Coconut oil has found its way to the top of the natural cures heap with good reason. It’s good for our skin, hair, stomach and overall health and it is cheap. Seriously cheap. It can replace the expensive lotions and potions were marketed into buying no problem and do much more.
My niece was looking particularly healthy and fresh one day and she told me her secret. Coconut oil, on the face, in the hair. She looked as though she’d had a facial and 30 hours sleep. Her hair had an extraordinarily plumped up, glossy and smooth look.
So you bet I jumped on the bandwagon and realised wonderful its results. As we age our skin becomes less pliable and crepey. Coconut oil, especially applied after a bath or shower appears to reverse all that for at least a day and then you start over.
The immediate and profound improvement, for a few cents per application, trumps just about any other product. The only thing it doesn’t do to improve our skin is exfoliate, but that’s what wash cloths are for. It improves skin health and some medical conditions.
Coconut oil is the only applied cosmetic fat that actually is absorbed into the skin, and it’s pure enough to eat. It sinks in and leaves a semi-matte, plump glow with no ill effects. There are no added petrochemicals or sensitizers that are found in major brands and even natural products.
And that’s just an appetiser for what it can do. It has myriad health and beauty uses and makes a great base for a natural, non-chemical deodorant that you can scent with any non-irritating essential oil you like. Its effective and you avoid the aluminum in commercial deodorants.
It’s an excellent base for a homemade sunscreen as well, although on its own, it’s just a 4SPF. Mix it with carrot seed oil or red raspberry oil and you’ve got an effective 30 – 50 SPF.
Again, use non-irritating essential oils to add fragrance. It is a balm for skin after sun exposure as well.
Coconut oil can be used to calm digestive disturbance and is used in hospital baby formulas. “Oil pulling” is a technique of swooshing coconut oil in your mouth for 20 minutes each day to whiten teeth, healthier gums, reduced sensitivity and overall oral health. Spit out into the garbage not the sink as it the oil solidifies on pipes.
Adding a spoon or two to the diet helps – on toast, in oatmeal, in baking and cooking. It helps us absorb nutrients and calms the system. Other oils including sesame and sunflower oil contain omega 6 fats that are pro-inflammatory. No longer the dragon that causes heart disease, coconut oil has been proven to elevate general health used on the body and in food.
It can also help with memory disorders.
And naturopathic physician Bruce Fife has more good news. “Coconut oil … can be useful in the treatment and prevention of obesity. A lot of research is currently being done in this area. Studies show it may be helpful in preventing liver disease, kidney disease, Crohn’s disease, cancer and many infectious illnesses such as the flu, herpes, bladder infections, and candida. Studies are now being done to test it effectiveness against serious illness such as AIDS and SARS. Preliminary results have been very promising.”
If you’re not sold on coconut oil yet…read this again.