Coconut Oil Anyone?

I use if for cooking as part of a Paleo diet and I like it, can't say specific health benefits have been noticed as I changed my entire die at the time.

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i hear it is great.

I use it for my hair....that's about it for me but I've heard great things.

I love it! I started using it instead of vegetable oil after I heard it was good for people with thyroid issues.

I use it as a face cleaner. Put coconut oil and sea salt together. Scrub gently on your wet face, then rinse off using a wash cloth. I don't even have to use a moisturizer. Love it

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I use it mainly for "beauty" products that I make.
Lotions, deodorants, etc.

I generally cook with infused olive oils though, as I mainly eat spicy foods.
I'm curious about using coconut oil in baking though...

I looove it! It's a fantastically healthy source of sustained energy, helps to regulate blood sugar and is even amazing for just about anything (including as a lotion or in your hair to make it shiny).

If you don't want the coconut flavor in your cooking (like for eggs or other savory things), just buy the organic refined coconut oil. The refined version (Spectrum Organics has a great one) has no flavor at all. I prefer the unrefined organic version (Spectrum also makes this-- the jars look almost the same), which has lots of flavor and a delicious smell. However, in cooking savory things, refined is the way to go. It is mechanically refined (not chemically) to remove the flavor and also withstands higher heat.

I put a little coconut oil in my oatmeal. I often use it in cookies and quick bread recipes (including pancakes) instead of butter. I h--ave not gotten round to taking it straight, but I am considering it finding a way to use it daily (or at least 3x/week) rather than a few times a month.

There is much information on the internet about the virtues of this saturated fat. I have long abandoned (~10y) the current trend that fat is bad. Fat is my best diet friend. My bald spots are filling-in, my skin texture is finer (had an aquaintance tell me I look so much younger--"what did I do?" I said, "Sleep, Water, few grains & protein-more fats" She said, "No really." like I had a medical procedure or found a magic cream.) I also was having fewer RA episodes. Yet, I had not shed any weight (bounced around 8-12 lbs-but nothing permanent).

I eat 40-60g of healthy fats daily. My diet had been (for 30y+) primarily whole, organic, local--so there no reason to add that to the Sleep-Water-Fat summation. II have high HDL, lowmid LDL, no blood sugar problems, no medication, no eye glasses at 53y old. So why am here on MFP-->To Lose Weight. And I am doing, while eating fat and not cutting any more kcal than I had been restricting for the last 10y. I am upping my kcal burn daily by ~500kcal, but I am currently loosing pounds at twice the MPF calculated rate--6lbs in 3 wks!

I being my own experiment ,and I am not quite ready to confidently say I FOUND MY MISSING PIECE to make my body behave logically. If I can loose about 10lbs, then I am going back to my doctor to share what I have been reading and doing. In the meantime I am blogging my experiment on MPF.

Reading Nourishing Traditions was the book that educated me about the value of fat, even though that is not the specific purpose of this book. The purpose of this book is to understand why the diets of our grandparents or great-grandparents was so good and how to put those traditions into current practice. EXCELLENT BOOK. :happy:

I've started using it in place of other cooking oils for cooking eggs or stir frys. I haven't noticed any difference in health, but I think it's a good, healthy oil to use. I also rub it on my hands and nails when I scrape the extra off the spoon too :-)

I love coconut oil and use it for my hair, skin and as a lip balm. I've never used it to cook, but it is a healthy alternative. However, when I used to work at Whole Foods so many people would say they took a spoonful before each meal or a few spoonfuls a day. I don't see how that would help you lose weight or be healthy at all. At the end of the day it's still oil.

Coconuts are great, coconut oil... not so much.

I've quit using oil, because oil is too calorie dense. A food cannot be calorie dense and nutrient dense at the same time. Do the math, do the research, it's true. Sadly. Pick any whole plant food, measure the same amount of calories independent of the volume (or by weight), and then see what the nutrient content of that food is compared to any oil, including coconut oil. And then figure out how many calories by volume you would need to eat in order to fill your stomach. Do this with both the oil and the plant base food. Try comparing black beans, rice, even potatoes. A cowboy chili beans with tomatoes, peppers, onions, spices, and beans; but without any meat, cheese, or oil would give you way more nutrients, would make your belly full, and not throw your calorie count through the roof. Incredibly satisfying.

Watch Dr. Pam Popper at http://youtu.be/tZE18_xdV1I She talks about oils, coconut and otherwise.

I use it in my bulletproof coffee everyday, and it is great on my low carb lifestyle... its also great on heels and elbows as a moisturizer and on the ends of your hair for split ends

I've been using it as a moisturizer and it has CURED my acne (small surface pimples, but lots of them). Even my prescription did't do as good a job. It started showing big results in 2 days. I don't know if it would work so well on larger pimples, but it's worth a try. I've also been taking about 2 spoonfuls a day but there I haven't really noticed a change there.