Monday, August 16, 2010

Coconut oil

Coconut oil has earned a permanent spot on my pantry shelves.  It gets a bad rap because it is high in saturated fat but really it should be considered a super food.  Coconut oil is largely made up of lauric acid.  This stuff is practically magical.  Lauric acid is one of the "ingredients" in breast milk. In fact the best two natural sources of lauric acid are breast milk and coconut oil!  Coconut oil offers the most health benefits of any oil.

Benefits of coconut oil:
*  Supports the immune system - it kills viruses, bacteria, and fungus.
*  Helps absorption of vitamin E and K and several minerals (including calcium)
*  Prevents liver disease
*  Prevents kidney and gall bladder diseases
*  Helps control blood sugar
*  Helps prevent heart disease (despite the saturated fats - it does not raise cholesterol!)

Coconut oil can be used in cooking or applied topically. It makes a great 100% natural moisturizer.  I rub a little on any dry patches of skin and by the next morning my skin is as softer than ever.

Have you ever tried coconut oil? 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I'll have to try it!