What’s the health benefits of coconut oil? There is no doubt that coconut oil is beneficial in many ways. It is one of the ingredients we use in almost everyday life such as for cooking, for making smoothies, for healthy hair, for beauty products and many more.

With all the different ways it benefits our mind, body, and soul, is there any wonder why it is adopted by the masses? are you still asking if you should use Coconut oil?

Before we list the health benefits of coconut oil, let’s give a quick overview of the constituents of coconut oil and at the end of this post, your questions on what’s the health benefits of coconut oil will be answered.

Composition Of Coconut Oil

The saturated fats make up more than 90 percent of the coconut oil with traces of unsaturated fatty acids.

Saturated Fatty Acids

• Saturated Fatty Acids: Most of them are medium chain triglycerides, which are supposed to assimilate well into the body’s systems.
• Lauric Acid: The main constituent which makes more than 40 percent of the total. On digestion, the lauric acid converts into monolaurin which helps deal with viruses and diseases.
• Capric Acid: It reacts with enzymes secreted by bacteria and forms monocaprin which is a powerful antimicrobial agent.
• Caprylic Acid, Caproic Acid, And Myristic Acid: Rich in antimicrobial and antifungal properties.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

• Unsaturated Fatty Acids:  Such as monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (linolenic acid).
• Polyphenols: Gallic acid also known as phenolic acid is responsible for fragrance as well as the taste of coconut oil.
• Derivatives Of Fatty Acid
• Derivatives Of Fatty Alcohols
• Vitamins And Minerals: Vitamin E, K, and minerals like iron.

What’s The Health Benefits Of Coconut Oil?

Using Coconut Oil For Weight Loss 

The capric acid found in abundance in coconut oil is proven phenomenal in the gradual decrease in food consumption as well as loss of body weight. Read more on Capric acid here.

The capric acid along with medium chain triglycerides (MCT) present in coconut oil can reduce fat by increasing per day energy expenditure by about 5 percent.

Coconut Oil For Stress Relief

Coconut oil is applied to head accompanied by a gentle massage can be very soothing and hence reduce stress and reduce mental fatigue.

Kills Harmful Pathogens

Lauric acid present in coconut oil is good at killing microbes such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Thus, preventing the occurrence of infections when used externally.

On ingesting, coconut oil reacts with enzymes forming a monoglyceride called monolaurin. Monolaurin is also great at killing harmful pathogens.

Help Build And Maintain Muscle 

MCTs that are found in coconut are used as the main ingredient in bodybuilding products. They use processed forms of MCT’s but you can get MCTs in their natural forms by ingesting actual coconut oil.

They are the most effective in their natural form. Adding 3 tablespoons coconut oil in your health shake daily can give you the best results.

Protect Organ Function

Coconut oil is an antibacterial and clears up the infections as well as heal them. The MCT’s found in the coconut oil acts as a natural antibiotic.

Good For Heart

The saturated fats which are high in coconuts work differently than the ones found in foods such as butter, cream, etc. The one found in coconut oil increases the HDL which is a healthy cholesterol in the body.

It also helps in converting the LDL which is a bad cholesterol into HDL. The change in the ratio of HDL to LDL, the heart becomes healthy Read more.

Easy On Pancreas

The MCT’s can be digested easily without the need of pancreatic enzymes which eases the strain on the pancreas brought on my metabolism. It also improves the symptoms of the gallbladder disease.

Use Coconut Oil For Healthy Skin And Hair

The coconut oil acts as a good moisturizer for the dry skin such as repairing chapped lips and can be used directly or by adding it to face packs.

The minerals present in the coconut oil add enough moisture to cure skin dryness. It is also helpful in anti-aging treatment. Check more here on anti-aging skin care here.

Coconut oil is capable of blocking of 20 percent of harmful sun rays and hence, can be effective as a sunscreen as well.

When applied on hair, it forms a protective layer on hair preventing it from damage. It works wonder on dry hair and is good for warding off dandruff.   

 Digestion

The coconut oil helps improve digestion by making it easy to absorb fat-soluble nutrients. If coconut oil is taken with omega-3 fatty acids, it becomes more effective in helping digestion.

Coconut oil also helps by killing bacteria which are responsible for indigestion and inflammation. Still asking more on what are the health benefits of coconut oil or wondering if you should include it with your cosmetics or diet? read on.

Oral Health

As mentioned before, the coconut oil is antibacterial and hence can be a good alternative for oral health products. It cleans off bacteria in the mouth and takes care of all the damages caused by periodontal disease. It greatly reduces the risk of gum disease.

Practicing 20 minutes per day of oil pulling for 3 times a week can be effective in improving oral health care. Check here for causes of bad breath.

Hormonal Balance

Coconut oil help maintains the balance of hormones with the help of the lauric acid present in the coconut oil. It prevents a lot of problems created by hormonal imbalance.

Prevents Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is a term used for body cell’s refusal to respond to insulin and it eventually leads to type 2 diabetes. The insulin is produced by the pancreas and when the body cells refuse them, it causes overproduction leading to type 2 diabetes. The MCT’s help balance this by giving another consistent energy source to the body.

Treat Inflammation And Arthritis

The high levels of antioxidants found in virgin coconut oil help reduce inflammation and effectively heal arthritis more effectively. It works as an analgesic and is a leading natural treatment for all the painful and debilitating conditions.

Source Of Energy

Digesting coconut oil produces ketones that contain energy utilized by the body for the glucose for energy. The ketones are beneficial and helpful in cases where an alternative energy source is needed by our body.

1. Reduce The Risk Of Seizures: The ketogenic diet is best known for treating drug-resistant epilepsy specifically in the children.
2. Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease: The brain creates its own insulin for processing glucose. So, they need an alternate energy source.
   
   

Keeps Organs Healthy

The health benefits of Coconut Oil includes the medium chain triglycerides and the fatty acids present in coconut oil help in preventing the liver diseases. They easily convert into energy on reaching the liver which reduces the workload of the liver. It also prevents excess fat accumulation. And thus, preventing kidney and gallbladder diseases.

Conclusion The Health Benefits Of Coconut Oil

Several researchers show that adding coconut oil to the regular diet and/ or applying to skin and hair can improve your overall health exponentially in the easiest and quickest way possible. Next time you think of any oil easy to find and with many health benefits, think of coconut oil.

Of course, there are more uses of coconut oil but I feel this post has given you more when you think of reasons to use coconut oil. I hope this post has answered your questions as to what is the health benefits of coconut oil and why you should use it.

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