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 healthy cholesterol in the body.
It also helps in converting the LDL which is 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 gallbladder disease.
Use Coconut Oil For Healthy Skin And Hair
The coconut oil acts as a good moisturizer for 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.
- Reduce The Risk Of Seizures: The ketogenic diet is best known for treating drug-resistant epilepsy specifically in the children.
- 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 include the medium-chain triglycerides and the fatty acids present in coconut oil help in preventing 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.
Now, this post was for health benefits ff coconut oil but I`ll share with you some coconut oil benefits on your skin as this is a product most of us already have at home.
Coconut Oil Can Be Used As Shaving Cream
Need to shave now only to see you`ve run out of shaving cream?No need to rush out when you are not ready, Try coconut oil!
The oil’s consistency has the same thick texture of many shaving creams, it will make running a razor against your skin smooth and help you avoid razor bumps.
Coconut Oil Can Be Used As A Lip Balm
Chapped lips? use a small amount of coconut oil like you will Vaseline, apply and dab gently. The oil can help hydrate dry lips in no time.
Use Coconut Oil To Remove Makeup
Waterproof eye makeup may be tricky to remove if you do not have makeup remover.
Warm some coconut oil and apply on a cotton ball, use this to gently wipe your lids. The oil in coconut will gently remove the makeup without being harsh to your skin.
You`ll be surprised at how well it works and how gentle it is to your skin, you might even start using it from time to time instead of when you run out of makeup remover.
Conclusion The Health Benefits Of Coconut Oil
Several researches 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.
I definitely need to try this! I have been hearing so many good things about coconut oil but this post seals it! Thanks so much!
Glad you found the post useful, coconut oil has many beneficial uses and on my opinion cost effective compared to other products out there in the market.
wow, there are so many more benefits than I thought to using coconut oil, I love it! I’ve been using it for years but I didn’t know all of these benefits!
Good for you, coconut oil is beneficial but many people tend to ignore or just do not know about coconut oil or coconut products