Consuming Coconut oil has been so controversial over the years for no apparent reason but ignorance, the way its fatty acids are structured can have some incredible benefits on your health.
Just a couple of them includes fat loss and better brain function. Right off the bat, it has to get your attention.
So I’ve combed through more literature than any human should to bring you the 7 Reasons you need to be consuming Coconut Oil.
1. Consuming Coconut Oil will let loose Fatty Acids with awesome medicinal properties
For years idiotic Americans thought because Coconut Oil was considered a saturated fat that it is the food version of the devil. I actually think there were Catholic priests called in a few times to exorcise the “Fatty Acids”. And just like the crazy bastards in Salem that were burning innocent people at the stake so goes Coconut Oil. The fact is our new found friend is the best source of saturated fat that you can get. Don’t faint but 90% of the fatty acids in Coconut Oil are saturated and that’s a good thing.
After the 50 year lie was exposed that saturated fat was a killer and saturated fats are basically harmless, a small percentage of Americans with half a brain started to realize that Coconut oil was good for you. Then study upon study came out to prove that the whole saturated fats lead to arteriosclerosis was a myth and doctors felt like a bunch of douchebags which they were.
A cool thing about Coconut Oil is that it has fatty acids that are not long-chain like steak and cheese. They are Medum-Chain Triglycerides that are you guessed it, medium in length. Why is this important? They don’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get to the liver. They have a first class ticket to the liver from the digestive tract, where they can be utilized as a quick energy source and can be turned into “ketone bodies” which have been proven to have therapeutic effects on brain disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.
2. Coconut Oil Can Help You Burn More Fat
Most people think that getting fat is about consuming more calories than you take in and they would be correct but I like to explain that there are certain calories that you take in that can actually help you expend more energy. Coconut Oil is one of those foods.
Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCTS) within coconut oil increases your energy use compared to the same amount of calories that you would get from longer chain fatty acids. Not bad a fat that helps you burn fat you can help but love it.
One study found that 15-30 grams of MCTs per day increased 24 hour energy expenditure by 5%, totalling about 120 calories per day. Click here to read the study.
3. The Lauric Acid in Coconut Oil Kills Bacteria, Viruses and Fungi
Coconut Oil consists of about 50% fatty acids called 12- carbon Lauric Acid.
When coconut oil is digested, it forms a monoglyceride (a single fatty acid) called monolaurin. Monolaurin and Lauric acid both hate anything harmful to the body like viruses, bacteria and fungus they pretty much kill everything in their path that isn’t good for you.
Just a couple of examples would be that ugly bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus (Staph Infection) and the yeast infection Candida Albicans. If you are a women who ever had a yeast infection, this is what it was.
4. Coconut Oil Can Suppress your Appetite Naturally
Some experts say this may be because the way the fatty acids are metabolized and create ketones, that the ketones suppress the appetite.
One study took 14 healthy men and discovered that those who ate the most MCTs at breakfast ate significantly fewer calories at lunch. Read the study here.
Although these studies were small they obviously showed the potential for long-term effects of ingesting the MCTs of Coconut Oil.
5. The Fatty Acids Help Reduce Seizures
Yes, saturated fatty acids that are converted into ketones are shown to reduce seizures.
A diet used as a therapeutic agent involving eating very low carbohydrates and larger amounts of fats has been extremely successful in treating seizures due to the increased concentrations of “ketones bodies” in the bloodstream. Read the study.
The MCT’s in coconut oil are deposited in the liver and converted to “ketone bodies” helping suppress the seizures.
6. Coconut Oil Improves Blood Cholesterol Levels
If you haven’t got the point yet that Coconut Oil is packed with saturated fats and as previously thought, do not make any difference in your lipid profile. To further prove this point, a study done on 40 women showed that the women who consumed coconut oil reduced their LDL and increased their HDL. Read the abstract here.
7. The Fatty Acids Can Boost Brain Function
As Alzheimer’s disease is getting more and more prevalent… some experts say it’s because of our environment and diet studies are showing that patients have a hard time using glucose for energy in some parts of the brain. The fatty acids which turn into ketone bodies, are an energy source for these damaged cells and mostly reduce symptoms in Alzheimer’s patients.
In 2006 a study showed that consumption of medium chain triglycerides led to an immediate improvement in brain function in patients with milder forms of Alzheimer’s. Read the Abstract here.
Some other studies support these findings and researchers are doing more studies on the use of Medium Chain Triglycerides (Coconut Oil) as a therapy for Alzheimer’s patients. This is really good news for many people who are fighting against dementia and the onset of Alzheimer’s.
Bonus… Coconut Oil Amps Up your Thyroid
Not many people know this but consuming Coconut Oil has a direct effect on your thyroid. It actually ramps it up and since your Thyroid is the gland that controls much of your metabolism consuming coconut oil can keep your Thyroid running at top speed.
Coconut Oil can also reduce your appetite and keep you satiated… which obviously means, you will eat less and not be as hungry.
The thing that I think is really cool about coconut oil is that once you start making it part of your daily diet you will see a significant reduction in belly fat just by adding it. This is a huge self-esteem booster when you begin exercising and of course eating better.
Now for some warnings that I wasn’t privy to.
When you start off using coconut oil use small amounts and work your way up. 1 teaspoon, then 2 teaspoons… etc. all the way to adding 1 ounce of coconut oil to your daily food plan. If you are just starting off after years of eating like a pig your liver will be a little toxic, coconut oil is a “big” liver detox. Don’t take too much because you will feel like you want to vomit but never ill. I think that’s worse than vomiting. Lastly, if you consume alcohol on a regular basis, I will say this again, Coconut oil is a liver detoxing agent. If you did what I did, put melted coconut oil in a shot glass and shoot it… you will vomit. Coconut oil 1, Rocco 0.