Coconut oil - magic or myth?

Schwiggity

It's a decent cooking fat. It still has saturated fat, but the effects of that are under debate, and it is perfectly okay to have some saturated fat in your diet.

SRH7

I don't know about cooking, but it's certainly been magical on my hair! :laugh:

Yes extra virgin coconut oil is the only oil that actually gets into the hair cuticle making the hair softer and less frizzy. I melt some in a pan on warm heat on top of stove when melted and cooled I place the melted oil in a bottel that I us to dye my hair with. Section you hair and apply oil on small sections of hair combing each section to get oil all the way thru. Place a shower cap on your hair and clean the house, leaving the shower for last. wash hair two times rinsing well and condition like normal. You will love how your hair feels and look!

I think I need some of that...my hair is naturally curly and right now feels like straw and will not curl no matter what I do. No amount of product is working.

Oh, and coconut oil is also a good lube for um...:blushing: things if you know what I mean. They talk about it on the marriage boards I'm a member of. It may not be a "miracle drug" for weight loss, but it has SO many uses!

Ooer missus! I'm sure the lovely coconutty suntan lotion scent is also an aphrodisiac!

SRH7

It's a decent cooking fat. It still has saturated fat, but the effects of that are under debate, and it is perfectly okay to have some saturated fat in your diet.

Amazing photos on your signature. Just read your biog and it's really inspiring!

caroln3

Research Chagga (sp) tea, in regards to cancer...and non-American apricot pits. There's some incredible evidence out there...which I've experienced with immediate friends...that suggests the American drug companies have specifically lobbied for some of these 'narural medicines' to be made illegal. The apricot pits for example. It is illegal to grow or sell apricot pits that haven't been genetically altered in the US.

this really makes me angry!

CherryTop

In the research I have done I found Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is best to use in cooking/baking and Extra Virgin Olive Oil is best in baking/broiling & dressings.
E V Coconut Oil is a natural anti fungal / antimicrobial / anti Yeast. The fat is burned as fuel not absorbed as fat like a butter or processed oil.
Here is a link to where I buy my E V C O ... it is organic. I buy the gallon ... but I wait til it is on sale for 1/2 off.
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/vcno/virgin_coconut_oil.htm?s=gad&gclid=CKO-ydujp6sCFYNM4AodbyyW5w
I have had friends to use it for medicinal purposes and got great health benefits.

I hope this helps :~)

theba2il

Great thread!! Thnx!!

Pams_Shadow

bump

Silverkittycat

posting this again -

The fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, which so happens to be the SAME fat that people are so insistent on eliminating from their milk by drinking skim instead of whole. It's also found in palm kernel oil and goat's milk.

Besides, while lauric acid may help overall cholesterol numbers, atherosclerosis has nothing to do with cholesterol, and they have yet to prove that lauric acid doesn't contribute to atherosclerosis like other saturated fats. Like everything else, use in moderation, there is no 1 miracle cure.

Personally I'll go with extra virgin or virgin olive oil as my cooking oil of choice, just based on it's polyphenol and antioxidant properties, as lauric acid can come from other sources, the antioxidants and polyphenols in olive oil are unique.

Exactly, no miracle cure.

It's just business. Marketing. A loss in sales volume of coconut oil to the U.S. was a "problem" that was easily fixed when millions were spent to promote it. No different than the $ spent on campaigns to put halos on almonds, pomegranate, bottled water and so on.

Clip below is from 5 years ago, before the decisions made by the Coconut industry Investment Fund to create more demand in the U.S. market. You can see the sales projections for the U.S. were quite low. It wouldn't benefit the Philippines to import it to India due to the high import duty, not until/ unless free import was allowed under advance license for value added re-exports.

QUOTE:
Philippines keen to export coconut oil to India
Posted: 2006-09-28

The Philippines, the world’s largest producer and exporter of coconut oil, is looking to shift its exports to Asia Pacific region from its traditional markets of Europe and the US. “One of the important markets in Asia-Pacific region would be India,” Coronacion told CrisilMarketWire. Traditionally, The Philippines exports crude coconut oil to Europe and refined bleached oil to the US, he said.

The Philippines, on an average, exports 80% of its coconut oil production. However, demand from Asia Pacific region is growing compared with Europe, the US and Canada, he said.

Demand from traditional markets is being shifted to Asia Pacific due to burgeoning population and prospering economies in the region, he said. “As growths in population and income in these economies spur demand...expansion of oil consumption in the region is expected to be sustained,” Coronacion said.

“The share of the US and Canada has stagnated and that of Europe has declined but Asia Pacific has widened from 14% in 2000 to 32.7% in 2005,” he said. Share of Europe exports for 2006 is projected at 45.0%, down from 52.4% last year. Exports to U.S. are pegged at 33.3%.



I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here, I use coconut oil myself. I do believe it's healthier than many other sources of fat, but not as weight loss "magic". It's used to help with weight maintenance and weight gain in AIDS patients and cystic fibrosis along with other diseases that result in malabsorption syndromes. Celiac disease, hepatic disease, short - bowel syndrome.

Now that I'm thinking about it, it might benefit those who've restricted the fats in their diet, simply by aiding in the absorption of nutrients that they lack. But no magic!

bluebird321

I don't know about it being a wonder drug, but i've been using it for cooking breakfast and it helps me get through the morning without the cravings.

JennieAL

Coconut water from young coconuts is absolutely delicious. I also read that coconut water is somehow similar to the molecular structure of human blood and was used in emergency blood transfusions in wars... not sure how true that is. But, the coconut water is supposedly some of the most nutritious stuff you can consume.