil for constipation treatment, I suggest that you take 1/2 tablespoon in the morning and 1/2 tablespoon at dinner (simply add to your meals) and see how it goes. For first-timer, you should never consume more than 2 tablespoons per day for fear it might give you the runs.
If you're a chronic case, you might want to start with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and add it into your breakfast plus 1/2 tablespoon at dinner time. If you don't feel much impact, then increase to 1 tablespoon in morning and 1 tablespoon at night the following day.
Gradually up your intake until you find the best dose for relieving your constipation problem.
Unlike other home remedies which are good at easing constipation and that's all there is to it, coconut oil provides amazing health benefits for you as well besides its bowel-loosening effect. When you take it on a regular basis, you'll gain even more than just improving your bowel movements. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
When you didn't take enough fiber-rich food like vegetables and fruits, drink adequate water, or exercise on a regular basis, you're likely to suffer from constipation.
That's not all. Taking certain drugs, under stressful situations, experiencing changes in your lifestyle or routine, ignoring the urge to move your bowels, abusing laxatives, having irritable bowel syndrome, traveling or hormonal changes can also cause constipation.
So, what can you do to treat constipation?
Needless to say, all you have to do is take more fiber-rich food, drink more water and exercise regularly, right?
Well, not exactly. These good eating habits and lifestyle may work for most people. But some people just couldn't move bowels smoothly or fail to pass stool at all for days even with more intake of water and fiber.
When that occurs, you need something really powerful to override whatever that stops you from loosening bowels. And that would be coconut oil.
Thanks to its abundant amount of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which is the secret for constipation relief. That's because MCFAs provide quick energy for your intestinal cells that boost their metabolism and hence, stimulate your bowel movements. MCFAs help to soften your stool too.Some people mistakenly thought that coconut oil causes constipation. It actually cures constipation instead. In fact, eating coconut oil is the best natural laxative that helps to relieve difficulty in pooping or infrequent bowel movements.
However, you have to be cautious about its dosage because suddenly taking too much dose can over loosen your bowels and cause the reverse diarrhea-like symptoms.Not only acute sufferers get to effectively relieve their constipation, chronic sufferers find eating coconut oil good for their chronic condition too.
To make matters worse, there's no best dosage for different individuals. Some people after taking 1 teaspoon already can feel the bowel-loosening effect while others require at least 2 tablespoons daily. That said, how much you need for treating constipation depends on how your body reacts to the MCFAs in coconut oil and how serious your constipation is.
If this is the first time you use coconut oil for constipation treatment, I suggest that you take 1/2 tablespoon in the morning and 1/2 tablespoon at dinner (simply add to your meals) and see how it goes. For first-timer, you should never consume more than 2 tablespoons per day for fear it might give you the runs.
If you're a chronic case, you might want to start with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and add it into your breakfast plus 1/2 tablespoon at dinner time. If you don't feel much impact, then increase to 1 tablespoon in morning and 1 tablespoon at night the following day.
Gradually up your intake until you find the best dose for relieving your constipation problem.
Unlike other home remedies which are good at easing constipation and that's all there is to it, coconut oil provides amazing health benefits for you as well besides its bowel-loosening effect. When you take it on a regular basis, you'll gain even more than just improving your bowel movements. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW TO USE COCONUT OIL FOR SKIN CARE?
Have you chosen a specific coconut oil for skin care yet? I ask you that because different types of coconut oil may perform differently on your skin due to their somewhat different composition and hence, behavior towards skin. Therefore, you should get the right kind of coconut oil for your skin needs first before anything else if you have not already done so.1. What Kind of Coconut Oil is Best for Your Skin?
Because medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) readily penetrate, moisturize and soften your skin, you can use fractionated coconut oil (which contains only MCFAs) for your skin care. It is good when use alone, or you can use it as a carrier oil for essential oil too.
Virgin coconut oil, on the other hand, contains not just MCFAs, but some amount of long-chain fatty acids too. In comparison, its skin penetration may not effect as fast as that of fractionated coconut oil, but it still serves as a good skin care product since all its fatty acids are good at fighting bacteria, fungi, viruses, free radicals and parasites that attack your outer and inner layer of skin.
In short, fractionated coconut oil penetrates skin relatively faster, but its antimicrobial properties can't match that of virgin coconut oil. So, which one should you use?
If you're already eating virgin coconut oil as food for health benefits, I don't see the need for you to get fractionated coconut oil separately for skin care. I use virgin coconut oil for both my health and skin care, by the way. It's more convenient.
But if you just want a specialized coconut oil that takes care of your skin, then fractionated coconut oil suits you best. Read Fractionated Coconut Oil Vs Virgin Coconut Oil if you need more info.
2. Organic
Pesticides, chemicals and other harmful micro-contaminants (that you cannot see with your bare eyes) can get inside your body via your skin, hence you should try to use organic coconut oil for skin care where possible.
However, it's easy to get real (certified) organic virgin coconut oil for skin care, but you can hardly find fractionated coconut oil in organic form. Even if you see certain brands claiming their fractionated coconut oil as organic, they're actually not certified (look for the "Certified Organic" label or text and you would find none).
This could probably be due to the high production cost already involved in making fractionated coconut oil and if manufacturers were to use truly certified organic coconut oil as the source to make fractionated coconut oil, the entire production cost would increase dramatically and make fractionated coconut oil too expensive to be bought.
But that does not mean fractionated coconut oil is fraught with chemicals and pesticides. As far as I know, tests have been done on coconuts that are not grown organically but which contain no traces of toxic residues in the meat, as well as in the oil. Therefore, even when you use such non-organic coconut oil as the source in the manufacturing process, fractionated coconut oil may not necessarily contain harmful chemicals or pesticides, unless the process itself uses chemicals.
My point is, it's still pretty safe to use fractionated coconut oil for skin care if you don't mind whether it is certified organic or not.
3. Test First
Although both virgin and fractionated coconut oil are hypoallergenic (low allergy-risk), I think you should rub a very small amount on the inside of your elbow area to test for any allergic reaction especially when this is the first time you use coconut oil for skin care or when you change to a new brand of coconut oil, just to be on the safe side.
Most allergic reactions should respond within 24 hours. If after waiting a day and nothing happens, that means you should be able to safely use the coconut oil for skin care.
But please keep in mind that sometimes the so-called allergic reaction on skin upon using coconut oil may just be due to the detox effect of coconut oil. How do you differentiate the detox effect from the real allergic reaction of coconut oil?
When you rub coconut oil on a small area (about 2 cm x 2 cm) of your skin for testing and if some kind of rashes appear after an hour or so, don't just quit using coconut oil but instead, keep applying to the same spot again for the next 2–3 days. The rashes should stop. And if the rashes stop, it shows that coconut oil is actually doing toxin purging for your skin.
But if the rashes persist, it might be that you're using a low quality coconut oil (that have contaminants in it) on your skin. Therefore, it's really very important to choose top quality coconut oil for skin care uses.
Another thing is if you use coconut oil on the skin of your face, some bumpy whiteheads may appear. This is another mistaken "allergic reaction" of coconut oil. Again, it's the detox effected by coconut oil. (Read Coconut Oil for Acne if you're interested to find out the detox effect of coconut oil on skin.)
4. Cleanse Thoroughly
With a layer of oily dirt or makeup on your face or other parts of your skin, you can't expect the coconut oil you use to get absorbed into your skin efficiently and effectively.
So, make sure you cleanse your skin thoroughly before you apply the oil. This is a crucial step for skin care with coconut oil.
5. Make It Thin
Always apply a thin layer of coconut oil over your skin and rub or massage it well to help its absorption into your skin. If you feel the need for second application after the first application has been absorbed, do so with another thin film as well. But never apply and rub too much at once on your skin as too much coconut oil can saturate your skin easily and make it feel uncomfortably greasy.
If you're using coconut oil as a sunscreen, you may need to apply multiple thin layers for protection against UV radiation. The hotter the sun is, the more layers of coconut oil your skin would need.
6. Enhance the Use of Coconut Oil on Your Skin
Did you realize that your skin will look bad when you take junk food but it will look good when you take health food?
Even when you use a good quality coconut oil for skin care your skin may not glow to its fullest potential. Hence, you should also consume more health food especially those that carry skin-beneficial nutrients like dark green leafy vegetables and fruits that are rich in vitamin C. You are what you eat.
( SOURCE: 107 EVERYDAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW TO USE COCONUT OIL FOR HAIR CARE
Coconut oil acts as a super conditioner for
hair. Coconut oil is the one oil that our hair can absorb better than any
other. The great benefit of this oil is that it is a purely natural product. A
lot of women have noticed that conditioners with added artificial ingredients
can have a damaging effect on the hair and the scalp when used over long
periods of time. This is particularly so as far as black African hair is
concerned. Here the hair and scalp can react badly to such substances as
paraben preservatives, alcohol and many petroleum derived substances. Just take
a look at the conditioner that you usually use, if it contains any of these
substances then you may be doing more harm than good by using it.
Another good reason for using coconut oil is that it is relatively cheap, considering the great results that it produces. The coconut oil helps your hair in many ways from: keeping it totally moisturized; allowing the hair to grow fully; producing hair that is strong and won’t break easily through to preventing dandruff flakes from developing. One of the ways that it makes your hair stronger and fuller is by maintaining the quality of the protein keratin that makes up your hair.
A large number of commercial cosmetic companies have started to recognize the importance of coconut oil when it comes to conditioning hair but their response has been to add relatively small amounts of it to their products and then still adding the artificial petroleum based substances as well. This means that the benefits of the coconut oil are often outweighed by these other chemicals. This does however allow them to claim that their product is superior because it does in fact contain some coconut oil.
Coconut oil has often been given as a remedy for hair loss. This is especially true where hair has stopped growing at the hair line. This loss can often be due to the use of harsh chemicals to treat hair. Examples of these are hair relaxers and hair perm solutions. My sister used to use a lot of these, but since using coconut oil as a conditioner her hair has started to regrow, but not only that, it has grown a lot stronger as well.
Coconut oil is a great choice when it comes to dealing with brittle dry hair. Most commercial hair moisturizers only put a temporary shine on your dry hair. They won’t actually deal with the real problem of the dry hair. The reason for this is that they can’t actually get into the hair shaft. Moisturizers based on lanolin and mineral oils only coat the hair and give the impression that it has actually been moisturized. Water based products do a little better but they tend to let you down if the hair is relaxed or heat styled later. The only really effective hair moisturizer is virgin coconut oil. This is because it can penetrate right into the shaft and core of every strand of your hair.
You can use virgin coconut oil as a daily moisturizer for your hair. To do this, take a little of the oil and rub it into the palm of your hand. It will start to melt as soon as it touches the skin. Start to rub the oil throughout your hair. Concentrate on the strands of hair rather than the scalp. Always start with a small amount of oil because if you use too much the hair will become greasy and heavy. With this in mind, you can use this method to moisturize you hair as often as needed.
You can use virgin coconut oil as a prewash in order to really get the moisture into your hair. The first thing to do is to get a big handful of coconut oil out of your jar. With long hair you should bend down forwards and flip your hair forward. Start to spread the oil slowly through your hair. The oil will start to melt as soon as it touches your skin and spread into your hair so there is no need to heat the oil before you use it. Make sure that the oil is massaged into all of the hair and concentrate on those parts that you know are problem dry areas. Once you have done this, and all of your hair is soaked in coconut oil, you should tie it up into a ponytail or a bun. Clip or tie your hair up in this position.
Use a shower cap to cover your hair and leave the oil to soak in for about thirty minutes. You can do the job more quickly by applying heat to the shower cap using a hair dryer. The heat helps the coconut oil get into the hair more quickly. If you use heat you will need to heat it for at least fifteen minutes. After the time is up you should wash your hair and condition it as you usually would.
If the hair is still too oily you may need to wash it twice. Concentrate on washing the roots and only do just enough to the ends of the hair where you want the oil to do its magic work. You can then go on to style your hair and be generally stunned as to how smooth and soft your hair is, after applying the coconut oil. If your hair is in bad shape you will need to apply the oil each time you wash it. As the condition of the hair improves you can back off to a regular treatment of once a week. If you maintain the treatment you will find that your hair will grow both longer and stronger.
Hair is rather like a tube and as such is hollow inside. This is often called the hair shaft. Coconut oil is a natural product and has water loving chemical groups as part of its makeup. This means that it is ideally made to get into the hair shaft and fill it up. This then gives the hair more body and makes it look full and thick.
During normal hair treatments such as washing and styling, the hair fibers are subjected to alternate swelling and shrinking. This is due to alternate water absorption, retention and loss. This is a type of hair fatigue. Coconut helps to prevent this because once it has penetrated the core of the hair it prevents it swelling up. This is the reason why coconut oil helps to protect your hair even during heat treatments.
Hair is made up from protein and these proteins can be lost from the hair. This causes damage and weakness to the hair. Regular moisturizing with coconut oil helps to stop the protein being lost from your hair. Coconut oil will seal the hair from the outside and this means that moisture is kept in the hair. This means that it will have a shiny and silky feel to it. The coconut oil in the shaft of the hair can move down into the hair follicle where it supplies moisture. This helps to protect it from heat damage due to styling and chemical damage from other hair treatments. Coconut oil contains some specific substances which have been identified as being very good for the health and growth of hair. These are all natural substances and are found in useful amounts in coconut oil.
One of these substances is called lauric acid. This is well known as an antimicrobial agent. Microbes on the scalp have been identified as one reason that hair may be lost from the scalp. The microbes may collect in hair follicles and cause
weakened low quality hair to be produced. Lauric acid can help prevent the build up of these microbes in hair follicles. This then, in turn, helps to stimulate new growth, which is also stronger and healthier. Lauric acid seems to be particularly good at stimulating new growth at and around the hair line. The substance called capric acid is another antimicrobial agent which is found in coconut oil and acts in a similar way to lauric acid. The antimicrobial action of coconut oil protects against scalp infections and dandruff as well as preventing hair follicle infections. All of this leads to better quality hair and less of the hair falling out due to weakness.
To deal with dandruff you should use a circular motion to massage the oil into the scalp. This will help to remove the scales of dead skin cells that characterize the dandruff condition. This massaging will also moisturize the skin layers below the surface of the scalp, which will help to prevent future occurrences of dandruff. The lauric acid will use its antimicrobial nature to kill any bacteria and fungi that could go on to cause dandruff at a later date. Regular use of coconut oil helps stop dandruff forming in a far gentler way compared to commercial anti dandruff shampoos. Coconut oil also contains vitamin E which is well known as being responsible for maintaining the health of the scalp skin. This vitamin maintains healthy hair production and helps to keep your hair shiny and bouncy.
A lot of people are gradually changing their usual hair care products for ones that use coconut oil as the main active ingredient. They are then reaping the benefits of this super conditioner. There is also a move to use coconut oil products for styling the hair as well. The reason for this is that the oil can be made to act in the same way as hair waxes and gels. In doing this job they moisturize the hair and scalp at the same time. Coconut styling products don’t damage the hair in the same way that other styling products can. One key factor in the use of coconut oil in this area is the fact that it can keep moisturizing the hair at just about any temperature that is used during the styling process. (SOURCE: 107 EVERYDAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
Another good reason for using coconut oil is that it is relatively cheap, considering the great results that it produces. The coconut oil helps your hair in many ways from: keeping it totally moisturized; allowing the hair to grow fully; producing hair that is strong and won’t break easily through to preventing dandruff flakes from developing. One of the ways that it makes your hair stronger and fuller is by maintaining the quality of the protein keratin that makes up your hair.
A large number of commercial cosmetic companies have started to recognize the importance of coconut oil when it comes to conditioning hair but their response has been to add relatively small amounts of it to their products and then still adding the artificial petroleum based substances as well. This means that the benefits of the coconut oil are often outweighed by these other chemicals. This does however allow them to claim that their product is superior because it does in fact contain some coconut oil.
Coconut oil has often been given as a remedy for hair loss. This is especially true where hair has stopped growing at the hair line. This loss can often be due to the use of harsh chemicals to treat hair. Examples of these are hair relaxers and hair perm solutions. My sister used to use a lot of these, but since using coconut oil as a conditioner her hair has started to regrow, but not only that, it has grown a lot stronger as well.
Coconut oil is a great choice when it comes to dealing with brittle dry hair. Most commercial hair moisturizers only put a temporary shine on your dry hair. They won’t actually deal with the real problem of the dry hair. The reason for this is that they can’t actually get into the hair shaft. Moisturizers based on lanolin and mineral oils only coat the hair and give the impression that it has actually been moisturized. Water based products do a little better but they tend to let you down if the hair is relaxed or heat styled later. The only really effective hair moisturizer is virgin coconut oil. This is because it can penetrate right into the shaft and core of every strand of your hair.
You can use virgin coconut oil as a daily moisturizer for your hair. To do this, take a little of the oil and rub it into the palm of your hand. It will start to melt as soon as it touches the skin. Start to rub the oil throughout your hair. Concentrate on the strands of hair rather than the scalp. Always start with a small amount of oil because if you use too much the hair will become greasy and heavy. With this in mind, you can use this method to moisturize you hair as often as needed.
You can use virgin coconut oil as a prewash in order to really get the moisture into your hair. The first thing to do is to get a big handful of coconut oil out of your jar. With long hair you should bend down forwards and flip your hair forward. Start to spread the oil slowly through your hair. The oil will start to melt as soon as it touches your skin and spread into your hair so there is no need to heat the oil before you use it. Make sure that the oil is massaged into all of the hair and concentrate on those parts that you know are problem dry areas. Once you have done this, and all of your hair is soaked in coconut oil, you should tie it up into a ponytail or a bun. Clip or tie your hair up in this position.
Use a shower cap to cover your hair and leave the oil to soak in for about thirty minutes. You can do the job more quickly by applying heat to the shower cap using a hair dryer. The heat helps the coconut oil get into the hair more quickly. If you use heat you will need to heat it for at least fifteen minutes. After the time is up you should wash your hair and condition it as you usually would.
