Coconut oil is a plus


The average coconut isn’t much to look at. But hidden inside its unassuming exterior is a powerful force for good health:  coconut oil.

Although it’s a saturated fat, current scientific research finds saturated fats are a vital nutrient that’s essential for life. Our cell membranes even need these types of fatty acids to function properly.

And recent research suggests that the medium-chain triacylglycerols (MCTs) that make up coconut oil may have wide-ranging health benefits.
Here are a few of them:

MCTs Fight Fat with Fat
The way our bodies process the MCTs in coconut oil reduces the opportunity for those fats to deposit into our existing fatty tissues. And it gets even better.
Consuming MCTs from coconut oil has been shown to increase metabolism by turning up our bodies’ thermostats in a process called thermogenesis. When we produce more heat, our bodies utilize more energy.  Increases in thermogenesis and metabolism mean our bodies burn more fuel—fat.
And coconut oil also has been shown to make you feel more full. So consuming coconut oil can help you to feel full for longer, reducing overall food intake.
Coconut oil can be used in cooking, as a substitute for some or all of the fat in baked goods, or for stir frying. Like butter it is solid at room temperature, but melted it is also great on popcorn.

Benefits Heart Health
Evidence of coconut oil’s cardio-protective properties comes from the MCTs’ ability to support normal blood lipid profiles. That means coconut oil has been shown to support healthy triglyceride levels and the good kind of cholesterol—high-density lipoproteins or HDL.
Our heart is just the start. The process of breaking down coconut oil in the liver produces ketones and short-chain fatty acids—both shown to help support cognition.
Hopefully you understand why coconuts are worth including in the list of healthy fats.
So next time you see one, remember how much power is hiding right underneath its hard brown shell.

If you're shopping for coconut oil, check out this product review

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 9, 2017 at 1:38 PM

    This is incredibly helpful. I so often hear on social media that coconut oil is a "healthy fat," but I have never seen the evidence to back this claim up. This is great motivation to incorporate coconut oil into my daily routine, especially for beauty and cooking!

    ReplyDelete

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