Coconut oil/butter?

lizard053
lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been hearing wonderful things about coconut, and especially the oil (extra virgin of course). I haven't had time to do much in the way of research on raw coconut, and was wondering if anyone had some useful info or links? I know, it's probably another "craze" but I heard about it first from a dietician. So it's left me wondering!

Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Coconut oil has high amounts of lauric acid, which is a heart healthy saturated fat. So, in moderation, it's fine, but it's not any magical food or anything. It's just another option for an oil if you don't feel like using butter or olive oil, and it's much better for you than say, vegetable oil.
  • saraht131
    saraht131 Posts: 86
    Coconut oil has high amounts of lauric acid, which is a heart healthy saturated fat. So, in moderation, it's fine, but it's not any magical food or anything. It's just another option for an oil if you don't feel like using butter or olive oil, and it's much better for you than say, vegetable oil.

    What this person said. Also something else to consider - it's frigging expensive.
  • ShadowSylph
    ShadowSylph Posts: 45
    The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.

    How is Lauric Acid Used by our body?

    The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia. As a result of these various health benefits of coconut oil, though its exact mechanism of action was unknown, it has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system. The Coconut Research Center has compiled various references on scientific research done on coconut oil.

    (cut and pasted)

    Keep in mind, that it matters how the coconut was extracted - "cold pressed" extra virgin is best.
  • ShadowSylph
    ShadowSylph Posts: 45
    also.. and this may be tmi, but.. if you use coconut oil regularly as a lubricant *ahem*, you'll never get another yeast infection! :p true story.
  • ShadowSylph
    ShadowSylph Posts: 45
    ..and it's really not that expensive if you look around - the last jar I bought was only $8. ;)
    "Nutiva" organic, extra virgin, cold-pressed, not refined, deodorized, or bleached... from SuperStore! ..yep. crazy huh? Before I found it there, I was paying generally 16-26 dollars for the same amount or less.
    yay SuperStore!
  • delikium
    delikium Posts: 196 Member
    Coconut oil has high amounts of lauric acid, which is a heart healthy saturated fat. So, in moderation, it's fine, but it's not any magical food or anything. It's just another option for an oil if you don't feel like using butter or olive oil, and it's much better for you than say, vegetable oil.

    What this person said. Also something else to consider - it's frigging expensive.

    I bought some today in China town for 2euro50
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,224 Member
    I believe it called virgin coconut oil, not extra virgin. Anyway, I agree it's another good option for healthy fat. It's not a fad ingredient and has been consumed by peoples in tropical latitudes for thousands of years.
  • ShadowSylph
    ShadowSylph Posts: 45
    I believe it called virgin coconut oil, not extra virgin. Anyway, I agree it's another good option for healthy fat. It's not a fad ingredient and has been consumed by peoples in tropical latitudes for thousands of years.

    no, it's "extra virgin" :)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,224 Member
    I believe it called virgin coconut oil, not extra virgin. Anyway, I agree it's another good option for healthy fat. It's not a fad ingredient and has been consumed by peoples in tropical latitudes for thousands of years.

    no, it's "extra virgin" :)

    What is "Extra Virgin Coconut Oil?"

    Some retailers and manufacturers of Virgin Coconut Oils, referring to one of the processes mentioned above, call their coconut oil "Extra Virgin Coconut Oil." But there are no other processes used to make coconut oil other than the ones mentioned above, so this classification is simply arbitrary.


    http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/what_is_virgin_coconut_oil.htm
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    I have been hearing wonderful things about coconut, and especially the oil (extra virgin of course). I haven't had time to do much in the way of research on raw coconut, and was wondering if anyone had some useful info or links? I know, it's probably another "craze" but I heard about it first from a dietician. So it's left me wondering!

    It's not a "craze", it's a good oil that tolerates fairly high heat (unlike olive oil) and contains healthy fats.

    It's a substitute for oils that have trouble with heat (again, olive oil) or are overall less healthy for you due to containing inferior fats (like vegetable oil).

    If you're replacing a less-appropriate oil with coconut oil, you're probably doing it right. If you're taking coconut oil supplements or adding it to your diet, you're probably doing it wrong.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    also.. and this may be tmi, but.. if you use coconut oil regularly as a lubricant *ahem*, you'll never get another yeast infection! :p true story.

    Ok, this is an awesome tidbit. Never had yeast infections much, but now I get them all the time, whenever I eat too much yeast. This is good to know!

    As I said, I had a dietician and another "raw" foodie tell me it's great. A nice size jar of organic, cold pressed stuff runs ~$12 on amazon. I don't see it as too outrageous. Then again, when I'm talking about my health, very little is too expensive. I'll look in my local health food stores too. Yay!

