How to Incorporate Coconut Oil Into Your Diet

BUY AND SELL @ marttle.com

Coconut oil is reputed to have numerous health benefits, including healthy weight loss, the lowering of blood cholesterol and triglycerides, and help for thyroid abnormalities. Whether or not these claims are substantiated, we don’t know–the research is still coming in. But we do know that coconut oil contains lauric acid. Benefits of lauric acid are many – for example, it makes the body produce monolaurin, a monoglyceride with an antimicrobial action. Coconut oil has a higher smoking point than many other vegetable oils. It also tastes good. Virgin coconut oil is popular on the market, touted for its superiority over coconut oil derived from dried coconut, or copra. Coconut oil is versatile and easy to incorporate into recipes. Here are tips for how to incorporate coconut oil into your diet so you can see for yourself if the health benefits are real.

Why Use Coconut Oil? Health Benefits Research and Speculation
In the olden days, if you told a doctor you wanted to incorporate coconut oil into your diet, you’d be looked at askance and lectured on the health hazards of saturated fats. Coconut oil was considered one of the worst of the saturated fats offenders, a potential cause of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Yet by and large these studies, conducted in previous decades, used hydrogenated coconut oil, a trans-fat, instead of virgin coconut oil or expeller pressed, trans-fat-free coconut oil in their research.

Since then, according to lipid biochemistry researcher Mary G. Enig. PhD, a number of studies have been conducted using non-hydrogenated coconut oil. These research studies have told a different story. While the field of nutrition is always in flux, the results look promising. A 2004 study appearing in Clinical Biochemistry demonstrated that eating virgin coconut lowered the cholesterol (both total and LDL, the “bad cholesterol”) and triglycerides in lab mice.

Although the jury is still out on the overall benefits of coconut oil for humans, and more studies need to be done, the oil is now being hailed as the “healthy” saturated fat. Even though you can still find warnings against the saturated fat of coconut oil at medical and food regulating government sites, many testimonials can also be found online and in books paying tribute to its health benefits, citing weight loss, lowered cholesterol, hair benefits, skin benefits, and even its effectiveness as a natural deodorant. (The hair benefits at least have been tested–see the study conducted in India comparing the effects of applying coconut oil, sunflower oil and mineral oil to hair–coconut oil wins hand’s down.)

In the end, time and further research will tell whether or not the health benefits, if any, make it worthwhile to incorporate coconut oil into your diet every day.

Cooking With Coconut Oil Tips
•Never heat coconut oil past the smoking point. Don’t re-use coconut oil when frying. If it turns yellow, discard it.
•Store coconut butter at room temperature. If stored in the refrigerator, it will be too hard to use. Coconut oil turns solid in cooler weather (68 degrees Fahrenheit) and becomes liquid in warm weather.
•Coconut butter’s tendency to firm up when cooled can be used to advantage to create creamy confections that don’t need egg or starch to thicken them when stored in the refrigerator.
•Use virgin coconut oil in dishes, baked goods or snacks in which you don’t mind the strong coconuty taste.
•Use the more bland-tasting expeller pressed coconut oil for frying, baking and in cooking meals that you prefer not to taste like coconut.

Incorporate Coconut Oil Into These Foods
Here are some ideas that can help you incorporate coconut oil into your diet daily:
•Spread virgin coconut oil on toast or bagels instead of butter. For a more flavorful version, make a “buttery” spread by whipping up coconut oil, olive oil, salt and chopped garlic. Store in the fridge.
•Melt virgin coconut oil over steamed broccoli, brussels sprouts or other veggies.
•Add virgin coconut oil to soups as a last-minute addition. The soups will be more filling, and its flavors will disguise some of the coconuty taste. Warning: Do a taste test first on a spoonful to make sure the tastes are compatable.
•Blend a smoothie with coconut oil. The key to incorporating coconut oil into a smoothie is to melt the coconut oil first if it’s in a solid state, and then to use all room-temperature ingredients, such as bananas, nuts, etc. Any cold ingredient or chilling of the smoothie will cause the coconut oil to de-emulsify as it chills. Adding citrus such as lemon or orange can help make a non-cold smoothie taste refreshing.
•Use coconut oil instead of shortening or butter in baked goods such as muffins, cookies and cake. Use slightly less (subtract about 2 tablespoons per cup) than the recipe calls for.
•Incorporate coconut oil into pie crust recipes. If replacing oil in an oil-based pie crust, use the same quantity. If replacing butter or shortening, reduce the amount by 1-2 tablespoons and chill it in the refrigerator for no more than five minutes to get it into a solid state but not so hard it can’t be cut with a pastry cutter or fork.

Does Coconut Oil Have Omega 3 Fatty Acids?
Omega 3 fatty acids come from fish, flaxseed, grass-fed beef and some other sources. Although coconut oil has many virtues, omega 3 fatty acids are not one of them. Don’t be fooled by false claims. Unless omega 3 fatty acids have been added in, natural coconut oil does not contain them. What coconut oil does have are medium chain fatty acids such as lauric acid.

What are Coconut Oil Supplements?
Some people prefer not to incorporate coconut oil into their diet, either because it’s too much effort or they don’t like the taste of coconut. For these folks, it’s quicker and more convenient to use coconut oil supplements in softgel or capsule form. When you shop for supplements, check the ingredients, as sometimes other ingredients are added. Make sure the label says “virgin” or “extra virgin” (even though that’s a misnomer).
Source: hubpages.com

Share: