Uses for Cool Coconut Oil

I have been trying coconut oil because I am allergic to many products be it for hair or skin.

Many people say that coconut oil is good for your health, however I am not qualified to make such claims - to be honest I have no idea whether it's good for you or bad for you! It really does depend who you ask and what medical journals you read.

I have made toothpaste, deodorant and lip balm using organic coconut oil as the main ingredient. These are my thoughts.

Please do leave a comment as I really would love to add your experiences of using coconut oil here, and any ideas you have for how to best use it.

Thanks so much for your visit

Cool Coconut Oil

Regular toothpaste has chemicals in it and that's a reason why you should not swallow it.

I have been trying to eliminate as many chemicals as possible from my household because my son has very sensitive skin and I don't want to irritate it.

I have been looking at replacing toothpaste with natural homemade paste. I looked up several recipes and they all seemed to be the same. It's very very easy to make and inexpensive too.

They say that natural coconut oil has anti viral, anti bacterial and anti fungal properties and that's why it makes an excellent toothpaste. The baking powder will make them white.

You will need:

A small bowl to mix the paste in and a spoon. A jar with a lid in which to store the paste once it's made

Ingredients:

• Natural coconut oil

• Baking powder

• Essence of peppermint, or spearmint, or any flavor that you like.

Method:

• Take 2/4 large tablespoons of coconut oil and put them in the bowl (don't make too much in one go, it's better to make it fresh because it doesn't have any preservatives in it.

• Mix in enough baking powder to make a smooth paste that looks like toothpaste

• Add 2 to 3 drops of essence and mix it in the paste

• Spoon it into the jar and close lid.

That all folks! Easy and very effective, keeps your teeth bright and clean and it won't hurt if you eat it, so it's great for children.

We used it till it ran out and then my son wanted to go back to his 'real' toothpaste! I liked it but I don't know if it protects against tooth decay etc. It's really hard to know what to do - should we really believe these dentists!! What should we actually be brushing our teeth with? Is fluoride good for you or not? See what Michael Greger M.D. a nutrition specialist has to say about toothpaste. I think this is one of the best sites on nutrition around.

Please leave a comment if you have tried this.

in Bangladesh

Many years ago when I was in Bangladesh, I had coconut for breakfast.

Watching waiters climb up very tall coconut trees to cut down the fruit for us was so exciting, we woke up early so that we wouldn't miss it.

I tried to learn how to do it, but I just couldn't get the push up from the ground. The coconuts were dropped down, from a great height, but they didn't crack.

The rest of the breakfast was not memorable, but I'll never forget the coconuts - they were huge and truly delicious!

I came across this recipe and I am very sensitive to deodorants so I usually use the natural crystal stone but I'm going to make this:

• Baking Soda

• Arrowroot Powder

• Coconut oil

• Essential oils - anti bacterial ones are Lavender, Tea Tree, Myrrh, grapefruit, Lemon and Thyme, peppermint

Mix it all together, add different amounts to get the consistency you like.

I had to play around with it quite a lot to make sure it was the right consistency, and I have used it several times. I am not sure whether I really like it because I am used to my mineral stone. But it certainly works in terms of reducing odour. My son tried it and hated it -full stop! My husband says it irritated him am bit - but he has ultra senstive skin, so we were expecting that because of the baking powder.

Do leave a comment if you try it and tell us how you got on.

Do you use coconut oil for cooking? Tell us all about it, we'd love to hear about your experiences. Perhaps you have some useful tip to tell.

Thanks very much indeed for taking the time to keep us informed.