If the hair is still too oily you may need to wash it twice. Concentrate on washing the roots and only do just enough to the ends of the hair where you want the oil to do its magic work. You can then go on to style your hair and be generally stunned as to how smooth and soft your hair is, after applying the coconut oil. If your hair is in bad shape you will need to apply the oil each time you wash it. As the condition of the hair improves you can back off to a regular treatment of once a week. If you maintain the treatment you will find that your hair will grow both longer and stronger.
Hair is rather like a tube and as such is hollow inside. This is often called the hair shaft. Coconut oil is a natural product and has water loving chemical groups as part of its makeup. This means that it is ideally made to get into the hair shaft and fill it up. This then gives the hair more body and makes it look full and thick.
During normal hair treatments such as washing and styling, the hair fibers are subjected to alternate swelling and shrinking. This is due to alternate water absorption, retention and loss. This is a type of hair fatigue. Coconut helps to prevent this because once it has penetrated the core of the hair it prevents it swelling up. This is the reason why coconut oil helps to protect your hair even during heat treatments.
Hair is made up from protein and these proteins can be lost from the hair. This causes damage and weakness to the hair. Regular moisturizing with coconut oil helps to stop the protein being lost from your hair. Coconut oil will seal the hair from the outside and this means that moisture is kept in the hair. This means that it will have a shiny and silky feel to it. The coconut oil in the shaft of the hair can move down into the hair follicle where it supplies moisture. This helps to protect it from heat damage due to styling and chemical damage from other hair treatments. Coconut oil contains some specific substances which have been identified as being very good for the health and growth of hair. These are all natural substances and are found in useful amounts in coconut oil.
One of these substances is called lauric acid. This is well known as an antimicrobial agent. Microbes on the scalp have been identified as one reason that hair may be lost from the scalp. The microbes may collect in hair follicles and cause
weakened low quality hair to be produced. Lauric acid can help prevent the build up of these microbes in hair follicles. This then, in turn, helps to stimulate new growth, which is also stronger and healthier. Lauric acid seems to be particularly good at stimulating new growth at and around the hair line. The substance called capric acid is another antimicrobial agent which is found in coconut oil and acts in a similar way to lauric acid. The antimicrobial action of coconut oil protects against scalp infections and dandruff as well as preventing hair follicle infections. All of this leads to better quality hair and less of the hair falling out due to weakness.
To deal with dandruff you should use a circular motion to massage the oil into the scalp. This will help to remove the scales of dead skin cells that characterize the dandruff condition. This massaging will also moisturize the skin layers below the surface of the scalp, which will help to prevent future occurrences of dandruff. The lauric acid will use its antimicrobial nature to kill any bacteria and fungi that could go on to cause dandruff at a later date. Regular use of coconut oil helps stop dandruff forming in a far gentler way compared to commercial anti dandruff shampoos. Coconut oil also contains vitamin E which is well known as being responsible for maintaining the health of the scalp skin. This vitamin maintains healthy hair production and helps to keep your hair shiny and bouncy.
A lot of people are gradually changing their usual hair care products for ones that use coconut oil as the main active ingredient. They are then reaping the benefits of this super conditioner. There is also a move to use coconut oil products for styling the hair as well. The reason for this is that the oil can be made to act in the same way as hair waxes and gels. In doing this job they moisturize the hair and scalp at the same time. Coconut styling products don’t damage the hair in the same way that other styling products can. One key factor in the use of coconut oil in this area is the fact that it can keep moisturizing the hair at just about any temperature that is used during the styling process. (SOURCE: 107 EVERYDAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
HOW TO TREAT PSORIASIS WITH COCONUT OIL
People suffering from psoriasis often feel embarrassed, conscious and get bullied due to their skin’s appearance. It is a chronic autoimmune disease caused due to excess buildup of skin cells. This happens when our body’s defense mechanism mistakenly thinks our skin cells with foreign particles.
Red, scaly, itchy patches and elevated skin are some of the common symptoms observed in people suffering from psoriasis. Apart from the skin, psoriasis can also affect joints and nails.
It can be triggered by many environment factors, diabetes, viral or bacterial infection, uncontrolled stress, smoking, certain medicines, and obesity.
Even though there is no complete cure available for psoriasis, its symptoms can be reduced to a maximum extent by simple home remedies.
Honey, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, turmeric are some of the ingredients you can try to reduce psoriasis. But in this article, we will know about coconut oil for psoriasis in detail.
Healthy Benefits of Coconut Oil for Psoriasis
Coconut oil contains fatty acids which improve communication between the cells and improve cell wall durability.
Its anti-inflammatory properties reduce the inflammation caused by psoriasis.
Kinetin present in coconut oil is a powerful antioxidant which reduces the damage from free radicals.
Its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties deal with microbial activity.
Vitamin E and K present in it will regain and lock the moisture in the skin cell.
It soothes the skin and removes the flakes.
Consuming coconut oil increases body’s resistance power against virus and bacteria.
It helps in controlling diabetes, metabolism issues, cholesterol levels and abdominal fat.
How to Use Coconut Oil for Psoriasis?
There are many ways of using coconut oil to treat psoriasis. We have listed them in detail below. Choose any method as per your convenience to reduce the symptoms of psoriasis.
Coconut oil is completely safe to use for psoriasis on feet, hands, legs, nails, genitals, scalp and plague psoriasis, penile psoriasis and pustular psoriasis. Not only adults, application of coconut oil can also be used to use psoriasis in babies and kids.
1) Coconut Oil
Include 2 – 4 tablespoons of coconut oil in your daily diet. You can incorporate it by consuming directly, adding it juices, and sautéing veggies or can be used as an alternative for butter.
Apply a small amount of coconut oil 3 times a day on psoriasis affected areas. Leave it to dry completely.
2) Coconut Oil with Beeswax and Honey
Process 1:
Honey reduces the inflammation and locks moisture in skin cells.
Mix 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of honey.
Whisk well until the ingredient mix well.
Apply the mixture on psoriasis affected areas.
Rinse off with water after 20 minutes.
Repeat daily.
Process 2:
The anti-inflammatory properties of beeswax reduce the inflammation.
In a bowl, mix enough amounts of coconut oil, beeswax (melted) and honey.
Stir well and apply it gently on psoriasis affected areas.
Let it rest for few minutes and rinse it off with water.
Repeat regularly.
3) Coconut Oil with Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar balances the pH level and reduces the inflammation.
Combine 2 parts of coconut oil and 1 part of apple cider vinegar.
Mix well and apply it on the psoriasis affected areas.
Leave the mask for 20 to 30 minutes.
Rinse and pat dry.
Repeat 2 times a day.
For extra benefits, you can also add 2 parts of honey into it.
4) Turmeric with Coconut Oil
Combine 1/2 teaspoon turmeric with 1 tablespoon coconut oil.
Apply the mixture on affected areas.
Rinse off with water after 2 hours.
Repeat daily.
5) Psoriasis Cream with Coconut Oil
Using a double boiler, melt down 1 ounce each of beeswax pellets and coconut oil.
Once the ingredients meltdown, remove from the flame.
Pour the mixture into a container and let it cool down to solidify.
Scoop out enough mixture and apply on psoriasis affected areas.
Repeat the application several times a day.
6) Coconut Oil with Camphor
Combine 1 cup of cold compresses coconut oil and a pinch of camphor.
Stir well and apply the mixture on psoriasis affected areas.
Massage gently for at least half an hour.
Take a lukewarm shower and pat dry.
7) Coconut Oil with Neem
Process 1:
Neem is known to treat any kind of skin disease which includes psoriasis as well. It contains antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties.
Burn some neem bark and neem seeds until they turn into ashes.
Mix the ashes with enough coconut oil to make a cream.
Apply the cream on psoriasis affected areas.
Leave it on for few minutes and rinse off with water.
Repeat regularly.
Process 2: with Leaves
Grind a handful of neem leaves into a smooth paste.
Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into it and mix well.
Apply it on the affected areas and leave it on for 20 minutes.
Rinse off with water and pat dry.
Repeat daily.
8) Coconut Oil with Avocado Oil and Lavender Oil
Mix enough amounts of coconut oil, lavender oil and avocado oil.
Using a cotton ball, apply the solution on psoriasis affected areas.
Leave it on for few minutes and rinse off with water.
Repeat the process regularly.
9) Coconut oil with Tea Tree Oil for Scalp Psoriasis
Tea tree oil reduces itching, inflammation and burning sensation.
Combine 2 to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and 5 to 10 drops of tea tree oil.
Massage the mixture on scalp and leave it on overnight.
Rinse off using a mild shampoo.
Repeat the process daily.
10) Coconut Oil with Aloe Vera
Aloe vera moisturizes the skin and reduces the inflammation, swelling and flaking.
Combine 1 teaspoon each of lukewarm coconut oil and freshly extracted aloe vera.
Mix well and apply it on psoriasis affected areas.
Gently massage the mixture in circular motion for 20 minutes.
Leave it overnight or rinse off with water after 20 minutes.
Repeat the process daily.
For extra benefits, you can add few drops each of lavender, rose and peppermint oil.
Or you can also add vitamin E oil to the mixture.
11) Coconut Oil with Lavender Oil and Frankincense Oil
Combine 1 teaspoon coconut oil, 3 drops each of lavender oil and frankincense oil.
Rub the mixture on the psoriasis affected areas.
Leave it to dry completely.
Repeat regularly.
Alternatively, you can use Melrose essential oil instead of frankincense oil.
Coconut Oil for Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammation of psoriasis. People suffering from psoriasis can develop psoriatic arthritis. Being anti-inflammatory, coconut oil can be used to treat it. Consume few tablespoons of coconut oil daily either through food or directly. You can also take coconut oil supplements as well.
Coconut Oil Soap for Psoriasis
Make soap by using the following process. Use this soap instead of soaps made with harsh chemicals.
Take few cubes of Melt and Pour Soap Base.
Using a double boiler, melt them down.
Once melted, remove from the flame.
Add enough amounts of coconut oil and stir well.
Pour into moulds and set them aside to solidify.
Once they are set, remove from the moulds.
For extra benefits, add any essential oil of your choice.
Tips and Precautions:
Always use raw, virgin and cold compresses coconut oil.
Avoid coconut oil if you are allergic to it.
Patch test before trying regular treatments.
Avoid soaps, shampoos and lotions that contain harsh chemicals like lauryl sulfate and paraben.
Avoid scratching psoriasis affected areas as it can worsen it.
Reduce red meat, pork and poultry.
Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
Eat a nutritional diet and exercise regularly to strengthen your immune system.
Instead of chemical based moisturizers, use coconut oil, shea butter or cocoa butter to moisturize your skin.
Take vitamin D and omega 3 supplements.
Are you going to try coconut oil to treat psoriasis? Share your experience, suggestions and queries in the comments section below. (SOURCE: 107 EVERYDAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
COCONUT OIL TO PREVENT HEART DISEASE
Across the world heart disease is a major concern. It is responsible for more than 13 million deaths every year and in America more than 70 million people suffer from some sort of heart or circulatory problem. Out of all of the forms of cardiovascular disease the most common is coronary artery disease. This is caused by the build up of fatty plaque material in the small coronary artery which supplies oxygen and food to the heart muscles themselves.The onset of coronary heart disease is mainly influenced by lifestyle choices and also by inherited characteristics. The main factors which can lead to coronary heart disease are high blood cholesterol, heredity, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.
The process of fatty plaque build up in the coronary and other arteries is called atherosclerosis. This in turn causes the arteries to become hardened. The hardening of the arteries makes it more difficult for blood to flow through them and this can in turn increase the rate of atherosclerosis. It is not known what actually starts the atherosclerosis process but it may initially be due to damage to the artery wall caused by such things as free radicals, toxins, bacteria and or viruses.
Once the damage has occurred platelets in the blood react by sticking to the damaged area in an attempt to heal it. It is at this point that other materials such as cholesterol, triglycerides and calcium become deposited in the damaged area. This leads to the build up of scar tissue. All of these materials become a part of the fatty plaque attached to the artery wall. The build up restricts the flow of blood in the artery because it narrows the hole down which the blood flows. This is doubly problematic in the small coronary arteries supplying the heart itself. The narrowing of the coronary artery also causes red blood cells to drag against the rough scar tissue. This can result in the increased risk of blood clots forming. This then, is coronary heart disease and a real killer in our modern world.
Saturated fats and trans saturated fats are responsible for the majority of the fats deposited in the atherosclerosis. This is because they lead to the build up of the bad LDL variety of cholesterol in the blood. This is the fatty stuff that gets deposited on the artery walls. It would therefore seem strange to recommend a type of saturated fat as a solution for the atherosclerosis problem, but this is just the case when considering coconut oil. Ninety percent of the oil is in a saturated form.
This is one reason that coconut oil hasn’t been taken seriously over the years.
In order to understand the importance of coconut oil you have to appreciate that the saturated fats in coconut are made up differently. Once again the Medium Chain Triglycerides come into play. As we have found out, these behave differently.
These are broken down efficiently and then taken to the liver where they are burnt to provide energy. The usual long chain triglycerides from meat and dairy products aren’t broken down like this and end up being repackaged in the liver as fatty proteins. These then have a bad effect on the level of LDL or bad cholesterol in the blood which in turn leads to atherosclerosis. Coconut oil has the opposite effect in that it increases the levels of the good HDL cholesterol. This type of cholesterol helps to protect the arteries against fatty build ups and in turn fights against heart disease.
It is well known that places like Sri Lanka and India have a very low incidence of coronary heart disease and this is now put down to the regular use of coconut oil in their cooking. It is also interesting to note that India is now having increasing problems with heart disease and this is since traditional coconut oil has been replaced by western style vegetable oils. The same situation has been seen where peoples from the Polynesian islands moved to New Zealand. The Polynesians had very little incidence of heart disease and used a lot of coconut oil as it is native to the islands. Once the people moved to New Zealand they started using vegetable oils instead and since then the incidence of heart disease in the migrated populations has rocketed.
Clearly it is obvious that despite the initial appearance of coconut as a bad oil containing bad saturated fats it is actually a better choice to other oils and should be used as often as possible in order to improve your diet and reduce the chance of heart disease. (SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
COCONUT OIL AND ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA TREATMENT
Normal brain cross sectionThe fear of Alzheimer’s amongst Western populations is only topped by the fear of getting cancer. This fear is also getting bigger as life span is increasing and the population of pensioners is getting larger. It is a horrible disease involving a person slowly having failing memory, strange behaviors and loss of normal body functions. I had to watch while my mother slowly withered and died away over a period of 6 years. I don’t think that I have fully recovered from those lost years yet. It is no wonder that people will try almost anything to try and avoid the condition.
There has been a lot of research into Alzheimer’s but as yet there is no identifiable cure on the horizon. There have been the occasional revelation about a discovery but real results quickly fade into the distance as people fail to respond to proposed treatments. There are drugs which can delay the onset of the disease but as I discovered with my mother’s case they can often have side effects that are far worse than the condition itself. The gains she made from the drug were very modest indeed and the doctors said that she may have gained 6 months and that was about it. Eventually she had to go into a home and have 24 hour care. At this point she had been robbed of real speech, concentration and even the ability to stand up. Even from here there was just over a year of undignified care until she eventually went to her maker. Some people have discovered that coconut oil can help them with this condition and this has led to scientific research into why this should be so.
Alzheimer’s brain cross section
The Alzheimer’s condition in characterized by the development of plaques of the protein amyloid-β(Aβ) inside the brain. . It is thought that these plaques somehow prevent nervous connections happening within the brain. This then leads to the disruption of thoughts and memories that is seen in people suffering from Alzheimer’s. Researchers have concentrated on these plaques in the search for a cure for the disease. The simple idea is that if you remove the plaques then the brain will regain its ability to communicate and that the thought process and memories will return.
Most of the drugs that have been proposed and tested are designed to interfere in some way with the production of the amyloid-β(Aβ) protein. This should result in the delaying of the onset of the Alzheimer’s condition. It is unfortunate that a lot of the tests have had to be abandoned when human trials have started. This has been due to a range of unrelated effects that the newly produced drugs have had and the fact that some have even made the Alzheimer’s condition worse in a number of the subjects.
This is the area where the majority of research money is and has been spent. The failures in this have led other researchers to propose a different idea about how Alzheimer’s actually develops. This new research has been prompted in part from the anecdotal evidence that coconut oil can improve the condition of Alzheimer’s sufferers. Instead of studying the amyloid-β(Aβ) protein plaques which occur in the later stages of Alzheimer’s they were determined to look at changes that occur in the early stages. It is thought that any observations at these times would point more directly to the actual cause of the disease. It may in fact be that the amyloid-β(Aβ) protein is merely the end result of a lot of other changes in the brain. Initial research into the early stages of Alzheimer’s has found some interesting factors that are now being studied in more detail. It has been identified that there is a link between people who have a resistance to insulin and the onset of Alzheimer’s.
This has lead to it being referred to as a form of diabetes. In a small number of cases it has been found that the early stages of Alzheimer’s is also linked to a problem inside cells themselves. Every cell has special organelles called mitochondria. These are the powerhouses of the cell and produce energy from glucose sugars. In Alzheimer’s suffers the mitochondria don’t function very well and as a result there isn’t enough energy produced for the cell’s needs. It also leads to the production of oxidizing compounds which can damage cells. When these cells are in the brain you can see that they won’t be performing as well as they should and this in turn will restrict the mental ability of a person.
There has also been a lot of interest in dietary fat content and its effect on the brain. It should be noted that the majority of the brain is made up of fatty material. Amongst other things, the fat is used in the brain around nerve cells to insulate them from each other. This is a bit like the plastic cover around wires used in electrical circuits. Without this plastic insulation the electricity could easily move into other wires that it touches. In a similar way nerve cells need to transmit electrical signals down their length and the fatty sheaths around them stop any cross wires and also speed the signals along the length of the nerve cells.
You should see that anything changing the fat content of the brain could easily affect its performance. There is one particular type of fat that appears to be very important for brain function and that is cholesterol. There are 2 kinds of cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is low density and HDL cholesterol is high density cholesterol. The brain appears to need the LDL version of cholesterol for a healthy life. It has been found that people with high levels of LDL cholesterol in their blood tend to live longer and also have better mental acuity when they are older. It has also been suggested that the body will tend to increase the levels of blood cholesterol in an attempt to prevent Alzheimer’s by increasing its availability to the brain.
There is more and more evidence appearing which suggests that problems in the brain involving the use of cholesterol are responsible for the Alzheimer’s condition. This has been backed up by the examination of the brain and spinal fluids. It has been found that in Alzheimer’s sufferers the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides is much reduced. Cholesterol is also important for the integrity of the protective membrane around nerve cells. With low LDL blood cholesterol the cell membranes are weaker which means that they are more prone to attack from bacteria and other pathogens as well as being more easily damaged by substances such as free radicals and hydrogen peroxide. This would all seem to suggest that brain health needs a good supply of LDL cholesterol from the blood stream. Population studies amongst the elderly have shown that those with brain conditions such as depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s have far lower blood cholesterol levels compared to those with out the conditions.
Alzheimer’s probably starts with a problem in the supply of cholesterol and other fats to nerve cells in the brain. This then leads to damage due to oxidation and mitochondria that no longer work correctly. The nerve cells have to try and use other sources than glucose for producing their energy because they can no longer rely on their damaged mitochondria. Eventually the nerves can’t transmit their electrical signals effectively. The cells produce amyloid-β(Aβ) as a substitute for cholesterol and to enable the cells to use alternative energy sources. The amyloid β(Aβ) also helps to try and prevent oxidation damage to the cell’s membrane. Eventually even the amyloid-β(Aβ) can not cope with the worsening situation within the nerve cell. At this point these cells are looked on as a danger to the rest of the healthy nerve cells around them and as a result they are destroyed by the body’s own defense system. Destroyed cells mean lost memories and lost mental ability which are the classic symptoms of Alzheimer’s sufferers.
The cell membranes of nerve cells in the brain need to be repaired all of the time. In order to do this they need to be provided with fresh supplies of LDL cholesterol. Unfortunately there has been a trend since the 1960s in making people have low cholesterol diets. This is mainly in response to another damaging condition which is heart disease. Unfortunately LDL cholesterol has been targeted as the causative agent for this condition. People have not only been told to avoid cholesterol containing foods they have also been prescribed more and more cholesterol reducing drugs. In particular this has led to a large part of the drug industry being involved in the production of these heavily prescribed Statin type of medicines.
We regularly get doctors saying that everybody over 50 should be given a pill to take every day to reduce the chance of getting heart disease. The main ingredient in these pills would be Statin based. This means that in the future the majority of people would be on cholesterol reducing drugs. It has however been noticed that as these low fat diets have taken hold and more and more Statins have been prescribed there has been a parallel increase in the numbers of people suffering from dementia. This is not direct proof that the two factors are related but it does give prevalence to the notion that the reduction in blood cholesterol levels in people could be linked to the problems that we are now seeing in more and more people’s brains. More information about the proposed role of cholesterol depletion and Alzheimer’s can be found by looking at the following research paper: Cholesterol and Alzheimer's. This is a scientific paper published by the European Journal of Internal Medicine and as a result is very technical in its detail.
Due to the above indicated problems caused by the inability of brain cells to get the cholesterol that they require and the damage caused by oxidation it has been proposed that the best way to deal with Alzheimer’s is to change your diet. The diet needs to have less processed carbohydrates and proportionally more fats and cholesterol. As well as this, the inclusion of antioxidants in the diet will also help to prevent the oxidative damage that is seen in Alzheimer’s. This helps to explain how coconut oil can be good for Alzheimer’s sufferers.
Medium Chain triglycerides in coconut oil seem to help with Alzheimer’s. If you take 2 table spoons of virgin coconut oil every day you could see some positive results even within a day. The best way of taking this oil is with your cooking. However, you can make sure that you have the right amount by including it with your breakfast. You can add it to warm breakfast cereals such as oats. In this form it is also easier to eat because the warmth of the cereal tends to change the coconut oil into a more palatable liquid form.
People taking coconut oil for Alzheimer’s have often described it as being like a light being suddenly turned on as their memory begins to be active once again. This does not mean that a person with this condition can expect a full recovery. There is a points system for determining the memory ability with Alzheimer’s sufferers and it had been shown that people taking coconut oil could expect something like a 2 point increase in their ability on the scale used. This could be the difference in knowing where they are, the area where they live and other important information which allows people to be more independent in their day to day lives. Although it isn’t exactly clear how these increases in cognitive ability are actually achieved, it thought to be due to the way that Medium Chain Triglycerides are metabolized within the body.
They are first delivered to the liver where they are broken down to form new compounds called ketone bodies. These are then released into the blood stream and travel around the body and in particular to the brain. Once in the brain it seems that the brain cells take up the ketone bodies more easily that the normal energy source of glucose. The damaged brain cells then use the ketone bodies to provide energy for the cells to do its work. The cells become more active and this often results in the return of short term memory ability. It is thought that reduced supply of energy rich compounds such as glucose to brain cells is responsible for a lot of the damage in the brain associated with the Alzheimer’s condition. This lack of nutrients causes the brain cells to age before their time and then allows for the dementia condition to develop. In addition to providing an alternative energy source for brain cells it is also thought that coconut oil also has the effect of increasing the supply of blood to the brain and in doing so provides extra nutrients and oxygen for respiration. Ketone metabolism is the alternative energy source that the damaged cells need especially if the nerve cells have malfunctioning mitochondria and can’t use glucose any more.
Coconut oil is not the total answer to dementia and as a result people should look at the rest of their diet, the amount of exercise they do and the level of mental stimulation that they get. It has been shown that taking exercise on a regular basis is a good way of preventing the occurrence of Alzheimer’s. It is a well known fact that people in the Western world take less and less exercise the older that they get. This exercise can amount to walking for at least half an hour each day. In terms of mental stimulation it is a case of use your brain and memory or lose it. Certainly having coconut oil in your diet can help with Alzheimer’s and it may also prevent people from getting the condition in the first place.
Although coconut oil contains antioxidants it is best to have additional sources of these valuable compounds in your diet. Increasing the fruit content of your diet or consuming Rooibos tea is one way to increase your antioxidant intake. There is also the problem of the Statin drugs that people are taking for heart conditions. This is bound to reduce the effectiveness of the coconut oil that you consume. However, you should consult a medical professional about your Statin intake. You certainly shouldn’t make any changes to the drugs that you take if they are prescribed by your doctor. However, if you think that these might be a problem you should discuss the amount that you are taking with the doctor that has prescribed them for you. ( SOURCE: 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCNUT OIL)
BUTTERFLY WINGS
NATURE HAD IT FIRST: The wings of a butterfly are so fragile that
even the weight of specks of dust or drops of moisture could make flying
difficult. Nevertheless, the wings stay clean and
dry. What is the butterfly secret?
THE STORAGE CAPACITY OF DNA:
NATURE HAD IT FIRST: The wings of a butterfly are so fragile that
even the weight of specks of dust or drops of moisture could make flying
difficult. Nevertheless, the wings stay clean and
dry. What is the butterfly secret?
CONSIDER: Researchers at
Ohio state university studying the giant blue morpho butterfly ( morpho didius)
found that although the insects wings look smooth to the naked eye, the
surfaces are covered with minute overlapping scales that resemble tiles on a
roof . Even tinier parallel grooves on the surface of these scales cause dirt
or drops of water to roll off with ease. Engineers are seeking to copy the
wings texture in order to make high- tech coatings for Industry and medical
equipment that are resistant to dirt and water. The butterfly's wing is another
example of how science is trying to mimic the designs found in living
things."Nature is full of engineering marvels, from the micro to the macro
scale, that have inspired mankind for centuries," says researcher Bharat
Bhushan.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Did the
butterfly's wing come about by evolution? Or was it Created? (Awake)
NATURE HAD IT FIRST:Computer users generate enormous amounts of digital data that has to be stored for access as needed. Scientists are hoping to revolutionize current methods for digital storage by imitating a far superior data storage system found in nature- DNA.
CONSIDER: DNA, found in living cells holds billions of pieces of biological information. “We can extract it from bones of woolly mammoths... and make sense of it," says Nick Goldman of European Bioinformatics institute. "It also incredibly small, dense and does not need any power for storage, so shipping and keeping it is easy." Could DNA store manmade data? Researchers say YES. Scientists have synthesized DNA with encoded text, images, and audio files, much as digital media stores data. The researchers were later able to decode the stored information with 100% accuracy. Scientists believe that in time, using this method, one gram of artificial DNA could store the data of some 3 million CDs and that all this information could be preserved for hundreds if not thousands of years. Potently, this system could store the whole world's digital archive. DNA has thus been dubbed "the ultimate hard drive".
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Could the storage capacity of DNA have come about by evolution? Or was it designed? (Awake).
HOW TO PREVENT AND TREAT CANCER NATURALLY
The Sour Sop or the fruit from the graviola tree is a miraculous
natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo.
Why are we not aware of this? Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale.
Why are we not aware of this? Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale.
So, since you know it now you can help a friend in need by
letting him know or just drink some sour sop juice yourself as prevention from
time to time. The taste is not bad after all. It’s completely natural and
definitely has no side effects. If you have the space, plant one in your
garden.
The other parts of the tree are also useful.
The other parts of the tree are also useful.
The next time you have a fruit juice, ask for a sour sop.
How many people died in vain while this billion-dollar drug
maker concealed the secret of the miraculous Graviola tree?
This tree is low and is called graviola ! in Brazi l, guanabana
in Spanish and has the uninspiring name “soursop” in English. The fruit is very
large and the subacid sweet white pulp is eaten out of hand or, more commonly,
used to make fruit drinks, sherbets and such.
The principal interest in this plant is because of its strong
anti-cancer effects. Although it is effective for a number of medical
conditions, it is its anti tumor effect that is of most interest. This plant is
a proven cancer remedy for cancers of all types.
Besides being a cancer remedy, graviola is a broad spectrum
antimicrobial agent for both bacterial and fungal infections, is effective
against internal parasites and worms, lowers high blood pressure and is used
for depression, stress and nervous disorders.
If there ever was a single example that makes it dramatically
clear why the existence of Health Sciences Institute is so vital to Americans
like you, it’s the incredible story behind the Graviola tree..
The truth is stunningly simple: Deep within the Amazon
Rainforest grows a tree that could literally revolutionize what you, your
doctor, and the rest of the world thinks about cancer treatment and chances of
survival. The future has never looked more promising.
Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous tree it
now may be possible to:
* Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss
* Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections
* Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment
* Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life
* Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss
* Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections
* Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment
* Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life
The source of this information is just as stunning: It comes
from one of America ‘s largest drug manufacturers, the fruit of over 20
laboratory tests conducted since the 1970's! What those tests revealed was
nothing short of mind numbing… Extracts from the tree were shown to:
* Effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of
cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancer..
* The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!
* What’s more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectivelyhunts
down and kills only cancer cells.. It does not harm healthy cells!
* The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!
* What’s more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectivelyhunts
down and kills only cancer cells.. It does not harm healthy cells!
The amazing anti-cancer properties of the Graviola tree have
been extensively researched–so why haven’t you heard anything about it? If Graviola
extract is One of America ‘s biggest billion-dollar drug makers began a search
for a cancer cure and their research centered on Graviola, a legendary healing
tree from the Amazon Rainforest.
Various parts of the Graviola tree–including the bark, leaves,
roots, fruit and fruit-seeds–have been used for centuries by medicine men and
native Indians in South America to treat heart disease, asthma, liver problems
and arthritis. Going on very little documented scientific evidence, the company
poured money and resources into testing the tree’s anti-cancerous
properties–and were shocked by the results. Graviola proved itself to be a
cancer-killing dynamo.
But that’s where the Graviola story nearly ended.
But that’s where the Graviola story nearly ended.
The company had one huge problem with the Graviola tree–it’s
completely natural, and so, under federal law, not patentable. There’s no way
to make serious profits from it. It turns out the drug company invested nearly
seven years trying to synthesize two of the Graviola tree’s most powerful
anti-cancer ingredients. If they could isolate and produce man-made clones of
what makes the Graviola so potent, they’d be able to patent it and make their
money back. Alas, they hit a brick wall. The original simply could not be replicated.
There was no way the company could protect its profits–or even make back the
millions it poured into research.
As the dream of huge profits evaporated, their testing on
Graviola came to a screeching halt. Even worse, the company shelved the entire project
and chose not to publish the findings of its research!
Fortunately, however, there was one scientist from the Graviola
research team whose conscience wouldn’t let him see such atrocity committed.
Risking his career, he contacted a company that’s dedicated to harvesting
medical plants from the Amazon Rainforest and blew the whistle.
Miracle unleashed
When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were alerted to the news of Graviola,! they began tracking the research done on the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of Graviola–and its shocking cover-up–came in fast and furious….
When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were alerted to the news of Graviola,! they began tracking the research done on the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of Graviola–and its shocking cover-up–came in fast and furious….
….The National Cancer Institute performed the first scientific
research in 1976. The results showed that Graviola’s “leaves and stems were
found effective in attacking and destroying malignant cells.” Inexplicably, the
results were published in an internal report and never released to the public…
….Since 1976, Graviola has proven to be an immensely potent
cancer killer in 20 independent laboratory tests, yet no double-blind clinical
trials–the typical benchmark mainstream doctors and journals use to judge a
treatment’s value–were ever initiated….
….A study published in the Journal of Natural Products,
following a recent study conducted at Catholic University of South Korea stated
that one chemical in Graviola was found to selectively kill colon cancer cells
at “10,000 times the potency of (the commonly used chemotherapy drug)
Adriamycin…”
….The most significant part of the Catholic University of South
Korea report is that Graviola was shown to selectively target the cancer cells,
leaving healthy cells untouched. Unlike chemotherapy, which indiscriminately
targets all actively reproducing cells (such as stomach and hair cells),
causing the often devastating side effects of nausea and hair loss in cancer
patients.
…A study at Purdue University recently found that leaves from
the Graviola tree killed cancer cells among six human cell lines and were
especially effective against prostate, pancreatic and lung cancers Seven years
of silence broken–it’s finally here!!!
(SOURCE; SOUPSOP RESEACH TEAM)
(SOURCE; SOUPSOP RESEACH TEAM)
Ensure you add Sour sop as part of your fruits intake on a
weekly bases. Doing this will help prevent and treat cancer.
IMPORTANCE OF COCONUT OIL
Everyday
Uses for Coconut Oil
There’s been a lot of hype about coconut oil lately, and
there are so many claims being made that it sounds nothing short of a miracle.
Well it’s really not a cure-all, and what works for other people may not work
for you, but it still is pretty dandy to have around. With a little bit of
resourcefulness and a dash of creativity, you can find over one hundred
everyday uses for coconut oil.
This is the holy grail for coconut oil uses! What a great
list. A must read for anyone interested in living healthy and DIY.
1. Moisturize Your Skin: The very first
thing on this list, before even delving into the “edible” benefits of coconut
oil, has to be moisturizing. In lieu of your regular lotion, coconut oil
delivers a refreshing, healing, burst of moisture that penetrates your skin and
works to truly heal it (not just soak in and dry up!) It can feel oily at
first, but that’s why it’s important to only use a little-it goes a long way.
Give it a minute and it will dry beautifully. Use as you would regular lotion.
2. Conditioner: When the teeny tiny overlapping
plates that make up our outer hair shaft get rumpled and out of whack, coconut
oil is there to smooth those tiny little cells right back into place, and hold
them there. You can use it on your entire scalp/head for deep conditioning, but
you can generally just use it on your ends, where it’s the hardest for the
body’s natural oils to reach, and where the most breakage occurs.
3. Make Homemade Soap: If you’re interested
in soap making, coconut oil serves as a wonderful pure base that can simplify
ingredients, add hardness to the soap, and help break down grease and oils. It
can break them down so effectively, in fact, that too much will have a drying
effect (when in soap form.) To prevent this, you need to “superfat” your
soap-that is, adding more oil than the lye turns to soap. All you need is
coconut oil, water, and lye. Don’t be shy of lye. While it should be handled
with care, I find it essential to soap making, and it eliminates a slew of
other chemicals that you would need to add to recreate its effects.
4. Weight Loss: Coconut oil and weight
loss-what’s really going on? Well, if you sit around eating coconut oil, you
aren’t going to lose weight. However, if used to substitute other fats, it can
help you drop the pounds by taking the place of those other calories. Unlike
most saturated fats, it’s mainly comprised of medium chain fatty acids, versus
long chain fatty acids. This difference in molecular structure means that it
doesn’t get packed away as fat as easily and instead is sent straight to the
liver to be metabolized, giving you a boost in energy. This energy in turn
makes exercising easier, and the exercise in turn helps you lose weight.
Another major factor that it plays is as an appetite suppressant. Craving
something you shouldn’t be? Have a tablespoon or 2 of coconut oil, and that
sensation won’t last long!
5. Energy Booster: If weight loss isn’t your
goal, just run with the fact (no pun intended) that it gives you a great boost
in energy-and who doesn’t need some help in that department every now and
again? Some people also feel it helps boost their mental alertness.
6. Itchy Dogs: My pup has atopic dermatitis,
also known as the world’s worst allergies. He gets goopy eyes, scabby ears from
scratching them too much, and will literally scratch himself raw and bloody
without treatment. In addition to his daily care regime, he gets coconut oil.
From the inside out, coconut oil can help nourish the dry, irritated, or
inflamed skin that is the result of the inappropriate response to various
allergens. It did not cure him of his allergies, though there are people who
say it has gotten rid of their dog’s allergies completely, but it does help
reduce the itching. If your pup chews their paws and stains them red/pink/brown
it can help in that department as well, as that is also a sign of allergies.
Start with ½ teaspoon a day and work your way up to 1 tablespoon for 40+ pound
dogs, and 1-2 teaspoons for dogs that weigh less. They usually go crazy for it!
7. Fungal Infections: The medium chain fatty
acids found abundantly in coconut oil are incredibly effective natural
fungicides. In a (coco)nut shell, they naturally insert themselves into the
fungal membrane, which is crucial to maintaining the life of the fungus. This
destruction of the membrane leads to the destruction of the fungus as a whole
and voila! The fungus is eradicated. It is important to be diligent with
applications of the coconut oil until your symptoms have cleared.
8. Cold Sores: Cold sores are caused by the
herpes simplex virus, generally type 1, and as such they have no cure. If you harken
back to science class, you’ll recall that bacteria can be wiped out, while a
virus cannot. So how can coconut oil possibly help? It doesn’t wipe out the
virus, but it can inhibit its assembly and how it spreads. Coconut oil contains
a substance known as lauric acid. When combined with glycerol, it creates a
substance known as monolaurin. Studies done so far have shown that monolaurin
affects the lipid envelope of the virus, and prevents the virus from
reproducing how it normally would. In turn, it is not able to spread as
efficiently and tends not to last as long. Apply a bit of coconut oil directly
to the sore several times a day.
9. Coffee Creamer: In replacement of higher
calorie coffee creamers (such milk and sugar) stir a little coconut oil into
your coffee for a sweet (but not “too sweet”) and healthy touch. Make sure to
stir it in well! If you notice it floating to the top, try stirring partway through
your drink, or just add a little less next time. Make sure your joe is piping
hot when you add it in, otherwise you might get some unwanted unmelted coconut
oil popping up.
10. Healthy Wood Polish: Most wood polish coats
surfaces in a slick layer of synthetic chemicals, which makes the wood look all
sleek and shiny…for a little bit. Coconut oil, on the other hand, sinks into
the wood and keeps it looking “healthy” longer. The appearance is much more
natural, and it stays that way. It may not look as dramatic as a store bought
polisher, but I find it a much more pleasant and effective option to keeping
wood looking it’s best.
11. Lower Cholesterol and Risk of Heart
Disease: Cholesterol is a waxy substance found your cells, which helps
continuously build more vital cells. It goes about its way through your blood
stream attached to proteins known as lipoproteins. There are low-density
lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL.) HDL is the “good”
cholesterol-you want to lower LDL, but raise HDL. LDL carries cholesterol
throughout your body and delivers it to organs and tissues. The problem is, if
you have too much cholesterol, the excess keeps circulating. The constantly
circulating LDL will eventually penetrate blood vessel walls where they build
up plaques and narrow blood vessels, sometimes to the point blocking blood
flow, causing coronary artery disease. HDL, on the other hand, picks up excess
cholesterol and brings it to your liver to be broken down. Coconut oil,
probably due to its high levels of lauric acid, will boost HDL. There’s no
solid evidence saying that coconut oil alone will prevent heart disease, but
there is solid evidence that it boosts HDL, therefore lowering cholesterol, and
hypothetically reducing the risk of heart disease. Take ½-1 tablespoon daily.
12. Reduce Risk (or effect) of Alzheimer’s : Alzheimer’s
is devastating to all who experience it, whether personally or with a friend or
family member. It is no wonder that we search so desperately for a cure. The
word that coconut oil could possibly “cure” or prevent Alzheimer’s started
circulating with vigor when a pediatrician published a book about feeding
coconut oil to her husband, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, and got positive
results. Other studies have confirmed that ketones, which are essentially
“brain food” provided to keep the brain functioning when the body runs lower on
glucose, can help improve memory, and potentially “reverse” the effects of
Alzheimer’s. It’s a much more complex subject and process, but that’s it in a
really wrapped up nutshell. The dosing that I have uncovered implies 2
teaspoons taken daily with food to help improve cognitive function.
13. Soothe Fly Bites: Oh the sweet relief of
coconut oil. When the black flies start biting, it’s the first thing to reach
for. I use it the most on my horse come summertime to soothe any nasty bites
that she gets, but don’t hesitate to dab a little on myself (or the dogs.) Just
get a little on your fingertips and apply it directly to the bite.
14. Oil/Butter Replacement: There’s no
better way to get the benefits of coconut oil than to replace other less
desirable fats with it. When cooking or baking, substitute it for butter or
just about any oil. It lends moisture, freshness, and richness to baked goods,
and a subtle complimentary flavor to savory dishes. How much you substitute
will depend on the recipe you are making. For baking, most people will fall in
the 1:1 ratio or 80% coconut oil 20% water when subbing for butter. For basic
cakes, cookies, and brownies I find 1:1 to be sufficient. When it comes to more
complex pastries that get their flaky puffiness when steam is escaping, you may
find yourself tweaking the amount a little. For oil substituting, subbing 1:1
is a good route to go.
15. SPF Lip Balm: Lips are quite exposed to
the elements, and it’s not like there are “lip scarves” or “mouth mittens” to
protect them from the harsh world. One thing that’s especially over-looked is
sun exposure. You should really apply sunscreen to your lips for full protection,
but coconut oil also has a mild SPF protection. It can’t rival SPF 80 (indeed
it has an SPF of about 4-6) but even that little bit can help. Apply some
coconut oil just before heading out into the sun, and reapply every few hours.
I like to melt mine down with just ¼ teaspoon or so of beeswax, as I find it
easier to apply, and it has more staying power. Full Lip Balm Recipe
16. Exfoliating Body Scrub: One of my personal
favorite uses for coconut oil is serving as a base for body or face scrubs. You
can melt some down, stir in some sugar, let it cool, and then use as is. Or,
for a fun little project, melt down about a half cup of coconut oil and pour into
a muffin tin, soap mold, or anything of the like, and stir in 2-4 tablespoons
of white or brown sugar. You can add more if you would like the texture to be
coarser. I usually let it cool some before adding the sugar so you don’t just
dissolve the grains. Pop it in the fridge and let it solidify and cool
completely before removing from the mold. Slice off a piece when needed and use
it to gently scrub and exfoliate your face/body (dampen your skin with water
first.) Rinse off, apply moisturizer, and resist the urge to use it again until
later in the week, otherwise you run the risk of drying your skin out.
17. Make-Up Remover: Make-up is on your
face. Your face is something you would like to protect. So when it comes to
removing make-up, don’t turn for harsher store bought products. Go instead to
coconut oil, which gently and safely removes all traces of make-up (and leaves
your face feeling healthy and refreshed.) Simply scoop some onto your
fingertips (it will melt quickly as you use it) and rub it over make-up in a
circular motion, rinsing with water afterwards to remove traces of makeup and
patting your face dry. It works well with eye make-up, waterproof or not, as
well. You can use a mild soap if you wish to remove all traces of the oil.
18. Massage Oil: The benefits of massage are
countless, and we could all use one now and again. Rather than using a heavy
lotion, simply use coconut oil. You can add essential oils for scent if you
like, but I find the smell of coconut oil alone to be heavenly. It also leaves
your skin truly moisturized and soft.
19. Nail and Cuticle Treatment: Cuticles get
raggedy, nails get broken, chipped, or dull, and it’s not unusual for them to
need some TLC every now and then. While there is a plethora of store-bought
creams designed specially to miraculously make them look ready for a photo
shoot, they are typically over-priced and filled with weird ingredients. This
is where coconut oil comes in. Rub a little into your cuticles and over/around
your nails to help smooth out flaws and encourage healthy growth.
20. Diaper Cream: Got a little one with a
chapped or irritated bum? Look no further than pure coconut oil. I prefer it
over the hodge-podge of ingredients found in store bought creams-I like to know
what I am putting down there! With its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral
actions, plus its soothing and moisturizing benefits, it makes the ideal “DIY”
diaper cream. For a little extra soothing power, try melting it with a bit of
shea butter and whipping the two together after they have solidified some.
Apply only as much as needed to affected area as you would any other diaper
cream.
21. Nipple Cream: There’s nothing more
magical than breastfeeding…right?? As amazing as it is, you just can’t ignore
the painful cracked or chaffed nipples that often times come with it. And if
you need nipple cream, you sure as heck don’t want to be putting anything strange
where your little one is going to be putting their wee mouth. After
breastfeeding, and a couple of times a day as needed, gently rub a small amount
of coconut oil on and around the nipple. After you finish breastfeeding, be
sure to pat the area dry before applying the coconut oil.
22. Fight Inflammation : Coconut oil appears
to have a direct effect on suppressing the natural chemicals responsible for
mediating inflammation. The studies that have been done on this action so far
point to lauric acid and capric acid as the biggest contributors, both of which
are part of the magnificent medium chain fatty acids found naturally in coconut
oil (capric acid alone makes up roughly 10% on its own.)
23. Leather Polish: Use a soft dry cloth to
brush any excess dirt or dust off leather and apply a small amount of coconut
oil, rubbing it in in a circular motion. There’s no need to go overboard here!
Buff to a healthy shine with a soft cloth.
24. Remove Chewing Gum: Why does coconut oil
remove chewing gum? I don’t know, but I don’t feel the need to question it.
Whether its ground into your carpet or your kid is panicking because they think
they have to chop off a big chunk of gummy hair, coconut oil has a weird way of
getting the stuff out. Most likely, it sinks in and just makes it so the whole
glob glides out over the fibers/hairs easily. This is one case where you can
feel free to apply liberal amounts. Rub it thoroughly over the chewing gum and
let it sit for 2-5 minutes (or longer, if you deem it necessary.) Use a soft,
textured cloth to wipe the gum away. Follow up with a mild soap rinse (or
shampooing) to remove any excess oil.
25. Shaving Cream : Nothing is more
frustrating than lathering up with a bunch of shaving cream in the shower just
to have to all melt off again as the water hits it. Luckily, water rolls right
off oil, which means you have solid protection that allows your razor to glide
smoothly over your skin. It also leaves it soft, moisturized, and safe from
painful bumps and burns. Apply as you would any other cream before shaving.
Here is our recipe for chemical-free shaving cream.
26. Get Rid of Soap Scum: Soap is alkaline,
and most oils are acidic. This is part of why soap works so well against grease
and grime, most of which is stuck to us with oil. Apply a thin layer coconut
oil to the soap scum and let it sit for 10-20 minutes. Wipe away with the rough
side of a sponge, if the surface allows. For a little extra kick, mist the
coconut oil with some vinegar after applying it to boost the acidity.
27. Season Cast Iron Pans: “Seasoning” a
cast iron pan is the act of creating a fatty layer that coats the pan, protects
it, and also acts as a non-stick surface. Season with coconut oil the same as
you would any other type of fat. Typically I will apply a generous coating of
coconut oil to the inside of the pan and let it sit in a 250-350 degree
(Fahrenheit) oven for an hour or so. Place a cookie sheet under it and let the
pan lie upside down if you are worried about oil pooling and smoking. Remove the
pan, let it cool, and wipe out any excess oil. Repeat as needed.
28. Deodorant : Sweat on its own typically
doesn’t smell. In fact, most sweat doesn’t smell at all, since most sweat
glands on our body are eccrine, which produces mostly water with some salt and
maybe some uric acid. Apocrine sweat glands become active during puberty, and
produce sweat from our underarms, around the genitals, etc. The sweat from
apocrine glands has other stuff in it, such as lipids (fats.) When the bacteria
on our skin feed on these fats, the byproducts smell. Like store-bought
deodorant, coconut oil helps decrease the bacteria count that’s causing the
odor. Mix about a tablespoon of arrowroot powder into 3-4 tablespoons of
coconut oil for an easy homemade deodorant. Apply as needed; adding beeswax to
solidify it some if you feel the coconut oil is too thin on its own.
29. Bath Oil: Soften your bath water, and
your skin, with a bit of coconut oil. Enjoy its lovely aroma and gently swish
it around now and then to swirl it through the water. It will naturally coat
your skin, leaving it smooth and healthy.
30. Rash Soother: There are two things that
come to mind when I think of discomfort caused by a rash of any kind-itching
and painful swelling. Coconut oil, with its anti-inflammatory effects, is an
obvious go-to for helping the swelling. It will also help take the edge off the
dreadful itching, curbing the vicious cycle of scratching and further
irritating your skin.
31. Cutting Board Conditioner : I used to
buy these little bottle of some fancy oil marketed specifically for
conditioning cutting boards…never again! Wipe down the cutting board with a
damp towel and then dry it. Use a soft cloth to rub in some coconut oil, and
let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Buff with a fresh cloth. For a little extra odor
removing kick, add a few drops of lemon essential oil (or even just a small
squirt of lemon juice.)
32. Go-To Carrier/Base Oil: Lotions, lip
balms, massage blends, body butters, sugar scrubs…coconut oil is a great go-to
carrier/base oil. Its texture and consistency helps hold whatever it is you’ve
created together, while contributing all of its awesome moisturizing and
healing benefits.
33. DIY Vapor Rub: Mix peppermint essential oil
with coconut oil to make a vapor rub that you can apply beneath your nose/on
your chest when you’re congested. It’s a simple, but effective, way to clear
out stuffiness and help you sleep better at night.
34. Prevent Lice: I don’t know why lice
wouldn’t like coconut oil, since it smells so dang good, but people have found
it seems to keep them at bay, and even chase them away. If your little one
comes home from school with lice, dip a fine toothed comb in coconut oil and run
it through their hair. You can also use it as a precaution if there is an
outbreak.
35. Frizz-Fighter: In the deathly dryness of
winter, or on steaming humid days, hair can get a little wild. If your mane has
a mind of its own, put a *small* amount of coconut oil on your fingers and run
them through your hair to get a handle on the frizz. I recommend sticking to
mostly the ends if possible, as it can get a little heavy otherwise.
36. On Toast: A simple way to replace
butter. Spread some coconut oil on toast for a tasty (and filling) snack.
37. Popcorn Topping: Melt some coconut oil
and drizzle it over your popcorn. Add a touch of salt, toss until each piece if
coated, and enjoy a magnificent show time snack.
38. Wound Care: Antibacterial and antifungal
properties make coconut oil an ideal salve for minor scrapes and scratches. Mix
some up with a little bit of honey (also antibacterial) and apply a dab to the
area, or just use on its own. Don’t slather it onto a great big gaping cut, but
for little stuff it’s a great thing to have in your all-natural first aid kit.
39. Small Motor Lubricant : Use a small
amount of melted coconut oil to lubricate small motors, such as on blenders. A
little goes a long way. Too much and it can have the opposite effect of running
smoothly when it solidifies.
40. Reduce Hair Balls : Strong anecdotal evidence
supports using coconut oil to reduce hair balls. There are also those who feel
medium-chain triglycerides aren’t the way to go with our feline friends, so do
some research to decide what you are comfortable with. Rub a little on your
cat’s paws to help improve digestive function and reduce hair balls.
41. Aromatherapy: Add your favorite blend of
essential oils to some coconut oil to dab on your temples and the back of your
neck when you feel stressed or nauseous. Peppermint and eucalyptus for
headaches and tension, or lemon/lime/orange for nausea, are nice places to
start.
42. Summer Day Dog Treats: Also known as
“coconut cubes” these tasty chilled treats will help keep your pooch cool the
glorious warm weather comes. Mix some peanut butter with coconut oil and freeze
into an ice cube tray to feed as a special treat to your pups on hot summer
days. Feed them outside or on a smooth floor to avoid getting your carpet
messy!
43. Dry Nostrils: Dry nostrils feel like
they need to be picked at. Picked at nostrils become sore and irritated
nostrils. It’s a vicious cycle. Rub a little bit of coconut oil on the inside
of each nostril to moisturize it. Use only a little bit. Because coconut oil
melts rapidly at body temperature, too much can make you look (or feel) like
you have a runny nose!
44. Constipation Relief: Take a tablespoon
of coconut oil every morning on an empty stomach to keep your digestive track
running smoothly. You can try 2 tablespoons to work out acute constipation as
well.
45. Fade Age/Sun Spots: Coconut oil can help
heal or lessen the appearance of a wide variety of skin blemishes, and people
have found that daily application of it have helped fade sun or age spots. Rub
coconut oil onto sun spots daily to help fade them.
46. Bags-Be-Gone: Put the beauty back in
beauty sleep and use coconut oil to help get rid of those dark circles that
make you look so exhausted. Every night, rub a little bit of coconut oil under
your eyes to reduce puffiness and dark bags in the morning.
47. Soften Dry Elbows: Elbows are one of the
hardest places to keep soft. Rub coconut oil onto them morning and night to
help them stay supple. I don’t suggest doing this if you are going in for a big
test and plan on setting your elbows on the desk. The horror if they slipped off
and you ended up banging yourself against the table in the middle of a dead
silent room.
48. Insect Repellant: I can’t imagine why
bugs would find coconut oil repulsive but then, I also find some of the things
they do rather distasteful myself. For whatever reason, some people find that
slathering on coconut oil can help keep the bugs at bay. You can also try
melting down the oil and stirring in some essential oils (such as peppermint or
citrus) and then making a bug repellant bar of sorts that you can reapply.
49. Bee Sting Soother: As a beekeeper, bee stings are
a reality that I face quite often. While honeybees are really quite gentle
creatures, some stings are simply inevitable at times. To help reduce the
swelling, heat, and pain that comes along with bee venom, rub a little coconut
oil onto the site after the stinger has been removed. For an extra soothing
kick, add a drop of lavender essential oil to it as well.
50. Cracked Paw Pads: Doggy paws are tough,
and they should be a little rough, calloused, and thickened. Imagine how tender
they would get if they were soft and smooth! That being said, when your dog
starts to get really dry, cracked paws, rub some coconut oil into them to help
them heal. Don’t overdo it though- your dog doesn’t want its paw pads to be as
silky smooth as your skin. The hardest part about this is keeping them from
licking it off. Make sure to keep your canine away from delicate floors if you
are worried it might stain (I have yet to have a problem with this on carpet or
wood, but everybody’s house is different!)
51. Metal Polish: Rub a bit of coconut oil
over metal with a soft cloth. Let it sit for a minute, and then buff to a
shine. It’s helpful to wipe the surface free of dust before applying the oil.
52. Moisten A Little One’s Chapped Nose:
Youngsters seem to have a perpetually runny nose. That shiny upper lip that
just won’t go away. This can result in a very chapped little nose. To help
clear up that sore spot, gently wipe away any goobers with a washcloth dipped in
warm water. Pat the excess water off and rub a little bit of coconut oil onto
the skin to moisturize and heal the area. The antibacterial/antifungal benefits
can’t hurt either!
53. Clean Your Retainer (or Mouth Guard): The
antibacterial and antifungal constituents of coconut oil take center stage
here. Rub a little bit of it onto your retainer after rinsing it at night to
help keep it clean, and it doesn’t taste so bad either. You can also use this
on a mouth guard as well. If you’re going to get tackled to the ground, you
might as well have a pleasant taste in your mouth when you hit the dirt.
54. Use in Toothpaste: Add flavor, antibacterial
action, and potential whitening benefits by adding coconut oil to some baking
soda and using as a DIY toothpaste. For a little extra flavor, mix in a drop or
two of peppermint or cinnamon essential oil.
55. Ease Arthritis Pain: Acute inflammation
present with arthritis is responsible for quite a bit of discomfort and
stiffness that accompanies this common malady, which can be eased by the
anti-inflammatory effects of the coconut oil. Massage a bit of the oil into
each joint thoroughly 1-2 times a day to relieve soreness.
56. Preserve Eggs: Paint a thin coating of
coconut oil over the eggshell to preserve quality and extend shelf-life. The
oil prevents degradation from exposure to oxygen, and studies have found that
the oil coating maintained an AA grade up to 3 weeks after storage, as opposed
to when a glycerol coating was used. The grade refers to the Haugh unit, which
measures the quality of the egg protein in the white.

57. Treat Athletes Foot: The anti-fungal
action of coconut oil helps fight off athlete’s foot when you apply it daily.
Be sure to rinse your feet first and pat them dry, then thoroughly apply a thin
layer of coconut oil, massaging it in well. Wash your hands before applying to
the other foot to avoid spreading the fungus.
58. Say Goodbye to a Sore throat: Can’t ease
that painful throat? Coconut oil provides a wonderful soothing coating, whether
the discomfort is caused by dry air or an illness. Swallow ½-1 teaspoon up to 3
times daily to ease the pain, being sure to make one of those times right
before bed. For an extra kick, melt the coconut oil down and stir in a little
honey (its ok if it separates some.) When it is mostly room temp, mash up the
mixture a little bit and use the same as above.
59. Lessen a Dry, Hacking, Cough: You don’t
want to suppress your cough if it is productive, meaning you are coughing up
phlegm. Your body needs to get rid of all that stuff. However, if you have a
dry hacking cough, swallowing a teaspoon or so of coconut oil can help ease the
itchy irritation. It is especially nice because it coats your throat and seems
to protect it more from irritating things such as dust, whereas water only
provides very temporary relief.
60. Prevent Stretch Marks: There is no magic
method to prevent or get rid of stretch marks. Indeed, how noticeably you get
stretch marks are based a lot on genetics. They are caused by, literally, a
stretching of the skin. This may occur during pregnancy, puberty, during rapid
muscle mass gain, etc. and tend to be more extreme when there is an excess of
cortisol (a stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands) involved. Cortisol
damages elastic fibers in the dermis. Put simply, the marks appear when the
lower layers of the dermis tear for some reason or another. Anecdotal evidence
suggest that keeping skin moisturized and supple can help prevent stretch
marks, and what better moisturizer than coconut oil? Rub some onto the area
twice daily (for example, your belly if you are pregnant) and massage it in
well. You can also melt down some cocoa butter with the coconut oil for an
extra moisturizing boost.
61. Ink Cleaner: Don’t cry over spilled ink.
If you find yourself with irritating ink smears and smudges on your hand,
simply rub a little coconut oil over it and let it sit for a minute or two.
Wipe off with a dry, clean, cloth.
62. Personal Lubricant *not compatible with
latex: Yup, coconut oil can be used as a natural and effective
alternative to store-bought lubricant. It is not compatible with latex though,
as it causes it to lose its elasticity and break down, so do not use it with
condoms. Coconut oil + condoms = baby! Otherwise, enjoy on your own or with a
partner the same way you would any other kind.

63. Clean Your Dogs Ears: Gently wipe
surface dirt out of your dog’s ears with a cotton ball. A dog’s ear canal is
shaped like an ‘L’ so don’t panic too much about jabbing your finger or cotton
swab in too far. This is why you’ll see your vet take that super long cotton
swab and stick it all the way into the ear for a sample. Afterwards you wipe it
out, gently rub in some coconut oil into the skin to keep them healthy,
itch-free, and comfortable.
64. Detail Your Car: Coconut oil provides a
lustrous sheen to the inside of your car, be it the dashboard or leather seats.
You can also use it to buff out little scratches that might be marking up the
paint job. The best part(s) are that it soaks in, lasts a while, doesn’t
attract dust, smells great, and is all natural.
65. Soothe and Prevent Hangnails: Fun
fact-hangnails are also known as a “stepmothers blessing” in several parts of
the U.K. as well as a “catchy” in other parts of the world .Whatever you call
them, these little bits of torn skin seem benign, but cause major pain. Often
times they end up creating a whole inflamed sore patch around your nail that’s
tender for days. Rubbing some coconut oil around the outer edges of your nail
can help keep the skin soft and pliable, making it less likely for it to “rip”
and land you with a hangnail. When the little bits of skin get hard and stiff,
rubbing some coconut oil on it will also help soothe the pain with its
anti-inflammatory actions.
66. One Ingredient Udder Soother: Cracked teats
are, as one can imagine, terribly uncomfortable for the cow. Not only that, but
it provides an area for bacteria and infection to multiply, which is the last
thing you want to happen. Just like coconut oil provides wonderful soothing
moisture in the form of nipple cream for humans, it makes an awesome one-ingredient
udder balm. Simply apply as you would any other udder balm.
67. Detangler: When you’ve got a nasty tangle,
try using coconut oil to ease it out without any yanking, eye watering, or
ripped out broken hairs. Dampen your hair well and then massage in coconut oil,
letting it sit for 2-3 minutes. Starting at the bottom of the hair shaft,
gently work your way up with a comb to get through the tangles .
68. Cracked Heels: Cracked, dry, heels? As a
super moisturizer, coconut oil can help soften and smooth over that skin. Use a
pumice stone first to slough off any excess buildup of cells, and then get a
little bit of coconut oil on your fingertips. Massage into your heels well, and
let dry. Repeat twice daily.
69. Breath Freshener: Make somebody feel
like they’re lounging in the tropics when they get close to your face. If you
suffer from bad breath, kick the problem with coconut oil by holding a teaspoon
or so in your mouth until it melts, swishing it around a bit, and then either
swallowing or spitting it into the trash. The antibacterial properties in
coconut oil make it useful for ridding your mouth of odor causing bacteria.
70. Get Rid of Angular Chelitis (aka pesky little
mouth sores): This sounds obscure, but it is a much more common
occurrence than it seems. Angular chelitis is inflammation of the lips,
technically, but often times appear as little “splits” or “cracks” in the
corner of your mouth. When this happens, fungus can jump on the opportunity to
infect the little area. Rub a little bit of coconut oil on the sore spots 2-3
times daily to keep yourself comfortable and to fight off fungi.
71. Use in the Sun: Coconut oil in and of itself
is not sufficient as sunscreen. On its own, it has an SPF (sun protection
factor) of 4-6. This helps a little, but not enough to make it a substitute.
That being said, try applying coconut oil in between re-applications of sunscreen.
It will help hydrate your skin and prevent it from drying out. Should you get
burned, it can also help prevent peeling and itching.
72. Improve Circulation: We need proper
circulation to not only function, but to heal as well. Not to mention feeling
cold all the time (or having people shudder at your frigid touch) isn’t fun.
Coconut oil, taken internally, may help improve blood flow. As it can raise the
levels of HDL-or “good”-cholesterol, the ratio between HDL and LDL-“bad”
cholesterol-are evened. Since LDL cholesterol can affect the viscosity of
blood, and “thicken” it, lower levels lead to thinner blood which leads to
better circulation. Start with a ½ tablespoon a day and work up to 1 tablespoon
to give your circulation an energy boost.
73. Add to Baby Bath: Babies have
wonderfully soft, smooth, healthy skin-and we want to keep it that way! Try
adding a little bit of coconut oil to your little one’s bath to help keep skin
soft and smooth. It will also help soothe any little rashes, scrapes, or
bothersome bug bites that may be bothering them.
74. Get Rid of Cradle Cap: Cradle cap is
typically a harmless condition that results in patches of yellowish, thick,
sometimes greasy scales on your baby’s head (although it can occasionally be
found on other areas of the body as well.) Like true adult dandruff, there
could be several causes of cradle cap, including an overgrowth of yeast or over
productive oil glands. To help loosen and remove the crusty flaking scales,
dampen little one’s hair/scalp and gently apply enough coconut oil to cover the
affected area-it doesn’t need to be thick. Leave it on for 15 minutes (or
longer if needed) to soften the scales. Then use a soft bristled baby brush or
very fine toothed comb to loosen and remove the patches. Follow up by rinsing
with a regular mild baby shampoo to remove the rest of the oil from the hair.
75. Soothe a Dry Canine Nose: Rub a tad onto
your dog’s nose if it is perpetually dry and cracked. This remedy is
smoosh-faced breed approved.
76. Flaky Scalp Treatment: Different from
dandruff, having a flaky or dry scalp simply results in those annoying snowy
white flakes that you can seem to get rid of. With its super moisturizing
prowess, coconut oil can help provide nourishing moisture to a thirsty scalp.
Wet your hair, and then massage coconut oil over scalp, using just enough to
cover the area. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes, and then rinse it out. Follow up
with a small amount of very mild shampoo to ensure a non-greasy look when
finished. Repeat this at least 3 times a week, or as needed, to prevent dry
scalp.
77. Reduce Fine Lines: There are two main
things that keep the skin supple but firm, collagen and elastin. Collagen is
what gives skin it’s “firmness” while elastin is what allows it to stretch and
then return to its original shape. Collagen production slows as we age, which
is part of why wrinkles start to appear, and elastin production is stopped
completely-hence your skin no longer snaps back into place if you pinch it.
Coconut oil’s biologically active components (such as certain fatty acids) have
been shown to increase collagen cross-linking, which is part of why it helps
wounds heal faster. This same principle may be why it helps reduce fine
lines/wrinkles. Apply twice daily, using as little amount as possible and
rubbing in thoroughly, to reduce the appearance of fine lines.
78. Ease Osteoporosis : Coconut oil can help
ease osteoarthritis in a number of ways. Trabecular bone is one of two types of
bone structure-it is “spongy” and has a higher surface are to mass ratio. It is
typically the most harshly affected type of bone in osteoporosis. The
trabecular number refers to measure of bone texture and structure, and marks
the risk/severity of osteoporosis. Unlike plain calcium therapy, which reduced
trabecular separation, coconut oil increased bone volume and the trabecular
number in studies conducted with rats. Rats are good subjects to study when it
comes to bone disease, as the remodeling and resorption process in rats is
similar to that of humans. Osteoporosis caused by oxidative stress may also be
lessened due to the potential anti-oxidant effects of coconut oil, while
coconut oil also helps the absorption of calcium.
79. Remove Rust: Rust is somewhat of an
inevitable fact of life. Unless you can keep your scissors/knives/etc. away
from oxygen, you’re going to encounter rust eventually. To get rid of these
pesky spots, spread a thin layer of coconut oil over the rusty area. Let it sit
for 1-2 hours, then run warm water over the oil and wipe clean with a soft
cloth.
80. Food Poisoning Relief : Bacteria and
germs have become more prevalent-and harder to wipe out-every year. Even just
E. coli has surged with the forms of packaging, preparation, and shipping that
we use in the modern world. So what does one do when crippled in bed or chained
to the porcelain throne? Take 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil with orange juice
every day. With its antiviral, antimicrobial actions that can defeat even the
most stubborn illnesses that you would have to suffer through, it is (almost) a
literal life saver.
81. Homemade Teething “Gel”: Teething occurs
(typically) between six and nine months of age, and does not actually involve
the teeth cutting through the gums. Rather certain chemicals are released that
cause some cells in the gum tissue to selectively die off, which results in the
gums separating and allowing the teeth to come through. Coconut oil can help
tame some of the irritation and inflammation that tends to come along with the
process of teething. Simply rub a little over the gums with your finger. To add
an extra pain killing kick, add cloves to the mix. Naturally containing
eugenol, a painkilling substance still used today, cloves can help ease
teething woes. Some people use clove essential oil, but I don’t use essential
oils directly with babies or very young children. Instead, add 2 teaspoons (up
to 1 tablespoon for the maximum dosage) of whole cloves to ¼-1/2 cup of coconut
oil and let it sit over low heat for 1 hour. There is no need to remove the
solids, since you can scoop the oil out around them, but any botanical matter
will shorten shelf life.
82. Prevent Split Ends: The fatty acids in
coconut oil do more than just make hair look smooth and healthy for the
present, it can keep it looking that way by preventing pesky split ends. Rich
in protective fatty acids that easily adhere to keratin, the main protein in
hair, a little bit of coconut oil applied to the ends of your hair daily can help
reduce breakage. Be sure to apply just a little and only to the ends,
especially if you are prone to oily hair.
83. Tupperware Stain Prevention: When it
comes to dishware malfunctions, Tupperware stains are pretty bothersome,
especially when stained with red sauce. It isn’t exactly appetizing to place
fresh food in a clean, but very dirty looking, container. To help prevent these
stains, rub a very thin layer of coconut oil into the Tupperware and allow it
to sink in/dry. This forms a layer that prevents discoloration from setting in.
At times this can even help with clean up, as things slide out easier. If you
are worried about coconut flavor/taste being imparted, use refined coconut oil.
84. Tattoo Moisturizer/Healer: The feeling
after you get new ink is beyond amazing, and you want to do everything you can
to help your tattoo heal and stay healthy. Often time’s thick petroleum jelly
is applied to keep the tattoo moist, but that can get gummy quickly, and can
sometimes feel like you’re suffocating your skin rather than helping it heal.
Instead use coconut oil to facilitate healing and keep the area moisturized
(but not drowning.) As much as you love it, your tattoo is technically a wound,
and your body will treat it as it would any other trauma. This includes that
maddening itch, which coconut oil happens to soothe quite well. It is much less
smothering, and more natural, than many other products, and keeps your skin
moisturized, smooth, and healthy-and your new tattoo radiant. For the period
that you would usually use jelly, apply coconut oil instead. You can be
generous here, but remember that it melts quickly and can get runny, so
applying smaller amounts at a time is useful.
85. Dust Repellant : A thin layer of coconut
oil rubbed into certain surfaces (such as wood, or a dashboard) can help keep
dust from collecting. It seems counterintuitive, like the dust would just stick
in the coconut oil and make it all fuzzy, but it doesn’t. Instead you get a
nice lustrous polished look and you keep the dust bunnies at bay. Rub a small
amount over the desired area, being sure to rub it in thoroughly, and then
allow it to dry. Use ONLY enough as needed. Be sure to test on a small area
first to make sure it does not discolor or in any way negatively affect the
surface.
86. Slick Your Snow Shovel: Clearing heavy,
wet, clumping snow can be backbreaking work, especially when it clings to your
shovel, building up and weighing it down. To keep the snow sliding effortlessly
off your shovel, rub a thin layer of coconut oil over it. Reapply as
needed-usually 1-2 times a week, depending on how often you’re shoveling. If
you have a toasty heated garage, keep the shovel some place cooler to prevent
the oil layer from simply melting off.
87. Clean Sap: I grew up trying to climb the
old pine tree in my backyard which, naturally, got me covered in sap. It was my
Dad who first showed me that mayonnaise could magically get that pesky sticky
sap off your hands, and it only made sense when I learned that coconut oil
could do the same. I am not sure why, but rubbing the sappy spot with coconut
oil and then rinsing with warm soapy water does wonders!
88. Unstick a Zipper: It’s a problem when
you can’t get your pants zipper up before an important meeting, nor is it fun
being stuck yanking on your toddler’s stubborn jacket zipper while they look at
you like “aren’t you supposed to be able to solve all the problems in the
world? What’s taking you so long?” Avoid both of these unfortunate
situations-apply a bit of coconut oil on the jammed zipper, rub it in a bit,
and it should glide with ease

89. Shape Your Beard/’Stache: If you’re going to
for a sleek, styled look, use a little bit of coconut oil to shape your beard
or mustache into your desired look.
90. Stop Sticky, Squeaky, Hinges: It’s hard
to be subtle when you have a squeaky door. Your plans for a midnight raid of
the snack cupboard will be thwarted if a door makes a racket when you open it.
Rub a little coconut oil into the hinges to stop the squealing.
91. Cheekbone Highlighter: Highlighting your
cheeks gives you that little extra glow that people can’t quite place, but
definitely notice. Apply a small amount of coconut oil the same as you would
another cheekbone cream to give yourself a naturally beautiful glow.
92. Give Plants a Shine: The last thing your
beautiful, green, healthy plants want is a waxy silicone shine that makes their
leaves glisten unnaturally. Rub a tiny bit of coconut oil into them to keep
leaves looking healthy and dust-free. Reapply every few days or as needed.
93. Maintain Lawn Mower Blades: Apply a thin
layer of coconut oil over clean lawn mower blades to prevent grass clumps from
sticking and jamming the mower.
94. Grease Baking Pans: There’s nothing like
slaving over a beautiful baked good and then watching it crumble as you try to
take it out of the pan. Avoid this heartbreak by greasing pans lightly with
coconut oil first.
95. Clean Makeup Brushes: Preserve your delicate
make up brushes by cleaning them with coconut oil. Simply melt down some of the
oil in a glass and dip the brush into the liquid, coating it thoroughly. Then
gently swirl the brush on a paper towel or wash cloth until the color or
product is gone. Rinse under warm water, and dry. Any bit of residue tends to
make the bristles quite soft, but you can also use a mild soap and water to
remove it if you find it bothersome.
96. Fight Ringworm: Ringworm, despite
sounding like a parasite, really falls under the same category as athletes
foot, a related skin infection, caused by one of several types of mold like
fungi that feed on the dead tissue in nails, skin, and hair. Ringworm typically
presents itself as a red scaly or slightly raised bump. It will generally begin
to look like a ring-hence the name- that has scaly edges. Itchy and uncomfortable,
it’s not fun to have hanging around. Washing your hands before and after
application, rinse the affected area with water and pat dry before rubbing in a
small amount of coconut oil up to 3 times a day.
97. Grease a Bicycle Chain: If you want to try
“green grease” try a little bit of coconut oil on your bike chain to keep it
running smoothly. A thick layer is not needed, as coconut oil solidifies
temperatures under 76 degrees Fahrenheit, and you don’t want to gum up your
chain.
98. Eyelash Enhancement: Long thick
eyelashes are something many people desire, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy
to come by. To get those luscious upturned ‘lashes, apply a little bit of
coconut oil to your eyelashes nightly. The proteins can help encourage growth
and seal in moisture, preventing brittleness and breakage.
99. Lubricate Kitchen Appliances: Rub a thin
layer over the blades of kitchen appliances to keep them running smoothly. Be
sure to store in a cool place so the layer stays firm.
100. Give Your Dog a Healthy Shine: Feed 2
teaspoons to dogs under 30 pounds and 1 tablespoon to dogs over 30 pounds daily
to improve dry skin and give their coats a lustrous shine. Work up to the full
dosage over the course of a week or so, discontinuing use if it seems to upset
your canine companion’s tummy.
101. Target Eczema and Psoriasis : Eczema
and psoriasis, while not the same thing, are both generally red, irritated,
often times chronic skin diseases, and both are uncomfortable. Use coconut oil
to target patches of your body that are being affected, and rub on a thin layer
to keep the area moisturized and healthy, while also fighting off fungus or
bacteria that could set in as a secondary infection if you’ve been scratching.
102. Reduce Dandruff : If you suffer from
true dandruff (as opposed to just dry scalp) it is possible that you have an
overgrowth of a common fungus on the scalp. Use coconut oil 2-3 times a week to
provide some anti-fungal action to help keep the itching and flakes at bay.
103. Mane & Tail Conditioner: Like you,
horses can benefit from coconut oil as well. A thick, healthy, flowing mane and
tail are wonderful to behold but for those with horses, well, we know it’s not
always an easy thing to achieve that look. They get dirty, rubbed out, and
downright ratty looking. Coconut oil can help get you closer to that luxurious
tail, but things will get worse before they get better. Clean the tail/mane
thoroughly and run in a very liberal amount of coconut oil. It will look greasy
and, quite frankly, unappealing. Do this for 5-7 days, and then rinse clean
with shampoo. Prepare for a shiny, silken, soft mane and tail. It can also help
ease irritation from things like sweet itch that may cause your horse to rub.
104. Minimize Heartburn: If you’re feeling
the burn, swallow 1-2 teaspoons of coconut oil. It can get a little coating in
your tummy and ease the painful feeling of heartburn or acid reflux. It also
helps get that bitter bile taste out of your mouth.
105. Add Luxurious Lather: Thanks to the
combination of fatty acids (namely lauric acid) in coconut oil, it is fabulous
for creating a luxurious fluffy lather in homemade soaps and shampoos. Does
that lather actually increase cleaning efficacy? No. But we love it
none-the-less. It is a much greener alternative than sodium lauryl sulfate,
which is most commonly used to create lather in store bought products ranging
from shampoo to toothpaste.
106. Help Heal a Bruise: A bruise is caused by
some sort of impact or trauma rupturing blood vessels beneath the surface of
the skin. Coconut oil may help speed the healing of tissue when used
externally, even taken internally, and can help repair tissue damage and reduce
the time that it would normally take your bruise to heal and fade.
107. Fights Acne: Our bodies are rich with
bacteria that are naturally present, and necessary, to maintain our health.
There are instances though where some people find themselves with a specific
strain of bacteria (generally thought to be Propionibacterium acnes) that grows
its population past the point of being welcome, as too much of it causes acne.
While P. acnes is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, coconut oil
is an all-natural way to reduce the overgrowth. You can also mix in a little
drop of tee tree oil for an extra anti-bacterial kick. Be aware that tea tree
has a very…distinct aroma. Not bad per say, just strong.
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
The importance of coconut oil can not be over emphasized. So the next time you see coconut, remember the numerous benefits of it oil.
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
The importance of coconut oil can not be over emphasized. So the next time you see coconut, remember the numerous benefits of it oil.
How To Cure Acne Quickly With Coconut Oil?
Acne is a challenge that most adolescents have to face in the process of becoming an adult. i can remember my terrible experience with acne during that phase of my life. It was so terrible that i lost confidence in my self and spent a lot of money seeking cure to this embarrassing situation. WHAT IS ACNE?
Acne is an inflammatory skin condition characterized by swollen red breakouts that appear on the face, neck, back, and chest. When dirt, oil, makeup, dead skin cells, and other toxins clog the pores, bacteria thrive, and cause blemishes. Acne is caused by stress, poor hygiene, poor diet, hormonal imbalances, and certain medications.
There are many treatments available in the market but the use of natural home remedies are the most effective, especially the use of coconut oil.
Can Coconut Oil be Used to Treat
Acne?
Coconut oil is completely natural and helps to preserve healthy skin and enables correct functioning of the sebum glands to clear any blockages.
It is a rich source of capric acid, caprylic acid and lauric acid which gets converted to monocaprin and monolaurin, a type of acidic shield that are formed on skin to combat with acne.
It is a rich source of Vitamin E that keeps the skin healthy and clear.
It has vitamin K that supplies potassium nutrients, forming a protective layer.
It has anti-inflammatory qualities helps to reduce the inflammation.
It has anti – bacterial, anti – microbial and anti – fungal properties that help to destroy the acne causing microbes.
It is a rich source of vitamin A that stops the skin from shedding early, leaving underdeveloped cells that are exposed to microbes and other toxic substances.
When consumed, the oil helps to improve the metabolism, which improves circulation and indirectly helps in regulating the release of hormones that trigger off the extra production of sebum.
This oil helps to reduce scars and repairs damaged skin.
It is a great source of fatty acids like Lauric fatty acid that has anti – bacterial and anti – inflammatory properties. Capric acid also combats P. acne to reduce acne along with moisturizing the skin.
It is rich in medium chain fatty acids and medium chain triglycerides that protect the skin from infections and bacteria.
It contains proteins which ensure damaged skin cells get replaced regularly.
It has many healthy acids and anti – oxidants along with vitamin C and E that helps to fight against the free radicals.
How to use Coconut Oil for Acne:
There are several ways of using coconut oil to treat acne. We have mentioned them below with a detailed description. Before trying out the process, make sure to wash your face with a cleanser with an added benefit of acne-fighting ingredient. It boosts the effectiveness of the treatment.
1. Coconut Oil with Baking Soda
This face mask acts as cleanser that helps to get rid of dirt in pores, excess oil and dead skin cells.
Mix 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil and 1 teaspoon baking soda to make a paste.
Apply on the face and neck, rubbing in circular motions for 5 – 10 minutes.
Wash with cold water and pat the skin dry.
Continue applying this face mask regularly.
2. Coconut Oil with Oatmeal
This process soothes the inflamed, rough skin and restores the pH balance.
Mix 1 tablespoon oatmeal, 3 tablespoons coconut oil and warm water.
Apply this on the acne affected skin.
Rub in circular motion for a few minutes.
Let it sit for about 15 – 20 minutes and wash with water thoroughly.
Pat dry the face and repeat regularly.
3. Coconut Oil with Turmeric
This face pack helps to fight against the acne causing bacteria and clears the dirt, oil and other impurities from the skin.
Mix a pinch of turmeric powder with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.
Apply this paste on the clean face and neck.
Leave for about 15 – 20 minutes and rinse with cold water and pat dry.
Repeat the same process regularly.
4. Coconut Oil Overnight Application
This process helps to soothe redness, inflammation and discomfort caused by acne.
Mix 3 drops of tea tree oil and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil together.
Apply on the face and massage in circular motions before going to bed.
Leave on overnight and wash it off the next morning.
Follow this remedy regularly.
5. Coconut Oil with Banana
This process prevents dry skin by hydrating and moisturizing it to prevent acne. It also eliminates the acne causing bacteria.
Mash ½ piece of ripe banana and add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in it.
Mix well and add a pinch of turmeric powder.
Apply on the face and neck thoroughly.
Leave on 20 minutes to dry completely.
Wash off then dry the face with a towel.
Follow this process regularly.
6. Coconut Oil for Cystic Acne
This process is an overnight application of coconut oil focusing on particularly cystic acne. This process helps to provide hydration and kills the acne causing bacteria.
Take enough organic coconut oil into your palms.
Rub coconut oil gently in your palms to liquefy the oil and then apply this on the acne affected skin areas, massaging gently.
Leave overnight and wash it off with lukewarm water and mild facial cleanser.
Or steam the face by simply dipping a towel in hot water and placing it over the face so that it will open up the skin pores.
Dilute 1 part of coconut oil to 9 parts of water and apply this on the acne affected areas of the skin with Q-tip or cotton swab. Let it sit for few minutes to dry and wash off with water.
You can also add aloe vera gel to this oil, especially if you skin is delicate.
Apply this process regularly.
7. Coconut Oil Homemade Cream
This cream exhibits antiviral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties that help to clear acne. This moisturizes and prevents excess oil on the skin.
Mix organic coconut oil with kaolin powder (a fine white clay).
Apply on the face and neck and leave on for few minutes to dry.
Wash with water and pat the skin dry.
Continue applying this regularly.
8. Coconut Oil with Aloe Vera and Honey
This mask helps not only to nourish and soothe the skin, but also regenerates the skin to clear it from acne.
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – 2 tablespoons
Honey – 2 tablespoons
Fresh aloe vera juice – 5 tablespoons
Warm water
Tissues
Process:
Mix organic honey, fresh aloe vera gel and virgin coconut oil together.
Apply on the face for about 20 – 25 minutes.
Use a tissue to wipe the face clean.
Rinse off with warm water and pat the skin dry.
Apply this twice a week.
Using just honey and coconut oil on the face can also help.
9. Coconut Oil with Egg White
Beat an egg white and add a few drops of coconut oil.
Apply this on the face as veil and let it sit for about 15 – 20 minutes.
Wash it off thoroughly with water and pat the skin dry.
Follow this process regularly.
10. Coconut Oil with Green Clay Powder
Mix 9 drops of coconut oil in 2 tablespoons of green mud powder.
Add water and stir to make a paste.
Apply on the affected skin and leave for 20 – 30 minutes to dry.
Wash it off with warm water and pat the skin dry.
Re-apply this mask regularly.
11. Coconut Oil with Tomato and Jojoba Oil
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – 3 to 5 drops
Jojoba oil – 1 teaspoon
Tomato – 1
Warm water
Soft towel
Process:
Cut a tomato into fine slices and add organic coconut oil and jojoba oil.
Mix well and then blend.
Apply on the affected skin and leave it for 10 – 15 minutes.
Wash it off with warm water and pat the skin dry.
Follow this process regularly.
12. Coconut Oil Moisturizer with Lemon
Lemons are full of Vitamin C and this helps in neutralizing the body’s pH balance. It is processed within 48 hours of plucking and contains a staggering 57% of lauric acid, as compared to other products in the market which test as low as 42%.
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – 4 tablespoons
Lemon – 1
Essential oil or vitamin E oil
Vanilla extract
Process:
Mix solidified coconut oil with fresh lemon juice.
Add essential oils like tea tree oil, lavender oil or vitamin E oil along with some vanilla extract.
Mix with an electric hand mixer to get a fluffy texture.
Apply this on the acne affected skin areas.
Regular application will give best results.
If the weather is warm, then store this in a fridge.
13. Coconut Oil Homemade Scrub
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – few drops
Sugar – 1/2 mug
Sesame oil (OR) Olive oil – 1/4 glass
Nectar – 1 teaspoon
Warm water
Process:
Mix a few drops of organic coconut oil, sugar, sesame or olive oil and nectar.
Apply this on the cleansed face and neck.
Rub gently for a few minutes, then wash off with warm water.
Dry the face and repeat this process regularly.
14. Coconut Oil Cleanser
Mix a few drops of coconut oil and carrier oil.
Apply on the affected skin.
Massage it gently for few minutes then wash off with water.
Dry the skin and repeat daily.
15. Coconut Oil with Plain Yogurt
Yogurt cools the scraped skin and lessens the redness.
Mix 7 drops of virgin coconut oil in ¼ cup of plain yogurt.
Apply on the affected skin.
Leave for 15 – 20 minutes then wash it with warm water.
Dry the skin and repeat this process regularly.
Tips and Precautions:
Follow these tips and precautions for safe and effective results.
Add some coconut oil in body wash and use it in your shower. Rub it gently on the acne affected skin to treat acne. Choosing a body wash with acne-fighting ingredients can be more beneficial in treating acne.
Always use organic, cold pressed and extra virgin coconut oil.
Try to apply the oil before going to bed for best results.
Always do a patch test first before using these remedies.
You can apply this on any part of your body for good results.
Mix 1/4 cup of coconut milk in a morning smoothie and have this to dissolve the excess sebum in the body to prevent inflammation and acne.
It’s advisable to wash your face and hands thoroughly before applying this coconut oil to prevent the spread of oils and bacteria.
This works well for other skin problems like pimples, nodules, whiteheads, blackheads and scars.
It can be stored for a long time.
Regular intake of 2 – 5 tablespoons of coconut oil orally will also help to speed up the metabolism for proper body functioning.
Make sure to consult your doctor if you don’t see any results or if you’re pregnant.
It is always best to use a lighter oil as a carrier oil to reduce the viscosity of coconut oil and help it absorb more easily.
Exfoliating with coconut oil is crucial, as it helps to clean the skin and the debris clogging the pores. This also used as cleanser.
If you don’t have time to prepare the homemade mixtures to treat acne. Then you can use commercial acne face masks which don’t contain harsh chemicals and specially formulated to treat acne.
Other than using coconut oil, you have to drink plenty of healthy fluids and water, exercise regularly, relax from stress and regularly wash the face to get complete control over acne and prevent its recurrence.
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
NATURE HAS
IT FIRST! We will be looking at THE
KINGFISHER'S BEAK. Traveling at a speed of nearly 300km/hr, the Japanese
bullet train is one of the fastest in the world. In parts, it owes it success
to a small bird- the KINGFISHER. Why? In pursuit of a taste meal, the kingfisher
can dive into water with very little splash. The fact intrigues Eiji Najatsu,
an engineer who directed the testing of the bullet train. He wondered how the
fish adapted so quickly from low resistance air, to high resistance water.
Finding the answer was a key to solving a peculiar problem of the bullet train.
When a train rushes into a narrow tunnel at high speed, Nakatsu explained, this
generates atmospheric pressure waves that gradually grows into waves like tidal
waves. These reach the tunnel exit at the speed of sound, generating a low
frequency wave that produces a large boom and aerodynamic vibration so intense
that residents 400 meters away have registered complaints. The decision was
made to pattern the front end of the bullet train after the kingfisher's beak.
Acne is an inflammatory skin condition characterized by swollen red breakouts that appear on the face, neck, back, and chest. When dirt, oil, makeup, dead skin cells, and other toxins clog the pores, bacteria thrive, and cause blemishes. Acne is caused by stress, poor hygiene, poor diet, hormonal imbalances, and certain medications.
There are many treatments available in the market but the use of natural home remedies are the most effective, especially the use of coconut oil.
Can Coconut Oil be Used to Treat
Acne?
Coconut oil is completely natural and helps to preserve healthy skin and enables correct functioning of the sebum glands to clear any blockages.
It is a rich source of capric acid, caprylic acid and lauric acid which gets converted to monocaprin and monolaurin, a type of acidic shield that are formed on skin to combat with acne.
It is a rich source of Vitamin E that keeps the skin healthy and clear.
It has vitamin K that supplies potassium nutrients, forming a protective layer.
It has anti-inflammatory qualities helps to reduce the inflammation.
It has anti – bacterial, anti – microbial and anti – fungal properties that help to destroy the acne causing microbes.
It is a rich source of vitamin A that stops the skin from shedding early, leaving underdeveloped cells that are exposed to microbes and other toxic substances.
When consumed, the oil helps to improve the metabolism, which improves circulation and indirectly helps in regulating the release of hormones that trigger off the extra production of sebum.
This oil helps to reduce scars and repairs damaged skin.
It is a great source of fatty acids like Lauric fatty acid that has anti – bacterial and anti – inflammatory properties. Capric acid also combats P. acne to reduce acne along with moisturizing the skin.
It is rich in medium chain fatty acids and medium chain triglycerides that protect the skin from infections and bacteria.
It contains proteins which ensure damaged skin cells get replaced regularly.
It has many healthy acids and anti – oxidants along with vitamin C and E that helps to fight against the free radicals.
How to use Coconut Oil for Acne:
There are several ways of using coconut oil to treat acne. We have mentioned them below with a detailed description. Before trying out the process, make sure to wash your face with a cleanser with an added benefit of acne-fighting ingredient. It boosts the effectiveness of the treatment.
1. Coconut Oil with Baking Soda
This face mask acts as cleanser that helps to get rid of dirt in pores, excess oil and dead skin cells.
Mix 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil and 1 teaspoon baking soda to make a paste.
