Hopefully you’ve gotten the memo by now: Fat is not the enemy.
For a long time (read: the past three-plus decades!) we believed that eating fat made us fat and gave us heart disease, but the pendulum is definitely swinging. Most health experts now agree that “healthy fat” isn’t the oxymoron it once was. In fact, if a healthy body and mind are what you’re after, you simply must consume good fat!
This is great news for the mighty coconut, a fruit whose meat is largely composed of healthy saturated fat (again, not an oxymoron!).
Here are 6 reasons to add coconut products to your plate.
- Coconut oil is an excellent skin moisturizer, germ killer, and – according to a recent comment on my Facebook page – toothpaste!
- Lauric acid – the primary saturated fat in coconut meat, milk, and oil – lowers markers of heart disease risk by improving your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (good) cholesterol.
- Coconut oil is ideal for cooking because heat doesn’t cause its fats to oxidize – a reaction that can lead to inflammation via free radical damage.
- It’s good for your waistline. Yep, that’s right! Coconut products contain medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are preferentially burned for energy, instead of stored as belly fat. That’s why I put a tablespoon of coconut oil in my coffee every morning!
- Due to its antimicrobial properties, coconut oil may help fight off infections and pathogens, according to this study from Nigeria.
- Coconut water, which is found in young, green coconuts, not only tastes great, but also contains potassium, sodium, and glucose making it an ideal post-exercise rehydration drink.
My verdict? Coconut products are one seriously awesome way to get some more healthy fat in your diet.
Now I want to hear from you. Do you embrace coconut products (oil, milk, water, flour, shredded) despite their naturally high fat content? What’s your favourite way to consume it?
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I could not agree with you more. I use coconut oil for making omeletes, frying up a stir fry and just about everything else that requires some oil. I too love the taste of the coconut oil in my morning coffee. I add a tsp of grass fed buttter to it as well. I mix it in my mini blender for a nice frothy drink.
Way to go, Garry! Sounds like you’ve learned some very grounded knowledge and figure out a way to make it work in your life. I love it!
Carolyn
I use Coconut Oil for all frying and I also use it as a moisturizer on my face. I have recipes for making my own Coconut Oil Shampoo & Conditioner so will be doing that in the near future. I have also put either a tbsp. of coconut oil or 1 tbsp. butter in my morning smoothie.
All great uses for the mighty coconut, Pauline!
Carolyn
I too use coconut oil in a lot of recipes. Some recipes I have read online suggest coconut chips as a great snack food but I haven’t found any local. Any ideas ?
As far as I know, chip coconut is impossible to find in this area, although Kevin uses it in the Primal Crunch granola and every now and again buys an extra bag and disperses it to people (like you!) who have asked. I’ll give you his contact info when I see you next. Carolyn