Dr. Oz did a segment on the benefits of coconut oil consumption last week on his popular TV show. Finally more and more people will begin to understand and benefit from the positive research that is out there on the healing properties of coconut oil! While there is still a lot to learn, we can be happy that Dr. Oz and others are blessing this incredible life-giving energy source!

When I read the book "The Coconut Oil Miracle" by Bruce Fife, I couldn’t believe what I was reading about the fat that was demonized as artery clogging for all those years. I also read an article about a study done on cows in the 1940’s who were fed coconut oil in hopes of fattening them up. What the research discovered was that at the end of the study the cows had actually lost a lot of weight and had much more energy!  This study left me wanting more data. So I started reading books by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig who where the actual whistle-blowers on whole Trans Fats issue. These two incredibly brave woman sent the food industry into a total frenzy (Oh how I love these powerful women)!

YES IT’S TRUE – coconut oil helps you lose weight! I know this all sounds too good to be true.  But here is the skinny on this fact.  When you starve yourself of fat, which so many women do today, it leaves you feeling depressed, too tired to work out, hungry and in search of carbs. Low fat diets also have a negative effect on proper hormone production and balance, which is why these diets can leave you feeling depressed. 

Too many carbs and calories are what make you fat. Period! When you consume good quality raw fats like coconut oil, avocados, nuts & seeds your body quickly feels satiated.  You feel full with less food, you have energy to work out, and you ultimately consume less carbs and calories. Keep in mind that our liver can only process so many lipids at a time. A handful of nuts is a good gauge per occasion. There are 117 calories per one tablespoon of coconut oil just like olive oil.  I know this sounds high and especially when we have all been programmed to think saturated fats are bad. 

However, coconut oil is a medium-chain saturated fat that quickly converts to energy and is not stored as body fat or cholesterol! Coconut oil comes from a plant so it has zero cholesterol. Only humans and animals make cholesterol.  As mentioned above, we must have cholesterol & fat in our bodies for proper cellular function, repair and hormonal production. It is vital!  The fats that our killing Americans are not raw plant based fats but oxidized fats from homogenized dairy, consuming too many cooked animals, heated polyunsaturated oils found in baked goods & fried foods. 

Coconut oil is also anti-bacterial and anti microbial due to its high content of Lauric Acid. Dr. Oz believes that these high amounts of lauric acid can actually help kill the Pylori bacteria that cause ulcers and ultimately lead to stomach cancer. BIG NEWS!!

Just remember folks.  America does not grow coconut trees.  We grow soybeans, sunflowers, and lots of corn.  That is why we were told for so many years that margarine was better for us.  These large food companies wanted you to believe that butter & tropical oils were bad for you.  They wanted you buyingto buy their polyunsaturated oils!  The research that was conducted on coconut oil decades and decades ago was on the trans fat version of coconut oil.  These companies didn’t want you buying coconut oil from other countries they wanted you to buy that stuff that rhymes with FRISCO!  The ultimate trans fat!  Why did they alter these polyunsaturated oils in the first place? So they would behave more like a saturated tropical fat, which offers a longer shelf life.

BUTTER IS BETTER!  COCONUT OIL IS TOO!

The French have been eating butter for years and don’t have the obesity problems Americans suffer from.  Butter is actually a short chain fat, which converts to energy even faster than coconut oil.  Butter does contain cholesterol so if your body doesn’t have the ability to rid itself of cholesterol, one should refrain from all animal products.

So add coconut oil to your smoothies, raw desserts or oatmeal.  Your waistline will be glad you did.

Resources:

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Eat Fat Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.

Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus

The Weston A. Price Foundation.