Apply on the face and neck, rubbing in circular motions for 5 – 10 minutes.
Wash with cold water and pat the skin dry.
Continue applying this face mask regularly.
2. Coconut Oil with Oatmeal
This process soothes the inflamed, rough skin and restores the pH balance.
Mix 1 tablespoon oatmeal, 3 tablespoons coconut oil and warm water.
Apply this on the acne affected skin.
Rub in circular motion for a few minutes.
Let it sit for about 15 – 20 minutes and wash with water thoroughly.
Pat dry the face and repeat regularly.
3. Coconut Oil with Turmeric
This face pack helps to fight against the acne causing bacteria and clears the dirt, oil and other impurities from the skin.
Mix a pinch of turmeric powder with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.
Apply this paste on the clean face and neck.
Leave for about 15 – 20 minutes and rinse with cold water and pat dry.
Repeat the same process regularly.
4. Coconut Oil Overnight Application
This process helps to soothe redness, inflammation and discomfort caused by acne.
Mix 3 drops of tea tree oil and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil together.
Apply on the face and massage in circular motions before going to bed.
Leave on overnight and wash it off the next morning.
Follow this remedy regularly.
5. Coconut Oil with Banana
This process prevents dry skin by hydrating and moisturizing it to prevent acne. It also eliminates the acne causing bacteria.
Mash ½ piece of ripe banana and add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in it.
Mix well and add a pinch of turmeric powder.
Apply on the face and neck thoroughly.
Leave on 20 minutes to dry completely.
Wash off then dry the face with a towel.
Follow this process regularly.
6. Coconut Oil for Cystic Acne
This process is an overnight application of coconut oil focusing on particularly cystic acne. This process helps to provide hydration and kills the acne causing bacteria.
Take enough organic coconut oil into your palms.
Rub coconut oil gently in your palms to liquefy the oil and then apply this on the acne affected skin areas, massaging gently.
Leave overnight and wash it off with lukewarm water and mild facial cleanser.
Or steam the face by simply dipping a towel in hot water and placing it over the face so that it will open up the skin pores.
Dilute 1 part of coconut oil to 9 parts of water and apply this on the acne affected areas of the skin with Q-tip or cotton swab. Let it sit for few minutes to dry and wash off with water.
You can also add aloe vera gel to this oil, especially if you skin is delicate.
Apply this process regularly.
7. Coconut Oil Homemade Cream
This cream exhibits antiviral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties that help to clear acne. This moisturizes and prevents excess oil on the skin.
Mix organic coconut oil with kaolin powder (a fine white clay).
Apply on the face and neck and leave on for few minutes to dry.
Wash with water and pat the skin dry.
Continue applying this regularly.
8. Coconut Oil with Aloe Vera and Honey
This mask helps not only to nourish and soothe the skin, but also regenerates the skin to clear it from acne.
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – 2 tablespoons
Honey – 2 tablespoons
Fresh aloe vera juice – 5 tablespoons
Warm water
Tissues
Process:
Mix organic honey, fresh aloe vera gel and virgin coconut oil together.
Apply on the face for about 20 – 25 minutes.
Use a tissue to wipe the face clean.
Rinse off with warm water and pat the skin dry.
Apply this twice a week.
Using just honey and coconut oil on the face can also help.
9. Coconut Oil with Egg White
Beat an egg white and add a few drops of coconut oil.
Apply this on the face as veil and let it sit for about 15 – 20 minutes.
Wash it off thoroughly with water and pat the skin dry.
Follow this process regularly.
10. Coconut Oil with Green Clay Powder
Mix 9 drops of coconut oil in 2 tablespoons of green mud powder.
Add water and stir to make a paste.
Apply on the affected skin and leave for 20 – 30 minutes to dry.
Wash it off with warm water and pat the skin dry.
Re-apply this mask regularly.
11. Coconut Oil with Tomato and Jojoba Oil
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – 3 to 5 drops
Jojoba oil – 1 teaspoon
Tomato – 1
Warm water
Soft towel
Process:
Cut a tomato into fine slices and add organic coconut oil and jojoba oil.
Mix well and then blend.
Apply on the affected skin and leave it for 10 – 15 minutes.
Wash it off with warm water and pat the skin dry.
Follow this process regularly.
12. Coconut Oil Moisturizer with Lemon
Lemons are full of Vitamin C and this helps in neutralizing the body’s pH balance. It is processed within 48 hours of plucking and contains a staggering 57% of lauric acid, as compared to other products in the market which test as low as 42%.
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – 4 tablespoons
Lemon – 1
Essential oil or vitamin E oil
Vanilla extract
Process:
Mix solidified coconut oil with fresh lemon juice.
Add essential oils like tea tree oil, lavender oil or vitamin E oil along with some vanilla extract.
Mix with an electric hand mixer to get a fluffy texture.
Apply this on the acne affected skin areas.
Regular application will give best results.
If the weather is warm, then store this in a fridge.
13. Coconut Oil Homemade Scrub
Ingredients:
Coconut oil – few drops
Sugar – 1/2 mug
Sesame oil (OR) Olive oil – 1/4 glass
Nectar – 1 teaspoon
Warm water
Process:
Mix a few drops of organic coconut oil, sugar, sesame or olive oil and nectar.
Apply this on the cleansed face and neck.
Rub gently for a few minutes, then wash off with warm water.
Dry the face and repeat this process regularly.
14. Coconut Oil Cleanser
Mix a few drops of coconut oil and carrier oil.
Apply on the affected skin.
Massage it gently for few minutes then wash off with water.
Dry the skin and repeat daily.
15. Coconut Oil with Plain Yogurt
Yogurt cools the scraped skin and lessens the redness.
Mix 7 drops of virgin coconut oil in ¼ cup of plain yogurt.
Apply on the affected skin.
Leave for 15 – 20 minutes then wash it with warm water.
Dry the skin and repeat this process regularly.
Tips and Precautions:
Follow these tips and precautions for safe and effective results.
Add some coconut oil in body wash and use it in your shower. Rub it gently on the acne affected skin to treat acne. Choosing a body wash with acne-fighting ingredients can be more beneficial in treating acne.
Always use organic, cold pressed and extra virgin coconut oil.
Try to apply the oil before going to bed for best results.
Always do a patch test first before using these remedies.
You can apply this on any part of your body for good results.
Mix 1/4 cup of coconut milk in a morning smoothie and have this to dissolve the excess sebum in the body to prevent inflammation and acne.
It’s advisable to wash your face and hands thoroughly before applying this coconut oil to prevent the spread of oils and bacteria.
This works well for other skin problems like pimples, nodules, whiteheads, blackheads and scars.
It can be stored for a long time.
Regular intake of 2 – 5 tablespoons of coconut oil orally will also help to speed up the metabolism for proper body functioning.
Make sure to consult your doctor if you don’t see any results or if you’re pregnant.
It is always best to use a lighter oil as a carrier oil to reduce the viscosity of coconut oil and help it absorb more easily.
Exfoliating with coconut oil is crucial, as it helps to clean the skin and the debris clogging the pores. This also used as cleanser.
If you don’t have time to prepare the homemade mixtures to treat acne. Then you can use commercial acne face masks which don’t contain harsh chemicals and specially formulated to treat acne.
Other than using coconut oil, you have to drink plenty of healthy fluids and water, exercise regularly, relax from stress and regularly wash the face to get complete control over acne and prevent its recurrence.
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
THE KINGFISHER'S BEAK
The result? The bullet
train now travels 10% faster, and consumes 15% less energy. In addition the air
pressure produced by the train has been reduced by 30%. Thus there is no large
boom as the train passes through a tunnel. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Did the
kingfisher's beak come by chance? Or it was designed? (AWAKE)
Is it Good to Eat Fractionated Coconut Oil?
You've come this far and you know that you can eat fractionated coconut oil in the name of MCT oil and liquid coconut oil, now the question is, is it really good for you to eat fractionated coconut oil?
Some people have argued that fractionated coconut oil is created out of the byproducts after extracting certain compounds from coconut oil or palm kernel oil for the manufacturing of synthetic detergents, drugs and health supplements. Also, it's a man-made oil and not a natural one like virgin coconut oil, so, it's no good to eat fractionated coconut oil.
You've come this far and you know that you can eat fractionated coconut oil in the name of MCT oil and liquid coconut oil, now the question is, is it really good for you to eat fractionated coconut oil?
Some people have argued that fractionated coconut oil is created out of the byproducts after extracting certain compounds from coconut oil or palm kernel oil for the manufacturing of synthetic detergents, drugs and health supplements. Also, it's a man-made oil and not a natural one like virgin coconut oil, so, it's no good to eat fractionated coconut oil.
It's true that fractionated coconut oil was first
manufactured by re-combining caprylic and capric acids into triglycerides that
are left over in the process of extracting lauric acid, myristic acid and
palmitic acid for making drugs, health supplements, soaps, detergents and
cosmetics etc. But as more people get to know about the health benefits of
caprylic and capric acids, manufacturers begin to treat these two medium-chain
fatty acids as two of the important substances for extraction, and not as
byproducts anymore.
My point is, whether it is made out of byproducts or not, and whether it is man-made or not, the fact is, fractionated coconut oil can't be any worse than most vegetable oils that contain mostly long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) and unsaturated fatty acids that are hard to break down and easily get deposited as body fat, and encourage oxidation, right?
Therefore, you're better off consuming fractionated coconut oil in the name of MCT oil or liquid coconut oil than eating soybean oil, peanut oil, safflower oil and even the so-called health-promoting olive oil that contain 100% long-chain triglycerides and predominantly unsaturated fatty acids.
Apart from being edible, you can also use MCT oil or liquid coconut oil for skin care, hair care and body care. In other words, you can use these 2 types of fractionated coconut oil for both external and consumption purposes, unlike the one that is labeled fractionated coconut oil, which you can only use it externally in most cases.
And make sure you get one that looks colorless (without a tinge of yellow caused by moldy impurities or other colored contaminants) and taste odorless (some MCT oils come with special flavor but that could lower your awareness to its rancidity when it goes bad).
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
So what is your focus? If your skin is dry and you need some oil treatment to wet your skin so it looks supple and bouncy, use fractionated coconut oil. But if you're not so particular about getting the oil absorbed quickly and all you want is protection against health-detrimental germs, then you need virgin coconut oil. Virgin coconut oil will still get absorbed by your skin though, it's just that the rate of absorption is relatively slower.
You can actually use both – apply a thin layer of fractionated coconut oil followed by another thin layer of virgin coconut oil. Putting on thin layer is to prevent your skin from getting saturated and becoming oily.
I'm not so particular about the absorption rate, which is why I use virgin coconut oil for skin care since I'm already having it as food. You might feel a little awkward to have something that goes into your mouth putting on your skin too or vice versa. But that's what you can also do with virgin coconut oil. You can't eat fractionated coconut oil that is made for skin care.
3. Convenience
Anytime you need fractionated coconut oil it is always there for you to use, even in places where temperature falls below 32 °F (0 °C). This means that you can refrigerate the oil and it'll still remain as liquid. And when you need to use it for skin care, cooking, or add it to your food you do not need to warm it. Just take it out and you're ready to use.
I say that because virgin coconut oil begins to turn cloudy at temperature below 76 °F (24 °C) and becomes as hard as rock as temperature falls way further. Chiseling is one way to get the oil out of the jar for use (not kidding, I've done that stupid thing before and it messes up my kitchen top). Of course, there is a better solution to use the hardened oil – warm it, but it takes quite a while.
If time is a critical factor to you, you would fall in love with fractionated coconut oil.
The low melting (or freezing) point also gives fractionated coconut oil an edge over virgin coconut oil in massage therapy. It remains in liquid state in an air-conditioned room. It'll drive the massage therapists banana if they were to use virgin coconut oil.
So, would you choose fractionated over virgin coconut oil just because fractionated coconut oil provides greater convenience for you?
4. Cooking
When you cook with liquid coconut oil (the edible form of fractionated coconut oil), you must try to keep the temperature below 320 °F (160 °C) because at this point the oil will start to smoke and its chemical structure will break down. When it breaks down, it means every bit of the oil's healthful properties will be destroyed.
Virgin coconut oil has a relatively higher smoke point @ 350 °F (177 °C). However, both are not suitable for high heat cooking where temperatures range between 450 °F and 650 °F (232 °C – 343 °C)
Both are good for low to medium heat cooking, with virgin coconut oil slightly advantageous since it can withstand relatively higher heat. Also, virgin coconut oil can help to enhance the flavor of your food, making it tastier and more delicious, but that's provided you like the natural coconut scent it carries, like me.
If you really can't stand the coconut odor that is intrinsically and uniquely present in virgin coconut oil or you want to preserve the original flavor of the food, then use the tasteless and odorless liquid coconut oil for cooking.
5. Life Span
Because fractionated coconut oil comprises 100% saturated fatty acids (all its MCFAs are saturated), it can stand against oxidation very effectively. If left unopened and there is zero moisture inside the container, you can keep the oil for as long as 5 years or even longer. But once you open it for use, as long as you really handle it very well and keep it away from any potential contact with moisture, bacteria and other germs, the life span of the oil can still hold up to 5 years before it goes rancid.
On the other hand, virgin coconut oil may not last up to 5 years due to its natural inclusion of unsaturated fatty acids (about 8%) that may start to oxidize over time. Its shelf life is normally given as 2 years. But again, if you handle it properly even after opened, it can last a few months more.
But honestly, I've never kept virgin coconut oil for that long. In about 2 weeks a jar of 23 oz (680 ml) would be gone. Even fractionated coconut oil that we use regularly for massage purpose lasts for only a few months and not more than a year.
If you're serious about using them for your health or skin care, you wouldn't store them for that long, unless you really buy them in gallons and have to stock them up for quite some time. But I would not suggest doing that. Just buy the amount you need for 3 to 6 months and replenish your stock as soon as they're almost finish. That way you can make sure the oils are still in pretty good condition. That's what I do.
6. Price
Don't think that fractionated coconut oil is cheap just because it is synthetically made. It is produced via a very complex industrial process. This involves money, so it's not cheap though. This is why sometimes you can see fractionated coconut oil selling at a higher price than virgin coconut oil for the same volume.
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USES OF COCONUT OIL)

My point is, whether it is made out of byproducts or not, and whether it is man-made or not, the fact is, fractionated coconut oil can't be any worse than most vegetable oils that contain mostly long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) and unsaturated fatty acids that are hard to break down and easily get deposited as body fat, and encourage oxidation, right?
Therefore, you're better off consuming fractionated coconut oil in the name of MCT oil or liquid coconut oil than eating soybean oil, peanut oil, safflower oil and even the so-called health-promoting olive oil that contain 100% long-chain triglycerides and predominantly unsaturated fatty acids.
Apart from being edible, you can also use MCT oil or liquid coconut oil for skin care, hair care and body care. In other words, you can use these 2 types of fractionated coconut oil for both external and consumption purposes, unlike the one that is labeled fractionated coconut oil, which you can only use it externally in most cases.
And make sure you get one that looks colorless (without a tinge of yellow caused by moldy impurities or other colored contaminants) and taste odorless (some MCT oils come with special flavor but that could lower your awareness to its rancidity when it goes bad).
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
Nutritional Facts of Coconut Oil
Serving size: 1 Tbsp (15 ml / 14 g)
per 100 g per serving
Energy 862 kcal 120.7 kcal
Carbohydrate 0 g 0 g
Protein 0 g 0 g
Fiber 0 g 0 g
Total Fat 100 g 14 g
Saturated Fat 92.4 g 12.9 g
- Caproic acid (SCFA, 6:0) 0.6 g 0.08 g
- Caprylic acid (MCFA, 8:0) 7.5 g 1.05 g
- Capric acid (MCFA, 10:0) 6 g 0.84 g
- Lauric acid (MCFA, 12:0) 50.5 g 7.07 g
- Myristic acid (LCFA, 14:0) 16.8 g 2.35 g
- Palmitic acid (LCFA, 16:0) 8.2 g 1.15 g
- Stearic acid (LCFA, 18:0) 2.8 g 0.39 g
Mono-unsaturated Fat 5.8 g 0.8 g
- Oleic acid (LCFA, 18:1) 5.8 g 0.8 g
Poly-unsaturated Fat 1.8 g 0.3 g
- Linoleic acid (LCFA, 18:2) 1.8 g 0.3 g
Trans Fat 0 mg 0 mg
Cholesterol 0 mg 0 mg
Minerals
Calcium, Ca 0 mg 0 mg
Iron, Fe 0.04 mg 0.006 mg
Magnesium, Mg 0 mg 0 mg
Phosphorus, P 0 mg 0 mg
Potassium, K 0 mg 0 mg
Sodium, Na 0 mg 0 mg
Zinc, Zn 0 mg 0 mg
Vitamins
A, Retinol 0 mcg 0 mcg
B-1, Thiamine 0 mg 0 mg
B-2, Riboflavin 0 mg 0 mg
B-3, Niacin 0 mg 0 mg
B-5, Pantothenic acid 0 mg 0 mg
B-6, Pyridoxine 0 mg 0 mg
B-9, Folate 0 mcg 0 mcg
C, Total ascorbic acid 0 mg 0 mg
E, Tocopherol 0.29 mg 0.041 mg
K, Phylloquinone 0.5 mcg 0.07 mcg
SCFA – Short-chain fatty acid
MCFA – Medium-chain fatty acid
LCFA – Long-chain fatty acid
The 10:0 or 18:2 ratios under Total Fat refer to the ratio of C:D. 'C' represents carbon atom and 'D' means double bond. A double bond between 2 carbon atoms reduces the number of hydrogens in the chain, making it unsaturated and vulnerable to free radical activities and oxidation.
Coconut oil may also contain trace amounts of phenolic compounds such as protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, coumaric acid and ferulic acid, depending on how the oil is processed. Because these acids may or may not exist, and even if they do they exist in very small amount, so, we don't add them to the nutrition facts of coconut oil above.
