Most of us cook with one or two types of oil: olive oil for Mediterranean dishes, for example, and perhaps plain old vegetable oil to grease pots and pans. Sometimes sunflower oil or peanut oil is called for, but your kitchen probably just has a couple of common oils.
Coconut oil can, therefore, seem very exotic to the average North American cook. Those with roots in the tropics are already familiar with the health and cooking benefits of the oil, but if you’re not already aware, coconut oil has a host of health benefits. Here are just a few of them!
1. Helps the digestive system.
If you have digestive problems, coconut oil can be helpful. When you use it as a cooking oil, coconut oil prevents stomach problems like irritable bowel syndrome and can help control symptoms. This is a side effect of the good saturated fats present in coconut oil, which help deal with bacteria and parasites. You will also absorb more nutrients through digestion with the help of coconut oil.
2. Controls diabetes.
If you’re diabetic, you’re probably used to watching your sugars and fats. Coconut oil is one of only a few oils that actually regulates blood sugar instead of making it spike. It can help you reduce the insulin you need, or prevent diabetes if you have not been diagnosed. Since it helps optimize body weight, coconut oil can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. It can also relieve itching or neuropathies.
3. Reduces risk of heart disease.
For many of the same reasons it decreases the risk of diabetes and helps to manage it, coconut oil reduces your risk of heart disease. The type of fatty acid found in coconut oil lowers your risk of heart disease, as one study published in the Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine in 1992 found. The lauric acid in coconut oil also helps high blood pressure.
4. Helps weight loss.
With the particular types of fatty acids in coconut oil – short- and medium-chain – weight loss is made easier. Farmers in the 1940s tried feeding cattle coconut oil to fatten them up, only to find that their cattle were leaner and more active! This can help encourage you to exercise more, eat healthier, and drop the pounds.
5. Provides skin and hair conditioning.
Don’t just replace your cooking oils with coconut oil – hair-care products can be tossed, too! It helps your hair repair damage and protein loss, and can help reduce the risk of dandruff. If you already have dandruff, regular application of coconut oil to the scalp can treat it. Similarly, you can apply it to the skin to moisturize without the risk that comes with using mineral oil. It helps prevent or treat skin dryness, psoriasis, eczema, and more.
6. Gives an immune system boost.
The lauric acid, antimicrobial lipids, and other types of acids found within coconut oil help fight fungi, bacteria, and viruses. This gives you an immune system boost when you consume coconut oil. Lauric acid is converted by your body to monolaurin, which can help fight herpes, flu viruses, HIV, harmful yeast, and more.
Coconut oil is a sensible replacement for most of your household oils. The health benefits of cooking with and using coconut oil frequently are little-known but powerful. This workhorse oil can improve your health in many different ways, whether or not you’re looking to control diabetes, lose weight, and so on.
The preventative nature of many of the fatty acids contained in coconut oil are valuable enough that everyone should consider taking the recommended daily amount of coconut oil, about 3 1/2 tbsp per day (check with your doctor or nutritionist for the right daily amount for you!).
But Wait! Coconut Oil Does More.
This video is a little “commercial” in nature, but it’s the best summary we could find of the benefits of coconut oil. Check it out!