***Coconut Oil

What with all the publicity it’s getting lately, it probably won’t come as news to you that coconut oil’s pretty astonishing stuff.

A medium-chain saturated fat, wondrous coconut oil blesses the socks off your body.

First, since our endocrine system makes its hormones from saturated fat, coconut oil can give sagging glands a boost. Improved metabolism, anybody? More energy? A pumped-up immune system? Coconut oil makes a big endocrine difference.

Plus, saturated fat plays a huge role in brain function, so coconut oil makes a difference there, too. It can even neutralize Alzheimer’s Disease, not curing it, unfortunately, but giving major relief from symptoms so you can still have a life.

In fact, saturated fat makes all sorts of good things happen. Vegetable oils, the polyunsaturated gang, are the fats that cause trouble. Now, that’s not what you hear, but it’s the absolute truth. Research has proved over and over and over again–for more than 150 years–that saturated fat is where it’s at.

No need to go pale at the thought of eating saturated fat, either. Actually, it’s what helps you lose weight. Exactly how that works is another topic for another day, but, as I said, sat fat is good stuff.

And it’s not just inside the body where good things happen with coconut oil.

Try cleaning your face with coconut oil. Hubba, hubba. It makes your skin all clean and soft, with no chemical ingredients to worry about. And it doesn’t clog or enlarge your pores, either.

Coconut oil’s also great–hold onto your hat here–for brushing your teeth. I stick my SonicCare toothbrush in the coconut oil jar, load it up and let good things happen. Your teeth will end up all slickery, with a fresh-from-the-dentist feel.

If you have gum problems, or perhaps a root canal that doesn’t feel quite right, you’ll be happy to hear that coconut oil doesn’t just clean your teeth, but it also takes aim at bad guys by being antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-inflammatory.

Again, with no bad ingredients to create problems.

Got a baby with diaper rash? Coconut oil to the healing rescue. It works for big people, too.

Cuts and scrapes? Coconut oil cleans the wound while softening the skin. If you have tough skin that lumps up and creates scars, you’ll love that part.

Since athlete’s foot comes from fungus, and coconut oil is antifungal, Bingo!Kitchens and bathrooms all need a handy jar of coconut oil. Gyms, too. Beats chemical antibacterials by a mile.

Be aware, though, that as coconut oil becomes more and more popular, cheap brands are showing up a lot. I don’t mean inexpensive, which strikes me as a good thing, but cheap–as in overaged ingredients, too much processing and a lack of standards.

Nutiva is a good brand of raw, organic coconut oil, which tastes and smells like coconut. On your skin, the smell doesn’t matter much because it doesn’t last long, but you want to like the taste of coconut if you’re going to put it in food. Scrambled eggs that taste like coconut are weird.

Spectrum sells a good brand of cold-pressed, organic coconut oil, which is pretty much tasteless and odorless. Much better for scrambling eggs. Or putting in oatmeal. Wherever.

You can find Nutiva and Spectrum coconut oil in health food stores or on-line. Walmart recently started carrying Spectrum coconut oil, too.

God is good,Bette Dowdell