Health Benefits of The Coconut Oil.

Coconut is found all over the world. It is eaten everywhere and you would find people drinking its water. Coconut has many uses for the body. Not only it is very easily available but also very cheap fruit. It is mostly grown in tropics. Their trees are vertical and very high and only trained people climb on it and pluck the coconut from the tree. Coconut is eaten when it is raw. The it is mainly used for its juice in the center. But once it dries up the pulp is eaten and also coconut is extracted from it. Coconut is also a primary source of food in the tropical areas. Coconut oil can withhold large amounts of heat and thus it can be used for the cooking of those food items which need high heat to make. Coconut oil do not oxidize easily and thus it has very long shelf life. Coconut oil is also used in cosmetics, in treatment of many skin diseases and in creams.

1. Skin care: As we all know skin diseases are not easy to treat and take ages to cure them. But coconut oil is one of the things which skin doctors usually prescribe. This is because of excellent skin conditioning properties of the coconut oil. Since coconut oil not only contains medium chain Triglycerides but also have large quantities of naturally occurring fats which can penetrate deep inside the skin and moisturize the skin. They also act against environmental damage and free radical damage. Thus coconut oil can prevent damage of skin and can even protect from some sort of skin cancers. Also since coconut oil is rich source of anti oxidants and very rich in natural anti bacterial agents so it not only smoothens the skin but also act as anti aging screen thus delay the wrinkle lines. It is also a rich source of Vitamin E thus it is very useful for the healing of skin in abrasions, burns and traumas. It also make an protective layer on the skin thus help in reducing the effect of UV exposure of skin.

2. Hair Care: One of the most common use of coconut oil is in hair care. The fatty acids in the coconut oil can pass easily inside the hair cells and thus the coconut oil penetrates the hair shafts. Thus is not only conditions the hair from deep inside and give it shiny look and make them strong from inside, while most of the commercial conditioners conditions only from the outside thus do not make hair as strong as coconut oil. Coconut oil if massaged deep in the skull can reduce the amount of dandruff in the skull. Dandruff develops because of dryness of scalp or fungal infection of the scalp. If coconut oil is used regularly for massaging of scalp then not only it removes the dryness of the scalp but also can destroy the fungus.

3. Pneumonia: In a study on October 2008, it was argued that with the coconut oil, the patient got better, faster and complete relief from the symptoms of Pneumonia. Thus it reduces the stay in the hospital and less treatment cost to the patient. Even if It doesn’t work even then there are no side effects and cost to patient is minimal.

4. Weight Loss: Coconut oil is a rich source of medium chain fatty acids. Now as compared to long chain fatty acids the medium chain fatty acids in coconut speed up metabolism much faster simply because they are very easily digested and converted in to energy. Since we all know that faster metabolism always use the energy in body faster thus force the body to produce more energy by burning carbohydrates. Thus stored fats are converted in carbohydrates and used to produce more energy. The medium chain fatty acids are shown to be thrice more effective than long chain fatty acids in increasing metabolism. Thus use of coconut oil can help reducing weight in the person.

5. The other major benefits of coconut oil are:

a) It protects against certain kind of cancers and infectious diseases.

b) Kills parasites like tapeworm

c) Helps fighting acidity.

d) Helps in earache

e) Helps in intestinal problems.

f) Fights against prostrate enlargement.

g) Strengthens liver.

h) Reduce inflammation in joints.

i) Reduce incidence of seizers in epilepsy.

K) Ease itching because of diabetic neuropathy.

Disclaimer: I am not a certified doctor or dietician.. So please check with your doctor about its medicinal use and side effects . I have only written what can be benefit of this humble food if included in diet. Thanks