Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Being a personal trainer in Swansea I am well aware of many of my clients eating habits, as well as people’s perceptions on healthy eating. Many a time have I seen and heard people who will make themselves a great healthy salad and then smother it with a high fat dressing to drastically reduce the healthiness of the meal. Similarly many people will cook in and use cooking oils high in fat, this again is a big no no! There are low fat alternatives out there which are better, today though I am going to discuss with you some of the benefits of Coconut Oil, if any of you tried my 28 day Nutrition and Health Manual you will see that Coconut Oil was used with many meals.

Coconut oil is an edible oil which comes from the meat of coconuts when they are matured.

So what is so good about coconut oil?

There is a fairly common conception of coconut oil as being bad for you, realistically though it is one of the healthiest oils you can use. We’ve all seen on TV or in Films people of the tropics surviving off not much more than coconuts, it’s not a coincidence!

It doesn’t make you fat!

Many cooking oils turn to fat in the body, due to coconut oils structure the body is able to burn it easily without it getting turned into fat, whilst being converted to energy quicker. Two great things for exercising and dieting!

Boosts your metabolism!

As well as converting to energy quicker coconut oil increases your metabolism, and we all know that promotes weight loss by helping your body to burn fat more effectively. Your calorie burn when consuming coconut oil may triple as it is converted to energy so quickly, producing heat.

Omega 3 fatty acids.

In today’s society most cooking oils contain omega 6 fatty acids, you should be consuming the same amount of omega 3 fatty acids as omega 6. This really isn’t the case with the foods and products we are sold on the market. Good old coconut oil contains Omega 3 fatty acids which are a much healthier option.

Better to cook with.

Obviously when we cook we use high temperatures to cook our food, coconut oil has a much higher smoke point that other olive oils, this means it can handle temperatures better.Coconut oils also lasts longer, you can keep at room temperature for well over a year! Many oils will go rancid if left for this time period, this is linked to health problems, big ones!

Much needed energy boost.

It’s common that when people switch from their usual cooking oils to coconut oil they get a new burst of energy! The healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the increased metabolism give you a new great feeling.

I won’t bore you with the science behind it but quickly explain to you how. Coconut oil is one of the richest sources of medium-chain triglycerides, these increase your metabolic rate and promote thermogenesis, this leads to the production of energy.

It even helps to moisturise your skin and reduce protein loss when used in hair.

So hopefully I have given you a bit of food for thought there? Maybe it is time to take a break from your usual cooking oils and try something new, the benefits are there for you to see.

Give it a try!