If you’re doing a grocery run or just browsing through the shelves of your local supermarket, chances of bumping into a bottle of coconut oil is pretty high on the list. A highly favourable oil for a myriad of health reasons and benefits, do you think you’re up for an oil change?
What is Coconut Oil?
Coconut oil is made by pressing the fat from the white ‘flesh’ inside the giant nut. About 84% of its calories come from saturated fat. To compare, 14% of olive oil’s calories are from saturated fat and 63% of butter’s are.
“This explains why, like butter and lard, coconut oil is solid at room temperature with a long shelf life and the ability to withstand high cooking temperatures,” says registered dietitian Lisa Young, PhD. It is also the reason coconut oil has a bad rap from many health officials.
But there may be a saving grace. Coconut oil’s saturated fat is made up mostly of medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. Some people say your body handles them differently than the longer-chain fats in liquid vegetable oils, dairy and fatty meats.
If you want a product with the most flavour, look for jars labeled extra virgin. That means it’s made with a process that will help it keep more of its tropical taste.
When it comes to the health of heart, skin and hair, extra virgin coconut oil is admittedly the master of all saturated oils. Coconut oil, being made up of saturated fats, was naturally presumed to be unhealthy for many years till scientists discovered it was indeed beneficial to both mind and body.
Extra virgin coconut oil is free of hydrogenation, refinement or deodorisation. The coconut undergoes extraction of its oil through a process of drying or wetting. Nevertheless this will retain the flavour, taste, smell and freshness of the oil thereby giving an inevitable virgin quality to it.
How to Take Coconut Oil
Warning – refined or processed coconut oil can be bleached, over-heated and chemically processed to increase its shelf-life. Processing the oil changes the chemical makeup and the fats are no longer good for you!
So instead – buy extra virgin coconut oil for the greatest health benefits!
Coconut Oil has Fatty Acids that are Good for You
You may have heard that while saturated fat was once thought to be a leading cause of heart disease, it’s now known to be not just beneficial but crucial for good health. The good news: coconut oil is one of the best sources of saturated fat on the planet. In fact, the majority of fat content in coconut oil is saturated fat.
Rather than clogging your arteries, damaging your coronary system and putting you on the fast track to a stroke, new information has emerged in a significant meta-analysis, which showed no significant evidence that saturated fat causes any of the above, but is in fact very good for you.
Coconut oil also contains medium-chain triglycerides that can have therapeutic benefits for people with certain brain disorders, epilepsy and may even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
The bottom line is, when you eat foods high in medium-chain triglycerides, your body benefits.
References
• Authoritynutrition.com
• Draxe.com
• Articles.mercola.com
• Doctoroz.com
• Prevention.com
• Webmd.com
