In recent years, there’s a lot of talk about the coconut miracle oil due to the healing benefits of coconut oil. Celebrities have endorsed coconut oil claiming several benefits from reducing belly fat to curing Alzheimer’s. So is coconut oil good for you?

Coconut oil is a popular ingredient in some of the recent trending diets such as Paleo and Ketogenic diets, which also points towards its health benefits. It is edible oil that is extracted from the meat of the coconut fruit and consists of mostly MCTs or medium chain triglycerides.

Related: 🥥 12 Notable Health Benefits of Coconut

It consists of 80 to 90% of saturated fat, which makes coconut oil firm at room temperature. It does not contain cholesterol but only fiber along with vitamins, minerals as well as plant sterols. Check out the coconut oil nutrition facts and benefits of coconut oil!

10 Wonderful Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

1. Benefits of Coconut Oil For Weight Loss

Some researchers found that using coconut oil for cooking enhances fat burning in the body. The fats present in edible coconut oil could help burn body fat, as these are different from the fatty acids seen in canola and avocado!

• Virgin coconut oil increases the metabolic rate of the body by eliminating pancreatic stress. This helps obese people to burn more energy and lose weight.
• One of the coconut oil benefits is that it suppresses appetite and helps keep you full; boosts metabolism and blasts abdominal fat.

Read: 10 Appetite Suppressing Foods to Help Lose Weight Safely and Naturally

Note: When the cells use MCTs in place of glucose, the metabolism rate is increased by 24 hours. Yummy coconut oil could actually supplement your Ketogenic diet!

While eating coconut oil, take care to select the right type of coconut oil! You get the best results with organic, unrefined or virgin coconut oil with the least processing.

Epidemiological studies of people from the Philippines; New Zealand; Samoa and New Guinea (who consume coconut in their traditional diet) showed that one of the benefits of coconut oil is increased HDL cholesterol levels and triglycerides.

2. Prevent Liver Disease by Consuming Coconut Oil

Recent research suggests that organic coconut oil could help protect the liver!

• As mentioned earlier, coconut oil mostly contains MCTs, which are broken down into MCFAs in the body. They are directly sent to the liver without needing metabolis with bile and are then used for energy and not stored like fat.
• This reduces the workload on the liver and also prevents the accumulation of fats.
• MCFAs have antimicrobial property that destroys harmful viruses that can attack the liver and cause hepatitis.
• One of the coconut oil uses and benefits is that it protects the liver from damage by free radicals and enables liver regeneration.
• One of the benefits of coconut oil is that it also reduces inflammation caused by fatty liver disease.

What is best coconut oil? There are many types of coconut oil made in different ways, such as cold pressed coconut oil. Use only natural, therapeutic, virgin coconut oil.

3. Coconut Oil Health Benefits for Protecting Skin/Hair/Teeth

• It acts as an effective moisturiser for both skin and hair.

Do you want to know the benefits of coconut oil for hair? Use a small amount to massage on the hair. For frizzy hair, apply a small amount and leave it on overnight. Wash it out next morning.

• Coconut oil is an excellent conditioner for damaged hair. It offers essential proteins needed for nourishment and healing of damaged hair.
• Regular massage keeps your hair dandruff free and also protects form lice infestation.
• As for benefits of coconut oil on skin, it protects the skin as it is an antioxidant, anti aging, antibacterial and anti inflammatory agent. A topical application can resolve these skin conditions. Coconut oil for sunburn is another interesting use.
• Coconut oil protects the skin from harmful UV rays. Virgin coconut oil can be used for controlling burns, dermatitis, xerosis and skin wounds.
• Another of the benefits of coconut oil is that it is an excellent moisturizer and can be used for dry skin. It also does not contain petroleum products, so there are no side effects with a coconut oil massage. You can also use coconut oil for babies, by adding it to your daily pampering routine.

