10 Astonishing Facts About Coconut Oil (That You Didn’t Know)
For some time now, coconut tree has been widely considered as the “tree of life” in most parts of the world like Southeast Asia, Philippines, and India. As it turns out, this name has got some merit, with over 1,500 studies proving how useful coconut oil is to our lives. In fact, there’re many surprising uses of coconut oil that you probably didn’t know about.
For example, did you know that coconut oil can be used in your coffee as a creamer? Probably not! Keep reading as we take you through the top 10 astonishing facts about coconut oil (that you didn’t know).
1. Face and body moisturizer
Are you dealing with dry, flaky, chapped skin? Well, you should definitely try coconut oil because it can act as a natural moisturizer on both your face and body. This product is capable of penetrating the skin layers and because it’s well absorbed, it won’t leave you with an oily and greasy feeling. Furthermore, coconut oil helps prevent wrinkles because it boosts collagen production, hence strengthening the underlying tissues. You can also use it alone or mix it with any other essential oil for a more soothing experience.
2. Massage oil for newborns
If you’re already a parent, you probably know the benefits of giving a newborn oil massage. A 2005 study conducted in India revealed that massaging newborns with coconut oil leaves a positive effect on their growth. The same study also revealed that it greatly improves thermoregulation as well as encourage healthy weight gain.
In short, it’s advised to give your 2-day newborn a coconut oil massage for at least four times every day until he/she is 31 days old. However, this should be carried out by a trained person to avoid any injuries.
3. Improves the immune system
Coconut oil contains antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties due to the presence of healthy fats, caprylic acid, lauric acid, and capric acid. All these components make it an effective booster of your immune system. With that being said, the fatty acids found in coconut oil are converted to monolaurin, which can heal viruses like influenza, herpes,
4. Burn excess fats
Obesity has become a major worldwide health crisis in recent years. This has made some people to seek the help of coconut oil due to its fat-burning properties. The most traditional cause of obesity is excessive consumption of calories. This has made most of us to even consider the amount of calorie present in a specific food before consuming it.
This aside, the MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) found in coconut oil can increase your total energy expenditure (amount of calories burnt). Research has it that daily consumption of around 15-30 grams of MCTs can increase your energy expenditure by 5% (120 calories per day).
5. Manage Type II diabetes
Coconut oil can help protect you against insulin resistance, at least according to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The fats present in coconut oil are easily absorbed into the cells for quick conversion into energy because they are small enough. This greatly helps reduce the risk of contracting Type II diabetes.
Apart from reducing the
6. Improved dental hygiene
This traditional oral care practice is also popularly known as coconut oil “pulling”. Although it hasn’t been thoroughly researched by scientists, a study conducted in 2008 revealed that swishing coconut oil for about 15-20 minutes can eliminate streptococcus mutants. These mutants are the ones responsible for tooth decay. Additionally, scholars have added that mechanical swishing of this product also reduces the amount of bacteria in your mouth. This tip isn’t very practical, but it’s fun nevertheless.
7. Consume in your coffee
Well, you can increase your coconut oil consumption by using it in your coffee instead of the regular cream. In fact, you might end up liking that slightly nutty taste that can make your coffee smooth and rich. All in all, this bulletproof coffee will increase your uptake of nutrients and vitamins in the body, as well as the very essential healthy fats.
8. Cancer prevention and treatment
Did you know that coconut oil can treat as well as effectively prevent cancer due to the presence of ketones found in it? To begin with, tumor cells require glucose to effectively thrive in the body. However, ketones will nullify any chances of developing tumors in the body. In an experiment carried out to support this assumption, coconut oil was added to the colon’s adenocarcinoma cells. Surprisingly, cancerous cell’s growth was effectively hindered, minus any harm being caused to the human colon cells.
9. Boost brain function
For patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, coconut oil has been found to boost brain function. This’s thanks to the presence of fatty acids which can increase the level of ketone bodies in the blood. The brain cells will therefore be supplied with enough energy levels, resulting to relieve of Alzheimer’s symptoms.
To add on this, Alzheimer’s disease is arguably the most common cause of dementia, and primarily occurs in elderly people. The disease can reduce the body’s ability to make use of the energy generating glucose in some specific parts of the brain, hence frequent loss of memory. Thankfully, the MCTs present in coconut oil become an alternative energy provider for these malfunctioning cells. This can thereby reduce the symptoms of the disease.
10. Improve blood cholesterol levels
Studies carried out in both humans and rats revealed that coconut oil can improve important risk factors such as Total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol. This can translate into
To back it up,
In conclusion, the many surprising benefits of coconut oil can simply not just be ignored. From health, cooking, to beauty, coconut oil can be used for almost everything. In addition, the benefits of coconut oil should be enjoyed easily because you don’t have to break the bank to get this product.