|
|
The coconut has been used extensively in traditional medicine among Asian and Pacific populations for centuries. Pacific Islanders consider coconut oil to be the cure for all illness. The coconut palm is so highly valued by them as both a source of food and medicine that it is called "The Tree of Life." It is tradition to plant a coconut palm for each child born with the intention that the tree will sustain the life and health of that child for his/her entire life.
Modern medical science is now confirming the use of coconut in treating many of the above conditions. Published studies in medical journals show that coconut, may provide a wide range of health benefits as summarized below:
Prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, and age spots.
Promotes weight loss by increasing metabolic rate.
Helps to protect the body from harmful free radicals that promote premature aging and degenerative disease.
Helps protect the body from breast, colon, and other cancers.
Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing risk of heart disease.
Protects arteries from injury that causes atherosclerosis and thus protects against heart disease. Supports and aids immune system function.
Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses.
Kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, gum disease and cavities, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, and other diseases.
Kills fungi and yeasts that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, and other infections.
Expels or kills tapeworms, lice, giardia, and other parasites.
Provides a nutritional source of quick energy.
Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.
Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose, helpful in diabetes.
Relieves stress on pancreas and enzyme systems of the body.
Reduces symptoms associated with pancreatitis.
Helps relieve symptoms and reduce health risks associated with diabetes.
Reduces problems associated with malabsorption syndrome and cystic fibrosis.
Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth.
Helps protect against osteoporosis.
Helps relieve symptoms associated with gallbladder disease.
Relieves symptoms associated with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and ulcers.
Improves digestion and bowel function.
Relieves pain and irritation caused by hemorrhoids.
Reduces inflammation.
Supports tissue healing and repair.
Helps prevent periodontal disease and tooth decay.
Functions as a protective antioxidant.
Does not deplete the body's antioxidant reserves like other oils do.
Improves utilization of essential fatty acids and protects them from oxidation.
Helps relieve symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Relieves symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement).
Reduces epileptic seizures.
Helps protect against kidney disease and bladder infections.
Dissolves kidney stones.
Helps prevent liver disease.
Is lower in calories than all other fats.
Supports thyroid function.
Is utilized by the body to produce energy in preference to being stored as body fat like other dietary fats.
Helps prevent obesity and overweight problems.
Applied topically helps to form a chemical barrier on the skin to ward of infection.
Reduces symptoms associated the psoriasis, eczema, & dermatitis.
Supports the natural chemical balance of the skin.
Softens skin and helps relieve dryness and flaking.
Promotes healthy looking hair & complexion.
Provides protection from damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Helps control dandruff.
Does not form harmful by-products when heated to normal cooking temperature like other vegetable oils do.
Has no harmful or discomforting side effects.
Is completely non-toxic. | Coconut Myths...
In the1960's, the edible oil industry in the U.S. seized the opportunity to promote its polyunsaturates by developing a health issue focusing on anti-saturated fat biases. With the help of the edible oil industry lobbying in the United States, federal government dietary goals and guidelines were adopted incorporating this false idea that consumption of saturated fat was causing heart disease. This anti-saturated fat issue became the agenda of government and private agencies in the U.S. and to an extent in other parts of the world. This is the agenda that
has had such a devastating effect on the health of the people. From the 1960's, the anti-saturated fat rhetoric increased in intensity until recently, when contradictions began to surface:
An editorial by Harvard's Walter Willett, M.D. in the American Journal of Public Health (1990) acknowledged that: "no relation between saturated fat intake and risk of CHD was observed..."
Another editorial by Framingham's William P. Castelli in the Archives of Internal Medicine (1992), declared that: "...the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol...
Castelli further admitted that: "...people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least, and were the most physically active."
|
| Coconut Truths...
Coconut oil has been described as "the healthiest oil on earth." What makes it so superior to all other oils, especially other saturated fats?
The size of the fatty acid is extremely important because our bodies respond to and metabolize each fatty acid differently. The vast majority of fats and oils in our diets, whether they are saturated or unsaturated or come from animals or plants, are composed of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Some 98 to 100% of all the fatty acids you consume are LCFA.
Coconut oil is composed predominately of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). MCFA are very different from LCFA. They do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and help to protect against heart disease. MCFA help to lower the risk of both atherosclerosis and heart disease. It is primarily due to the MCFA in coconut oil that makes it so special and so beneficial.
|
|
|