Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to your bath and use as you would any bath oil or make a salt scrub using 1 part virgin coconut oil and 1 part salt. I made some this week and my family loves it! We used real sea salt, as it is the only salt I use, but you can use any salt.

8. Coconut Oil Hair Treatment

Use a tablespoon of Virgin Coconut Oil and massage your hair and scalp. Leave it in for at least an hour, then wash hair. This can be done 1-3 times a week. The coconut oil will nourish your scalp and hair and will help your scalp from drying and your hair from breaking.

9. Drink Coconut Milk 

Enjoy a glass of raw homemade coconut milk! When you make homemade coconut milk you will see and taste the coconut oil in the milk. The coconut oil will bead up in fresh cold coconut milk (making it easy to extract and use if you want to). Use fresh coconut milk as a beverage, in smoothies, baking (can be used in place of milk in some recipes), and in soups!

10. Oil Pulling

From Coconut Research Center, “Some people think I’m crazy when I tell them that oil pulling can help those with asthma, allergies, chronic fatigue, diabetes, migraine headaches, PMS, and chronic skin problems. Oil pulling works by detoxifying or cleansing the body. In this way, disease promoting toxins are removed, thus allowing the body to heal itself. As a consequence, health problems of all types improve.” To oil pull, all you have to do is use Virgin Coconut Oil like mouthwash. Swoosh for 15-20 minutes a day.

op 15 Benfits of Coconut Oil Uses

 in Coconut Oil

Previously shunned by the health and wellness community for high saturated fat content, coconut oil has experienced a huge increase in sales and taken the media by storm in recent years. Coconut oil can be found not only in specialty health food stores, but at most local grocers as well.

Formerly unheard of, coconut oil is becoming more of a staple cooking oil in many households. Manufacturers are using coconut oil in favor of other oils in packaged products, and there are claims that coconut oil can do everything from supporting weight loss to slowing the progression ofAlzheimer's disease. Nevertheless, many organizations such as the American Heart Association and the USDA continue to caution consumers against all tropical oils, including coconut oil.

Read on to find out more about the controversy surrounding coconut oil and if you should make coconut oil a staple in your diet.

This MNT Knowledge Center feature is part of a collection of articles on the health benefits of popular foods.

Possible health benefits associated with the consumption of coconut oil are included below, with details of the study research carried out.

Diets high in MCTs (65% of coconut oil's makeup) have been shown to improve glucose tolerance and reduce body fat accumulation when compared to diets high in LCTs. MCFAs have also been shown to preserve insulin action in, and insulin resistance in rat studies.2 Coconut oil may also improve insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetics.

Researchers observed that study participants who followed a diet in which 40% of calories came from fat, either comprised of mostly MCTs or LCTs, the MCT group improved insulin-mediated glucose metabolism by 30% when compared with the LCT group.2

In the coconut oil versus soybean oil study described above, both groups lost weight however only the coconut oil group saw a decrease in waist size.1

Another study had participants consume 18-24 g of MCTs per day as part of a 16-week weight-loss program, which resulted in more weight loss and fat loss when compared to olive oil. These findings suggest that substituting oils high in medium chain triglycerides for those with long chain triglycerides could be beneficial for weight loss in healthy individuals.2

When compared with other fats, coconut oil contains 2.6% fewer calories. Keep in mind however that all high-fat foods and oils are calorically dense and simply adding in more calorically dense food to a diet already ample in calories is not likely to result in weight loss.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one tablespoon of coconut oil contains 117 calories, 0 grams of protein, 13.6 grams of fat (11.8 saturated, 0.8 monounsaturated and 0.2 polyunsaturated) and 0 grams of carbohydrate (0 grams of fiber and 0 grams of sugar). It provides little to no vitamins or minerals.

Coconut oil is made up of 100% fat. However, the structure of fat in coconut oil differs from the traditional saturated fat often found in animal products (primarily comprised of long-chain fatty acids).

Coconut oil has an unusually high amount of medium-chain fatty acids or triglycerides (MCFAs or MCTs), which are harder for our bodies to convert into stored fat and easier for them to burn off than long-chain fatty acids or triglycerides (LCFAs or LCTs).

Tom Brenna, a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, states that all coconut oils are not created equal.4 Partially hydrogenated coconut oil is just as harmful as other highly processed oils containing trans fat and clearly wreaks havoc on our health.

The second type, refined coconut oil, is extracted from chemically bleached and deodorized coconut meat. Virgin coconut oil, on the other hand, is extracted from the fruit of fresh mature coconuts without using high temperatures or chemicals, is considered unrefined and may paint an entirely different story for our health.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, virgin coconut oil has potential antioxidant properties due to certain plant nutrients it contains called phenolic compounds.5

Recent developments on coconut oil from MNT news

Coconut oil effective against Candida fungal infection

Candida albicans is part of the normal gut microbiome in humans and animals, but when the fungus gets out of balance in the body, it can cause infection. Though antifungal medications are sometimes used, a new study suggests coconut oil may be an effective treatment.