Well, I have been reading about Coconut Oil and trying to see if the claims are real or just hype. My sister-in-law had sent me an interesting article titled Sugar and Your Brain: Is Alzheimer’s Disease Actually Type 3 Diabetes the article said that using coconut oil in cooking, baking or a morning smoothie can help boost brain metabolism and increase cognitive functioning. Shown to control or even reverse progression had been recently reported. I’ve read that it can heal everything from memory loss to jock itch and yeast infections. According to Dr. Bruce Fife PH.D., it has anti-fungal properties that can help with yeast infections, ringworm, athlete’s feet and so on.livingstrong.com
Coconut Oil got a bad wrap in 1994 because the hydrogenated version was used in movie theaters in their popcorn. It was said to have as much saturated fat as 6 BIG MACS according to an article in the NY Times by Melissa Clark on March 1, 2011. Hydrogenated means that it has been chemically altered which is never a good thing.
The coconut oil that is being discussed today is extra virgin coconut oil. Just like olive oil that is the natural unaltered kind. Coconut oil is a lauric acid (medium chain fatty acid). It increases the good HDL and bad LDL but isn’t thought to negatively affect the overall ratio of the two. According to Marissa Moore spokeswoman for the American Diabetic Assoc. But they have still not decided whether or not coconut oil is as actively beneficial the way olive oil is.
There are a lot of claims that coconut may have health benefits but so far there isn’t any concrete scientific data yet to support this. Coconut is good food in moderation says Daniel Hwang, research molecular biologist specializing in lauric acid at Western Human Nutrition Research Center at University of California, Davis.
It is used widely in vegan cooking and is said to make cakes moister and pie crusts flakier. It can be used to make a butter-cream like icing while retaining its gentle vanilla flavor.
Baking cakes, whipping up icings, wanting to add a “mellow coconut flavor” to a dish of sautéed vegetables especially onions, scallions, shrimp or roasting sweet potatoes and of course the popcorn are some of the things that are said to be delicious.
I bought our first bottle today, found it at Walmart right beside the vegetable and olive oils. The price was comparable to olive oil. I will let you know how it tastes soon and of course if we notice any memory changes.
I got some too not long ago at a grocery store. You know, I half expected some coconut taste- nope, none ha!
People here were using it for their teeth and when I bought the oil I was going through tons of deental problems. They were doing what was called ‘pulling’ (swishing it around their mouths) No idea how that was supposed to help.
I have heard all kinds of claims about the oil, and figure it cant hurt too much, but I am not going to say its a cure all.. I could though see how it helps the skin- it is after all an oil.