Coconut Joy!

It's quite possible I speak for many of us when I say that we all love something that has multiple purposes and benefits all in one product. Is this true for you? Would you like to have something to use as a cooking oil at low or high heat safely? A little something to add to your coffee first thing in the morning to give it a boost of good fats for your brain and body to jump-start the day with? What about something you can use for your skin as a lotion or even an aftershave? I can keep going but I have a feeling you may be getting the point now. If you have answered yes to any of these questions you may be at risk for loving coconut oil! Please be advised that its healthy fats MCT's (medium chain triglycerides) and other polyphenols and vitamins may help moisturize your skin, maintain healthy cholesterol levels, aid in weight loss, improve dental quality and bone strength, aid in proper digestion, nourish your hair and have antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. If you do not wish to have so many health benefits by incorporating one thing into your daily routine I recommend you STOP reading this article now!

For those of you brave enough to keep reading on I would like to welcome to you the wonderful world of coconut oil. Maybe you already use it for cooking or skin care but never really used coconut oil to maximize its benefits in your life. First I want to get into the nitty-gritty and explore what is in coconut oil that makes it so amazing. Then I will go through a few ways I use it and some extras uses that may work for you. Let's get started!

First of all coconut oil is an oil, it contains all kinds of good fats your body needs to function properly. These fats include:

Saturated fatty acids: Most are medium chain triglycerides that are easily assimilated by the body such as lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic and palmitic acids.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids: Linoleic acid.

Monounsaturated fatty acids: Oleic acid.

Polyphenols: Gallic acid.

Along with all these good fats are Vitamin E and K as well as minerals such as Iron.

It is easy to go on and on but I would like to share with you one of my favorite ways to get coconut oil in my diet and that is in my morning coffee! Starting the day off with a fresh cup of coffee, coconut oil, organic grass-fed butter and my favorite protein powder helps me power through my mornings! Here is why it works. The coffee for many known reasons helps boost energy and metabolism as well as stimulate digestion. The grass-fed butter, and I stress grass-fed because the cows that provided that milk for your butter fed on the nutrients they need to be healthy therefore producing the best quality dairy containing all of its vital nutrients such as CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) which has many benefits itself including weight loss. For a good article regarding grass-fed products and benefits of CLA follow this link: CLA Benefits. The coconut oil, its brain boosting, cholesterol maintaining, blood pressure leveling, candida killing, heart healing, blood sugar balancing, digestion benefiting effects are great to break the fast of sleep. Finally I use a whey protein powder free from hormones and artificial ingredients (my favorite is chocolate) to support muscle growth and keep me full and energized. You can see why I like to start my day off this way!

Some other amazing things you can use coconut oil are as follows:

To replace other cooking oil as coconut oil can be used for high heat cooking, contains fewer calories compared to other oils, and it's fat is easily converted into energy!

Spread it on your toast in the morning for an extra boost!

Use it on your skin as a moisturizer, it has antibacterial properties which those with skin conditions such as acne can benefit from.

Use it in your hair and on your scalp, coconut oil can help strengthen your hair, add shine, make it softer and help relieve dry scalp to stomp out itching and flaking as well as improve growth.

Use it when you practice oil pulling methods.

Use it as a carrier oil for massage.

Use it in your homemade deodorants, it's antifungal, antimicrobial properties will help kill odor causing bacteria.

Apply it to your psoriasis to relieve itching and reduce redness.

For weight loss simply get 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil in your diet daily. Your liver converts the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil into energy and increases your metabolic rate. Add it to your morning coffee, your afternoon smoothie or add it as a topping on your popcorn.

TIP: Add coconut oil into your daily routine a little at a time. You can start with 1 tablespoon daily and increase it by 1 tablespoon at a time.

When shopping for coconut oil you may see labels read: refined, virgin, extra virgin, unrefined, natural, organic, or fractionated. Here are a few quick buying tips:

Internal use- I always go for the organic unrefined extra virgin coconut oil if I plan to use it internally.

Topical use- Such as hair and skin I prefer organic unrefined extra virgin coconut oil. The least amount of processing the better, I want it to contain all of the natural goodness that mother nature worked so hard to put into the coconut!

So really with all of it's wonderful benefits the only limitation is your imagination! If you already use coconut oil please share some of the ways you use it. If you just started using it after this article give us some feedback as to how you used it and what you thought of it.

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