Site and content Copyright © 2010 Health Answers.co.uk | Contact | Privacy
Please read our Disclaimer page regarding information presented at this web site
Please read our Disclaimer page regarding information presented at this web site
Why spend hours
searching? - Find
all the no-nonsense
health information
you need right here
searching? -
you need right here
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil comes from crushed copra, the dried kernels of the coconut. It is a white, semisolid, highly saturated fat (technically, a medium chain fatty acid, widely used in the manufacture of baby soaps, shampoos, lotions and massage creams. It lathers readily and makes a fine cleanser.
Coconut oil is solid at room temperature but melts easily on skin contact and in warmer environments. It is quite stable to oxidation provided it is kept out of strong light and will keep well if stored under cool conditions and in the dark.
It has mild anti-bacterial, anti-viral & anti-fungal properties, but its most interesting nutritional properties are associated with thyroid function.
Eat fat to get thin!
Although cocunut oil is a saturated fat with the appearance of lard, iincluding it in your diet can actually lead to weight loss!
One factor contributing to overweight in many individuals is hypothyroidism or below average production of the thyroid hormone, thyroxin. Thyroxin is the regulator that controls the basal metabolic rate - essentially the rate we burn food when at rest.
Coconut oil has the effect of stimulating thyroxin production, and so stimulating the gneral metabolism. This because instead of being stored in fat cells, coconut oil (and some similar plant oils such as cocoa butter and palm oil) are used by the liver to create the ‘building blocks’ the thyroid need to produce thyroxin. The thyroid also needs iodine and vitamin B12 for this process and suitable sources should be available.
The well known metabolic researcher Dr Raymond Peat tells this rather ironic story in one of his articles:
"In the l940s, farmers attempted to use cheap coconut oil for fattening their animals, but they found that it made them lean, active and hungry. For a few years, an antithyroid drug was found to make the livestock get fat while eating less food, but then it was found to be a strong carcinogen, and it also probably produced hypothyroidism in the people who ate the meat. By the late l940s, it was found that the same antithyroid effect, causing animals to get fat without eating much food, could be achieved by using soy beans and corn as feed." Read the rest of this article here (the link opens a new page or tab on this site).
In the same article, Dr Peat also describes how two people, G. W. Crile and his wife, found that people in the Yucutan had a higher metabolic rate (25%) than people in the US. And this was despite living in a tropical climate where the metabolic rate is usually lower than in a cold climate. Coconuts are a staple in the Yucutan.
So, using coconut oil instead of regular cooking oil, or taking 2 tablespoons of coconut oil directly per day, is another of the various ways to boost metabolism through nutrition.
