What is the fuss about coconut oil? This is for you - Wayne and Sherry Sanders. Coconut oil is a naturally saturated fat. Saturated fat means that all of the carbons in the oil have a hydrogen attached to them (they are saturated with hydrogen atoms). Unsaturated fats have some carbon atoms that are not fully connected to hydrogen atoms. (See the second picture). You may have heard of trans fats – these are fats that are artificially saturated with hydrogen atoms in order to make a liquid oil into a solid at room temperature and to increase shelf life. Trans fats (third picture) have been proven to be bad for your health. In fact, the half-life of a trans fat is 60 days. Dig back into your days of high school chemistry now! A half-life is how long it takes for our bodies to metabolize half of the substance out of our systems. So, if you eat a trans fat, in 60 days, half of that trans fat will be out of your system, in another 60 days, ¼ of the fat is out of your system, in another 60 days, 1/8 of the fat is out of your system, and so on. It takes a really long time to get a bad trans fat out of your system. But naturally occurring saturated fats, like coconut oil and butter, have health promoting effects. Our bodies can easily digest and assimilate the naturally occurring saturated fats in coconut oil. Here is a list of scientifically proven good effects of coconut oil: 1. Helps heart health. 2. Promotes weight loss. 3. Helps your immune system (coconut oil has lauric acid in it, lauric acid converts to monolauren which is helpful in suppressing virus and bacterial growth). 3. A source of immediate energy – goes right to the liver and is broken down for energy 4. Good for diabetics as a source of energy without provoking insulin. 4. Tolerates heat for frying without degrading better than most oils. 5. Good for your skin and hair. 6. Good for your thyroid. I have replaced butter at my home with coconut oil and use it regularly, along with extra virgin olive oil, in our food.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:15:57 +0000
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