Read: 7 Impressive Health Benefits of Drinking Coconut Water

• Coconut oil can be used for cracked heels. It is also a great moisturizer for your arms, legs and elbows.
• It helps prevent acne. It has plenty of Vitamin E, which regulates the production of sebum and thereby unblocks the glands.
• Coconut oil for dental health is another benefit, as it attacks the harmful bacteria in the teeth and helps prevent tooth decay. You can also use coconut oil for cavities and coconut oil for gum disease. In addition, you can remove plaque and whiten teeth with coconut oil.

Remember: Do coconut oil pulling or make a toothpaste with coconut oil to maximise benefits of coconut oil!

4. Coconut Oil and Diabetes

It is important to maintain a healthy weight if you have diabetes, especially for Type 2 diabetes.

• Coconut oil contains solid fat, which is difficult for the body to convert into stored fat, so it makes it easier to burn off.
• Research suggests that the medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil could reduce fat build up and also sustain the action of insulin on fatty tissues and muscle.

5. Yeast Infection

Have you heard of coconut oil for yeast infection? Yeast infections can be most itchy and difficult to get rid of. Usually the treatment is prescription creams. However, you could try coconut oil.

• The antimicrobial properties make it ideal to treat yeast infections.
• Use organic, pure, unprocessed or virgin coconut oil. Apply it straight on to the affected area.
• For mouth infections, swish one or two tbsps of coconut oil in your mouth for about 15 minutes.
• In case of vaginal yeast infections, apply the oil on a clean tampon and insert it.

Related: What is Oil Pulling? Benefits, Dangers and How to do it

6. Epilepsy/Seizures and Coconut Oil

The most common method for treating epilepsy is to adopt a ketogenic diet, which is low in carbs and offers a good source of energy stored in the body in the form of ketones.

• Ketogenic diets are known to be good for epilepsy.
• The MCTs in coconut oil create Ketones, which are reliable sources of energy, especially in times of seizures.
• Coconut oil contains medium chain triglycerides that do not need bile metabolism and go directly to the liver and break down to form ketones.

7. Coconut Oil and Alzheimer’s

It’s to do with the ketones once more!

• For those with Alzheimer’s, the brain has issues with metabolising glucose, so the nerve cells gets starved.
• Coconut oil supplies the all important ketones, which offer an alternative source of fuel for the nourishment of the brain.

8. Relieving Stress

Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids or MCFAs, whereas other vegetable oils consist of long chain fatty acids or LCFAs.

• MCFAs in coconut oil have the potential of playing the role of an antidepressant food.

A coconut oil massage is very effective for providing stress relief. It contains a rich amount of ingredients that stimulate stress relaxation in the body. It restores the harmony between the mind and the body, so that you are in a balanced emotional state. Apply coconut oil to the temples and the neck in circular movements to relieve stress and headache!

Check Out: 🥥 🥛 Top Uses and Health Benefits of Coconut Milk

9. Increasing Energy Levels

• Coconut oil mainly consists of lauric acid. This fatty acid has a different way of metabolising. It is transferred directly to the liver and gets converted into energy fast.
• This helps in spiking energy levels by about 5% for the whole day.
• The fats present in the oil boost fat burning in your body, thereby increasing energy levels.

10. Antimicrobial Properties

Virgin coconut oil, contains MCFAs and lauric acid, making it effective protection against pathogenic microorganisms.

• It can be used as a remedy for microbial, antibacterial as well as antifungal and antiviral infections.
• Some tests have shown that coconut oil can stop growth of Clostridium difficile, an intestinal bacteria, which can cause severe diarrhea.

Tip: Two to three tablespoons of coconut oil can protect you from virus and bacteria.

Wrap Up – Coconut Oil Benefits

We can see that coconut oil is among nature’s healthiest fats and has a whole range of benefits to offer us. As can be seen, it boosts good cholesterol, is beneficial to diabetics, helps fight Alzheimer’s, helps in liver health, boosts energy, to name a few.

Coconut oil is on everyone’s lips now, literally too! People are actually using it instead of chapsticks! Not only that, it is also being used in frying pans, smoothies, hair. It promises a lot for your body, mind and soul.

It’s not just a marketing spin, as there is growing research supporting coconut oil being added to you diet for improving your health, appearance and life!