Coconut Oil...who uses it & why?

Bump !!!!!!

I found a peanut butter-sized jar of coconut oil at Trader Joe's for $6 in my area. Don't buy LouAna kind- it's gross. I bought a huge jar of LouAna CO for about $4 at Wal-Mart and am now stuck with it! It seems like it's made from rancid coconuts. Go for TJ's brand or Spectrum.

Thanks!

Sure! I use the cheap LouAna stuff for moisturizing and removing eye makeup- I definitely wouldn't use it for internal use, like cooking/baking or treating womanly issues. I won't be buying it again, that's for sure. Like other things, you definitely get what you pay for with oils.

help me to understand... I'm mostly vegan so I do eat a lot of coconut and use coconut milk.

But growing up and researching, i always saw that coconut oil was the most saturated fat, and saturated fats are bad. Typically the "good" fats are the ones that have more polyunsaturates and lower saturates. So what is it about coconut oil that makes it an exception?

help me to understand... I'm mostly vegan so I do eat a lot of coconut and use coconut milk.

But growing up and researching, i always saw that coconut oil was the most saturated fat, and saturated fats are bad. Typically the "good" fats are the ones that have more polyunsaturates and lower saturates. So what is it about coconut oil that makes it an exception?

1 question.... have you ever smelled, felt, or tasted coconut oil?

I put it in smoothies when I want a coconut flavor or some extra calories
I use it as a makeup remover
It's great for canker sores.

There actually haven't been any scientific studies done that confirm the health benefits of coconut oil. It's probably best not to eat it until there are. It's great for skin and hair, though!

help me to understand... I'm mostly vegan so I do eat a lot of coconut and use coconut milk.

But growing up and researching, i always saw that coconut oil was the most saturated fat, and saturated fats are bad. Typically the "good" fats are the ones that have more polyunsaturates and lower saturates. So what is it about coconut oil that makes it an exception?

Saturated fat being bad is more of a general term to describe how it effect cholesterol, which it increases, and dogma dictates increased cholesterol leads to heart disease. That's kinda the dumb-ed down way to make it easy for gov't agencies to promote low fat when they supported that hypothesis 35 years ago, of course saturated fat has never been linked directly to heart disease and by that I mean they've never proved cause and effect and most studies will show that replacing saturated fat for carbs will actually increase chances for coronary artery disease, which by the way, studies showed this 35 years ago.

Coconut oil is primarily a medium chain fatty acid called Lauric Acid and low and behold it increases cholesterol a lot, actually the most of any other saturated fatty acid isomer. What it increases is HDL, you've probably heard that term before, commonly referred to as the good cholesterol, but with only a small to a negligible increase in LDL, so while it does increase out total cholesterol levels it does what's commonly referred to as lower the ratio of HDL to LDL which translates into being less atherogenic, or heart protective.

This Lauric Acid also being a tropical fat needs to protect the plants that contain a lot of fat like palm and coconut, and to a lesser degree for rigidity in leaves and stems of tropical plants. Being a very hot and humid environment Lauric Acid also contains antiviral, antimicrobial, antiprotozoal and antifungal properties. It acts by disrupting the lipid membranes in organisms like fungus, bacteria and viruses, and destroys them, which is also one of the characteristics of all saturated fats, which is their more stable and don't oxidized and become rancid and why they've been used as a cooking oil for thousands of years. Centenarians of Okinawa for example have used lard and SE Asians, Africans have used palm, coconut and ghee traditionally. It's only through pressure from the USDA and misguided media that the more refined and unstable polyunsaturated fats has found it's subsidized way as the most consumed oil in the USA. Not too smart on a health level and not that polyunsaturated fats are bad, their not, but not in the quantities consumed. It mucks with things like our omega balance and promotes too much AA Anachronic Acid which is highly unstable and quite inflammatory and promotes chronic low levels of inflammation within the body which shows up in our C-reactive protein levels consumed in these high amounts, I'm talking the standard American diet , not one where someone is consuming mostly natural ingredients and has made a decision to improve the quality of their food, and coconut oil is one of those foods.

It's not an exception! It's a fad diet thing - there haven't been any studies to back the idea that it is somehow a special exception to the "avoid saturated fat" idea.

Tell that to the millions of indigenous people in the tropics who've been consuming coconut oil for thousands of years without problems, well until the golden arched showed up.

I put it on my hair at night when the ends are getting dry and or stiff or tangly. I slather it on, it melts into oilyness. I put on a beanie and in the morning shower and wash and condition my hair. It's a great skin moisturizer too.

I learned this from a spa that can add to your massage a hot oil dripping of this onto your scalp and then massage it into the hair and scalp during the most blissful scalp shoulder and neck massage ever. :yawn: sends you right to sleep. but then the technician goes "are you staying in this hotel tonight? do you have other plans?" when I said yes, and no. He goes okay then I'm gonna leave this on your hair, when you rinse from the rest of your treatment don't rinse it out of your hair all the way, leave it on as much as possible, sleep with it in your hair and in the morning when you wash condition and style your hair it will be amazing. and it was.

Use it as a substitute for cooking oil. Use it to cook my fried rice and stir fry. Asian food is great. I

-Also use it as a mask for my hair and face. I mix it with greek yogurt, honey and olive oil. I heat up the coco oil and olive oil first.
-Gross, but sometimes I just eat a small scoop of it raw, it has a taste.
-use it as a moisturizer to for hands and elbows, knees, feet.

They carry it at warehouse shops like Costco. It is cheaper than the small containers at other stores.

I recommend the book by Dr. Mary T. Newport, "Alzheimer's Disease: What if There Was a Cure." Her focus was on its benefits for memory, but she also has a great chapter on coconut oil and saturated fats

Well, when I was a teenager, I used to rub it all over my body at the beach, burn to a crisp and this would probably explain the 10 sun cancers I have had cut out in my 40's.

As for cooking, I have never used it and don't intend to. I use vegetable oil for cooking if needed, but usually a spray will do. Or olive oil for salads, if needed for a cold dressing.

It tastes awesome! I use it for cooking. I get mine at Trader Joe's. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have the best coconut oil.

I recently bought a big jar of organic extra virgin coconut oil. I started using it on my skin and its amazing. I put some on my coffee in the morning and loved it. I am little confused though with the calories. According to the nutritional facts on my jar its calculated for a tablespoon, but is this for when its in a liquid form or solid?