Lately there has been some noise in the press about coconut oil being unhealthy and even poisonous due to it being a saturated fat. I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth as coconut oil is good for you in so many ways.
I thought we had begun to accept that fats are necessary for health and not the demons that we had been taught from the flawed studies released in the 1980s regarding heart health and saturated fats.
Not only have traditional tropical communities have eaten coconut oil without toxic effects for millenium, but recent studies have looked at coconut oil’s benefits for diseased like Alzheimer’s, autism, and even gingevitis. Unless you are sensitive to coconut in general, it’s a safe and effective moisturizer for hair and skin, and can even help heal from a sunburn.
Coconut oil is super beneficial due to its unique make up of medium chain triglcerides (MCTs). Unlike other fats, MCTs are metabolized quickly by the liver and turned into ketones that are utilized by the body in many ways to support health.
The type of coconut oil we want to avoid is “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” coconut oil. Stay away from this stuff for sure.
But coconut oil, which is solid at room temperature and is the only plant-based saturated fat, is definitely healthy and good for you. So eat up.
Of course, some people are sensitive to coconut, and they should stay way from it to avoid sparking inflammation in their bodies. If you’re curious and want to find out if you could be sensitive to coconut, shoot me an email and I’d be happy to talk to you about it!