There’s a new super food in town: coconut oil. This wonderful
extraction from the humble coconut can do wonders for our body, both inside and
out. Dr. Oz has recently touted coconut oil as a way to avoid illness, lose
weight and enjoy younger looking skin. Here’s what you should know:
Coconut oil didn't always carry the best reputation.
Sure, the coconut is pretty, and VERY popular with carton animals, but can
something this fatty actually be healthy? It turns out that coconut oil fat is not
your every day, run of the mill fat. To the contrary, coconut oil has “good”
fat, benefiting us beyond our wildest dreams, say Dr. Oz.
So coconut oil contains medium chain triglyceride fat.
Contained in lauric acid, this fat boosts our “good” or HDL cholesterol while
it stimulates the consumption of the “bad” or LDL cholesterol. Nice double
whammy!
There’s not a lot of science behind the coconut oil craze
so far. There was one study in 2009 that followed women for 12 weeks, with half
of the group taking a coconut oil supplement and half going without. After the
12 weeks the coconut oil half of the group had measurably less belly fat. This was
based on only taking about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil a day.
Other apparent benefits of coconut oil include improved
thyroid function and better blood sugar control through stable insulin release.
Proponents claim better endurance and higher energy throughout their day.
Coconut oil is also wonderful for our skin, when applied
in a cream. Believers tout the anti-aging properties of coconut oil, which is
great, too. So blend up a piña colada and get someone to rub a bit on your back!
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