As arachidic acid (LCFA, 20:0) exists in coconut oil in the range of 0-0.5%, it's not officially documented as a nutrient in any coconut oil's nutrition labels or facts.
References
1. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference 16-1 (2004)
2. Fatty Acid Composition Of Some Major Oils
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
Serving size: 1 Tbsp (15 ml / 14 g)
per 100 g per serving
Energy 862 kcal 120.7 kcal
Carbohydrate 0 g 0 g
Protein 0 g 0 g
Fiber 0 g 0 g
Total Fat 100 g 14 g
Saturated Fat 92.4 g 12.9 g
- Caproic acid (SCFA, 6:0) 0.6 g 0.08 g
- Caprylic acid (MCFA, 8:0) 7.5 g 1.05 g
- Capric acid (MCFA, 10:0) 6 g 0.84 g
- Lauric acid (MCFA, 12:0) 50.5 g 7.07 g
- Myristic acid (LCFA, 14:0) 16.8 g 2.35 g
- Palmitic acid (LCFA, 16:0) 8.2 g 1.15 g
- Stearic acid (LCFA, 18:0) 2.8 g 0.39 g
Mono-unsaturated Fat 5.8 g 0.8 g
- Oleic acid (LCFA, 18:1) 5.8 g 0.8 g
Poly-unsaturated Fat 1.8 g 0.3 g
- Linoleic acid (LCFA, 18:2) 1.8 g 0.3 g
Trans Fat 0 mg 0 mg
Cholesterol 0 mg 0 mg
Minerals
Calcium, Ca 0 mg 0 mg
Iron, Fe 0.04 mg 0.006 mg
Magnesium, Mg 0 mg 0 mg
Phosphorus, P 0 mg 0 mg
Potassium, K 0 mg 0 mg
Sodium, Na 0 mg 0 mg
Zinc, Zn 0 mg 0 mg
Vitamins
A, Retinol 0 mcg 0 mcg
B-1, Thiamine 0 mg 0 mg
B-2, Riboflavin 0 mg 0 mg
B-3, Niacin 0 mg 0 mg
B-5, Pantothenic acid 0 mg 0 mg
B-6, Pyridoxine 0 mg 0 mg
B-9, Folate 0 mcg 0 mcg
C, Total ascorbic acid 0 mg 0 mg
E, Tocopherol 0.29 mg 0.041 mg
K, Phylloquinone 0.5 mcg 0.07 mcg
SCFA – Short-chain fatty acid
MCFA – Medium-chain fatty acid
LCFA – Long-chain fatty acid
The 10:0 or 18:2 ratios under Total Fat refer to the ratio of C:D. 'C' represents carbon atom and 'D' means double bond. A double bond between 2 carbon atoms reduces the number of hydrogens in the chain, making it unsaturated and vulnerable to free radical activities and oxidation.
Coconut oil may also contain trace amounts of phenolic compounds such as protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, coumaric acid and ferulic acid, depending on how the oil is processed. Because these acids may or may not exist, and even if they do they exist in very small amount, so, we don't add them to the nutrition facts of coconut oil above.
As arachidic acid (LCFA, 20:0) exists in coconut oil in the range of 0-0.5%, it's not officially documented as a nutrient in any coconut oil's nutrition labels or facts.
References
1. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference 16-1 (2004)
2. Fatty Acid Composition Of Some Major Oils
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USE OF COCONUT OIL)
Fractionated Coconut Oil Vs Virgin Coconut Oil
Fractionated coconut oil sucks... just because it is not as natural as virgin coconut oil?
No way! We can't simply base on such fact and say that fractionated coconut oil is bad. That's outright unfair to fractionated coconut oil, don't you think?
I would say each has its own benefits on health and skin, and in other aspects. But whether their benefits apply to you or not will depend on what you're looking for. Why not we compare their properties side by side first so that you can make a better decision on which one to choose for your needs?
Properties Fractionated Coconut Oil (aka MCT oil, Liquid Coconut Oil) Virgin Coconut Oil
Type Refined, man-made Unrefined, natural
Content 100% medium-chain fatty acids Less than 1% short-, 64% medium- and 35% long-chain fatty acids
Also known as... MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil or liquid coconut oil Unrefined coconut oil or Extra-virgin coconut oil
Degree of saturation 100% saturated 92% saturated, 8% unsaturated
Melting point 14 to 25 °F (-10 to -4 °C) 76 °F (24 °C)
Smoke point 320 °F (160 °C) 350 °F (177 °C)
Color in liquid state Colorless Colorless
Color in solid state Snowy white Snowy white
Color in solid state Snowy white Snowy white
Odor Odorless Scent of coconut
Uses Skin care products, hair care, massage oil, medicine, special diet for athletes Skin care, hair care, food for health benefits
Shelf life Several months to 5 years 2 years
It seems that the only common characteristic between fractionated and virgin coconut oil is their color.
Other than that, everything else is different. And their differences mean that their uses and benefits on your health and skin will be different.
1. Health Benefits
It seems that the only common characteristic between fractionated and virgin coconut oil is their color.
Other than that, everything else is different. And their differences mean that their uses and benefits on your health and skin will be different.
Name of Fatty Acid Size Fractionated Coconut Oil Virgin Coconut Oil
Caproic acid Short-chain 0 ~ 0.5%
Caprylic acid Medium-chain 60 – 75% ~ 8%
Capric acid Medium-chain 25 – 40% ~ 6%
Lauric acid Medium-chain 0 – 10% ~ 50%
Myristic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 17%
Palmitic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 8%
Stearic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 3%
Arachidic acid Long-chain 0 0 – 0.5%
Oleic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 6%
Linoleic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 2%
Fractionated coconut oil composes mainly of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are indisputably very much healthier than long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs).
But that doesn't mean fractionated coconut oil is relatively better for your health. Look at the types of fatty acids it carries – caprylic and capric acids (with only a few percent of lauric acid and that occurs to only certain brands sold in the name of liquid coconut oil).
It's true that caprylic and capric acids convert very quickly to energy, and they do not require the release of insulin (that inhibit your body from burning fat) to transport them into cells, unlike long-chain fatty acids and carbohydrates. For these reasons, taking MCT oil (an edible version of fractionated coconut oil) can help reduce your body fat and boost your exercise performance.
Do you work out a lot and need to max up your performance? Are you seriously overweight that you need to burn lots of excess body fat? Then you need this fractionated coconut oil (MCT oil to be exact).
But if health is a much greater concern to you, virgin coconut oil that gives half of its content to lauric acid is your best choice since lauric acid is an exceptionally powerful germ killer. With little or no lauric acid in fractionated coconut oil, you'll have to depend largely on your own body's immune system to fight off any hardcore invading microorganisms.
Of course, caprylic and capric acids do hold antimicrobial properties too, but they're good at fighting certain strains of bacteria and viruses only, unlike the broader range of bacteria and viruses (such as HIV, measles virus, sarcoma virus, influenza virus, leukemia virus, H. pylori, chlamydia pneumoniae etc) that lauric acid covers.
To top it off, virgin coconut oil contains 7 other fatty acids (caproic, myristic, palmitic, stearic, arachidic, oleic and linoleic acids) with each targeting different types and strains of parasites, viruses, bacteria and fungi, giving an extra boost to your immunity.
What's more, after energy conversion you're left with little caprylic and capric compounds to kill germs if you were to take fractionated coconut oil. Hence, fractionated coconut oil can't protect you like what virgin coconut oil does.
2. Skin Benefits
When it comes to skin benefits, I can't side with virgin coconut oil too much because fractionated coconut oil, to be honest, is more popular in the skin care aspect, particularly in the massage therapy industry.
Virgin coconut oil is rarely in use for massage therapy because of its composition of LCFAs, which make the oil more viscous than fractionated coconut oil. Which means, fractionated coconut oil gets absorbed relatively faster by your skin. Thanks to its 100% MCFAs that are so small they can effortlessly and quickly penetrate your skin cells and moisturize your skin. This makes you feel less greasier on your skin.
In fact, virgin coconut oil is good for skin too. It's true that it does not penetrate your skin as fast as fractionated coconut oil, but it protects your skin from harmful germs very much better than fractionated coconut oil. Again, because it comprises a set of 10 antimicrobial compounds as mentioned moments ago.
Upon applying virgin coconut oil to your skin, friendly bacteria on your skin will eat up the glycerols that tie the fatty acids together and then release lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid and other fatty acids (as well as their monoglycerides) to form an army of antimicrobials layering on your skin to combat and kill any invading bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and other germs right on the spot.
Defending your skin against germs is not what the massage therapists focus on. Their job is to primarily make your skin smooth so they can perform the massage on you and make you feel relax quickly.
Fractionated coconut oil sucks... just because it is not as natural as virgin coconut oil?
No way! We can't simply base on such fact and say that fractionated coconut oil is bad. That's outright unfair to fractionated coconut oil, don't you think?
I would say each has its own benefits on health and skin, and in other aspects. But whether their benefits apply to you or not will depend on what you're looking for. Why not we compare their properties side by side first so that you can make a better decision on which one to choose for your needs?
Properties Fractionated Coconut Oil (aka MCT oil, Liquid Coconut Oil) Virgin Coconut Oil
Type Refined, man-made Unrefined, natural
Content 100% medium-chain fatty acids Less than 1% short-, 64% medium- and 35% long-chain fatty acids
Also known as... MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil or liquid coconut oil Unrefined coconut oil or Extra-virgin coconut oil
Degree of saturation 100% saturated 92% saturated, 8% unsaturated
Melting point 14 to 25 °F (-10 to -4 °C) 76 °F (24 °C)
Smoke point 320 °F (160 °C) 350 °F (177 °C)
Color in liquid state Colorless Colorless
Color in solid state Snowy white Snowy white
Color in solid state Snowy white Snowy white
Odor Odorless Scent of coconut
Uses Skin care products, hair care, massage oil, medicine, special diet for athletes Skin care, hair care, food for health benefits
Shelf life Several months to 5 years 2 years
It seems that the only common characteristic between fractionated and virgin coconut oil is their color.
Other than that, everything else is different. And their differences mean that their uses and benefits on your health and skin will be different.
1. Health Benefits
It seems that the only common characteristic between fractionated and virgin coconut oil is their color.
Other than that, everything else is different. And their differences mean that their uses and benefits on your health and skin will be different.
Name of Fatty Acid Size Fractionated Coconut Oil Virgin Coconut Oil
Caproic acid Short-chain 0 ~ 0.5%
Caprylic acid Medium-chain 60 – 75% ~ 8%
Capric acid Medium-chain 25 – 40% ~ 6%
Lauric acid Medium-chain 0 – 10% ~ 50%
Myristic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 17%
Palmitic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 8%
Stearic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 3%
Arachidic acid Long-chain 0 0 – 0.5%
Oleic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 6%
Linoleic acid Long-chain 0 ~ 2%
Fractionated coconut oil composes mainly of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are indisputably very much healthier than long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs).
But that doesn't mean fractionated coconut oil is relatively better for your health. Look at the types of fatty acids it carries – caprylic and capric acids (with only a few percent of lauric acid and that occurs to only certain brands sold in the name of liquid coconut oil).
It's true that caprylic and capric acids convert very quickly to energy, and they do not require the release of insulin (that inhibit your body from burning fat) to transport them into cells, unlike long-chain fatty acids and carbohydrates. For these reasons, taking MCT oil (an edible version of fractionated coconut oil) can help reduce your body fat and boost your exercise performance.
Do you work out a lot and need to max up your performance? Are you seriously overweight that you need to burn lots of excess body fat? Then you need this fractionated coconut oil (MCT oil to be exact).
But if health is a much greater concern to you, virgin coconut oil that gives half of its content to lauric acid is your best choice since lauric acid is an exceptionally powerful germ killer. With little or no lauric acid in fractionated coconut oil, you'll have to depend largely on your own body's immune system to fight off any hardcore invading microorganisms.
Of course, caprylic and capric acids do hold antimicrobial properties too, but they're good at fighting certain strains of bacteria and viruses only, unlike the broader range of bacteria and viruses (such as HIV, measles virus, sarcoma virus, influenza virus, leukemia virus, H. pylori, chlamydia pneumoniae etc) that lauric acid covers.
To top it off, virgin coconut oil contains 7 other fatty acids (caproic, myristic, palmitic, stearic, arachidic, oleic and linoleic acids) with each targeting different types and strains of parasites, viruses, bacteria and fungi, giving an extra boost to your immunity.
What's more, after energy conversion you're left with little caprylic and capric compounds to kill germs if you were to take fractionated coconut oil. Hence, fractionated coconut oil can't protect you like what virgin coconut oil does.
2. Skin Benefits
When it comes to skin benefits, I can't side with virgin coconut oil too much because fractionated coconut oil, to be honest, is more popular in the skin care aspect, particularly in the massage therapy industry.
Virgin coconut oil is rarely in use for massage therapy because of its composition of LCFAs, which make the oil more viscous than fractionated coconut oil. Which means, fractionated coconut oil gets absorbed relatively faster by your skin. Thanks to its 100% MCFAs that are so small they can effortlessly and quickly penetrate your skin cells and moisturize your skin. This makes you feel less greasier on your skin.
In fact, virgin coconut oil is good for skin too. It's true that it does not penetrate your skin as fast as fractionated coconut oil, but it protects your skin from harmful germs very much better than fractionated coconut oil. Again, because it comprises a set of 10 antimicrobial compounds as mentioned moments ago.
Upon applying virgin coconut oil to your skin, friendly bacteria on your skin will eat up the glycerols that tie the fatty acids together and then release lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid and other fatty acids (as well as their monoglycerides) to form an army of antimicrobials layering on your skin to combat and kill any invading bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and other germs right on the spot.
Defending your skin against germs is not what the massage therapists focus on. Their job is to primarily make your skin smooth so they can perform the massage on you and make you feel relax quickly.
So what is your focus? If your skin is dry and you need some oil treatment to wet your skin so it looks supple and bouncy, use fractionated coconut oil. But if you're not so particular about getting the oil absorbed quickly and all you want is protection against health-detrimental germs, then you need virgin coconut oil. Virgin coconut oil will still get absorbed by your skin though, it's just that the rate of absorption is relatively slower.
You can actually use both – apply a thin layer of fractionated coconut oil followed by another thin layer of virgin coconut oil. Putting on thin layer is to prevent your skin from getting saturated and becoming oily.
I'm not so particular about the absorption rate, which is why I use virgin coconut oil for skin care since I'm already having it as food. You might feel a little awkward to have something that goes into your mouth putting on your skin too or vice versa. But that's what you can also do with virgin coconut oil. You can't eat fractionated coconut oil that is made for skin care.
3. Convenience
Anytime you need fractionated coconut oil it is always there for you to use, even in places where temperature falls below 32 °F (0 °C). This means that you can refrigerate the oil and it'll still remain as liquid. And when you need to use it for skin care, cooking, or add it to your food you do not need to warm it. Just take it out and you're ready to use.
I say that because virgin coconut oil begins to turn cloudy at temperature below 76 °F (24 °C) and becomes as hard as rock as temperature falls way further. Chiseling is one way to get the oil out of the jar for use (not kidding, I've done that stupid thing before and it messes up my kitchen top). Of course, there is a better solution to use the hardened oil – warm it, but it takes quite a while.
If time is a critical factor to you, you would fall in love with fractionated coconut oil.
The low melting (or freezing) point also gives fractionated coconut oil an edge over virgin coconut oil in massage therapy. It remains in liquid state in an air-conditioned room. It'll drive the massage therapists banana if they were to use virgin coconut oil.
So, would you choose fractionated over virgin coconut oil just because fractionated coconut oil provides greater convenience for you?
4. Cooking
When you cook with liquid coconut oil (the edible form of fractionated coconut oil), you must try to keep the temperature below 320 °F (160 °C) because at this point the oil will start to smoke and its chemical structure will break down. When it breaks down, it means every bit of the oil's healthful properties will be destroyed.
Virgin coconut oil has a relatively higher smoke point @ 350 °F (177 °C). However, both are not suitable for high heat cooking where temperatures range between 450 °F and 650 °F (232 °C – 343 °C)
Both are good for low to medium heat cooking, with virgin coconut oil slightly advantageous since it can withstand relatively higher heat. Also, virgin coconut oil can help to enhance the flavor of your food, making it tastier and more delicious, but that's provided you like the natural coconut scent it carries, like me.
If you really can't stand the coconut odor that is intrinsically and uniquely present in virgin coconut oil or you want to preserve the original flavor of the food, then use the tasteless and odorless liquid coconut oil for cooking.
5. Life Span
Because fractionated coconut oil comprises 100% saturated fatty acids (all its MCFAs are saturated), it can stand against oxidation very effectively. If left unopened and there is zero moisture inside the container, you can keep the oil for as long as 5 years or even longer. But once you open it for use, as long as you really handle it very well and keep it away from any potential contact with moisture, bacteria and other germs, the life span of the oil can still hold up to 5 years before it goes rancid.
On the other hand, virgin coconut oil may not last up to 5 years due to its natural inclusion of unsaturated fatty acids (about 8%) that may start to oxidize over time. Its shelf life is normally given as 2 years. But again, if you handle it properly even after opened, it can last a few months more.
But honestly, I've never kept virgin coconut oil for that long. In about 2 weeks a jar of 23 oz (680 ml) would be gone. Even fractionated coconut oil that we use regularly for massage purpose lasts for only a few months and not more than a year.
If you're serious about using them for your health or skin care, you wouldn't store them for that long, unless you really buy them in gallons and have to stock them up for quite some time. But I would not suggest doing that. Just buy the amount you need for 3 to 6 months and replenish your stock as soon as they're almost finish. That way you can make sure the oils are still in pretty good condition. That's what I do.
6. Price
Don't think that fractionated coconut oil is cheap just because it is synthetically made. It is produced via a very complex industrial process. This involves money, so it's not cheap though. This is why sometimes you can see fractionated coconut oil selling at a higher price than virgin coconut oil for the same volume.
(SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USES OF COCONUT OIL)
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