Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is the chief cooking oil in the coastal tropical regions. Coconut oil is also used to add flavor and aroma to a number of dishes all over the world. And you must have surely heard about the nourishment this oil provides when massaged on skin and hair. No doubt coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care and hair care.

The health benefits of coconut oil include the following:

• Antibiotic properties: Coconut oil contains lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
• Weight loss: It is helpful in reducing weight as it contains short and medium-chain fatty acids and is easy to digest, probably because it supports healthy functioning of the thyroid.
• Cholesterol levels:Coconut oil is saturated in nature; however, it does not lead to increase in HDL and LDL levels.

  Coconut Oil is the Healthiest Oil on Earth!

  "Coconut oil is the healthiest oil on earth" says Dr. Bruce Fife, a naturopathic doctor and the author of the book The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil.

  Modern research seems to back up this bold statement. Once wrongly accused of increasing cholesterol levels, coconut oil is now actually being used by doctors in the treatment of a variety of disorders. Clinical studies have shown that coconut oil has anti-microbial and anti-viral properties, and is now even being used in treating AIDS patients. Studies conducted in the Philippines last year showed that coconut oil does indeed reduce the viral load in AIDS patients.

  Lauric Acid a Key Component to Health

  Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid which is abundant in coconut oil, and considered responsible for many of its health benefits. Coconut oil is about 50% lauric acid. The only other abundant source found in nature is in human breast milk. Dr. Jon J. Kabara, PhD and Professor Emeritus of Michigan State University says, "Never before in the history of man is it so important to emphasize the value of Lauric Oils. The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are similar to fats in mother's milk and have similar nutriceutical effects."

   

• Dr. Mary Enig, a Ph.D. nutritionist/biochemist and one of the world's leading authorities on fats and oils, goes on to say, "Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid."

• See Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century .sg/special.htm

  The Politics of Tropical Oils

  So why has coconut oil gotten such a bad rap in the recent past? After all, much of the research supporting coconut oil as a healthy fat has been around for some time. The answer is politics and economics. Coconut oil was heavily used in the US at one time, being used for baking, pastries, frying, and theater popcorn. But starting in the 1980s some very powerful groups in the US, including the American Soybean Association (ASA), the Corn Products Company (CPC International) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), began to categorically condemn all saturated oils. Faulty science was used to convince the public that ALL saturated fats were unhealthy, when in fact saturated fats rich in the medium chain fatty acids, like lauric acid, are very healthy.

  These organizations were/are aided by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many of whose key personnel are recruited from and return to the vegetable oil industry.

  The result was that most people switched to vegetable oils, and the main source of lauric acid from tropical oils in the American diet was lost. The countries that these tropical oils came from, mainly the Philippines and Malaysia, were too poor to counter these untrue claims with advertising investments for the truth.

• It is only recently that the health benefits of these tropical oils are starting to become rediscovered. Much of the research can be found on the website.