    Thanks everyone for the great info!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    You can get two 15oz jars of that Nutiva for $18.00 on Amazon.

    http://www.amazon.com/Nutiva-Organic-Virgin-Coconut-15-Ounce/dp/B001EO5Q64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336668756&sr=8-1
  • SweetxCatastrophe
    SweetxCatastrophe Posts: 593 Member
    I use it to sautee veggies and it has a nice light, slightly sweet taste. I've heard of people stirring it into coffee, or even eating it by the spoonful. I use it to make soap so I buy it by the 5gal bucket now, but I've bought it from netrition.com and remember it being pretty affordable.

    Bonus: not only is it tasty, but I rub it on my skin when I get sunburned (smells better than aloe and the burn seems to clear up faster and I don't peel). I also put it on my hair (dry, not wet hair) for about an hour once every week and a half or so (and then shampooed out really well) and it keeps me from having to use conditioner and has made a huge difference in the amount of breakage and split ends I get
  • JayByrd107
    JayByrd107 Posts: 282 Member
    also.. and this may be tmi, but.. if you use coconut oil regularly as a lubricant *ahem*, you'll never get another yeast infection! :p true story.

    Just realize that after this use, it is no longer "extra virgin".
  • lichensandseeds
    lichensandseeds Posts: 41 Member
    Trader joe's sells it as does whole foods-- the whole foods 365 store brand isn't too expensive. I've been able to find it for about $7.00 a jar which isn't much more than olive oil, and if you use it sparingly in cooking it lasts awhile.

    You also mention coconut butter in your subject line. This is super easy to make-- just take unsweetened shredded coconut (you can buy it really cheap in the bulk bins at groceries), put about a cup or two in a food processor and run the food processor for awhile (no other ingredients-- just plain unsweetened coconut-- not the sweet kind used in baking). Stop it occasionally to scrape down the sides. The oils come out of the coconut and make coconut butter that is really nice for spreading on toast and such. It should be stored in the fridge and it will solidify when stored, so you have to heat it a bit to make it spreadable again. Dip the jar in warm water or put it in the microwave on a low setting. It's really delicious!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    I have been hearing wonderful things about coconut, and especially the oil (extra virgin of course). I haven't had time to do much in the way of research on raw coconut, and was wondering if anyone had some useful info or links? I know, it's probably another "craze" but I heard about it first from a dietician. So it's left me wondering!

    It's not a "craze", it's a good oil that tolerates fairly high heat (unlike olive oil) and contains healthy fats.

    It's a substitute for oils that have trouble with heat (again, olive oil) or are overall less healthy for you due to containing inferior fats (like vegetable oil).

    If you're replacing a less-appropriate oil with coconut oil, you're probably doing it right. If you're taking coconut oil supplements or adding it to your diet, you're probably doing it wrong.
    Virgin Coconut oil has a smoke point of 350 degrees. Extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 375 degrees. Virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 400 degrees. The only way coconut oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil would be if you used the highly refined coconut oil, and that's actually no different health wise than any vegetable oil.
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    I am absolutely obsessed with coconut. My favorite is coconut oil. I use it for EVERYTHING and it has done wonders for my skin and hair. I moisturize with it at night, and also do a deep conditioning hair treatment like the post above. I use it to remove eye makeup as well.

    For cooking, I've made popcorn with it (I love the slightly sweet taste) and it's great for sauteeing veggies. Today I'm going to brush some on salmon and pan fry.

    Also addicted to raw coconut vinegar -- I use it in place of apple cider vinegar as it has even more amino acids in it and it's sustainable (it's made from the sap of coconut trees -- once tapped, a tree will produce continuously for 20 years!). I am making an avocado, lime and coconut vinegar dressing today for my salad but it's also great as a finisher for soups.

    I use coconut vinegar as a toner (toned down with a little water) as well as for a daily condition. I no longer use shampoo because they are filled with chemicals and pthalates, but I have switched to baking soda to wash and vinegar to condition.

    Yesterday I bought coconut cream concentrate at Whole Foods. If you add hot water to it you basically end up with coconut milk, and I add this to my smoothies and low carb / no sugar desserts like puddings or baked goods.

    Love the idea of grinding up the unsweetened coconut to make butter! I had never heard of that and may try that soon!

    I love hearing recipes for coconut oil and coconut vinegar! I am convinced that in addition to some other changes I've made in my diet that adding these two in has made a big difference in my overall health and weight loss. I know I sound like a commercial but it's true!
  • judykay500
    judykay500 Posts: 26
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