Coconut oil Benefits For Health
Wondering what coconut oil is good for? Well, this wonder oil benefits in skin care, hair care, weight loss, treating yeast infections, improving digestion, and boosting immunity against a host of infections and diseases. The oil is used not just in tropical countries, where coconut plantations are abundant, but also in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. People are discovering the wonders this oil can create, and it is again gaining popularity throughout the world. Here are some coconut oil health benefits.
Let us look at some of the known benefits of this oil.
Health Benefits Of Coconut Oil
Coconut is one of the healthiest foods. The benefits of Coconut oil are much more than you can even imagine! A truly rich and highly nutritious super food, this oil can be used for hair care to skin care and from treating infections to improving digestion. Coconut oil plays a vital role not only in India but also finds acceptance amongst the Europeans, Canadians, Australians, and the Americans.
Thanks to its wonderful properties, people the world over are slowly realizing its importance and benefits. Here are a few to make a note of!
Weight Loss
Coconut oil is useful for weight loss too. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. Research suggests that it helps reduce abdominal obesity in women. It is also easy to digest as compared to other edible oils and helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and endocrine system. Further, it increases the body’s metabolic rate by removing stress on the pancreas, thereby, burning more energy and helping obese and overweight people lose weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who use coconut oil every day as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight. Several people focus on exercises to lose weight, from using indoor machines like leg press machines to outdoor exercises like running and playing sports. While this is a good approach to lose weight, including products like coconut oil enhances your weight loss efforts.
Boosts Digestion
Coconut oil helps improve the digestive system, and thus, prevents various stomach and digestion-related problems including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The saturated fats present in it have antimicrobial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can cause indigestion. It also helps in the absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
Dental Care
Calcium is an important component of our teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates the absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in developing strong teeth. It also stops tooth decay. Recent research suggests that it is also beneficial in reducing plaque formation and plaque-induced gingivitis.
Boosts Heart Health
This is a controversial topic. There is enough research to prove that coconut oil is not good for the heart due to the presence of saturated fats. While there is also research that shows that coconut oil is good for the heart. The lauric acid present in coconut oil helps in actively preventing various heart problems like high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Coconut oil does not lead to increase in LDL cholesterol levels, and it reduces the incidence of injury and damage to arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis. A study suggests that intake of coconut oil may help in maintaining healthy lipid profiles in pre-menopausal women. So, finally, is coconut oil good or bad for the heart? Well, if you are using it for edible purposes, check your cholesterol levels regularly. If you find them increasing, it is better to stop the intake. In any case, do consult a professional medical practitioner before you start consuming coconut oil. Never play with your (and someone else’s) heart!
According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills the viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, and other serious health risks. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea. Finally, coconut oil is also effective in the elimination of fungi and yeast that cause ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, and diaper rash.
Helps in AIDS & Cancer Treatment
It is believed that coconut oil plays an instrumental role in reducing the viral susceptibility of HIV and cancer patients. Preliminary research has shown an indication of this effect of coconut oil on reducing the viral load of HIV patients.
Other Benefits
Coconut oil is strongly recommended for a number of other benefits that are explained below. Using this oil has been shown to mildly help the following:
- Stress relief: This oil is very soothing, and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying it to the head, followed by a gentle massage, helps eliminate mental fatigue. According to research, virgin coconut oil gives relief from stress and has antioxidant properties
- Diabetes: This oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also promotes the effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby, preventing and treating diabetes
- Bones: This oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium, which are necessary for the development of bones. Thus, it is very useful for women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age
- Boosts Energy: This oil is often used by athletes, bodybuilders and by those who are dieting. The reason behind this is that it contains fewer calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy, and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. It helps boost energy and endurance and enhances the performance of athletes
- Coconut oil and Alzheimer’s disease: The research conducted by Dr. Newport that the oil is useful in treating Alzheimer’s disease. Apart from this, there is no scientific evidence or traditional knowledge of this oil being used for treating Alzheimer’s. In fact, traditionally it wasn’t believed to boost the functioning of the brain in any form. The NIH has sponsored a study to check this claim.
