Coconut oil’s health and longevity effects proven by centuries of medicinal tradition

One of today’s most popular superfoods is coconut oil, as its superb health benefits are essentially endless and offer something for everyone. While scientists gave coconut oil a bad rap for awhile due to its saturated fat, it’s far from being a health hazard as we now are learning that certain types of saturated fats are harmless, like the ones found in coconut oil.

Coconut oil doesn’t exactly contain your average saturated fats, but is comprised of Medium Chain Triglycerides that digest quickly, providing the body with energy and many other health benefits.

A certified nutritionist and naturopath, Dr. Bruce Fife, is the coconut oil expert, publishing oodles of information on this superfood. In his book The Coconut Oil Miracle, Fife provides readers with everything you need to know about coconut oil. The following is an excerpt from his book:

“Historically coconut oil is one of the earliest oils to be used as a food and as a pharmaceutical. Ayurvedic literature long promoted the health and cosmetic benefits of coconut oil. Even today the Asian Pacific community, which may represent as much as half the world’s population, uses coconut oil in one form or another.

The truth about coconut oil

“Many of these people enjoy remarkably good health and longevity. Studies on people who live in tropical climates and who have a diet high in coconut oil are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer, digestive complaints, and prostate problems.

“In North America and Europe popular cookbooks from the late 19th century often included coconut oil in many recipes, yet heart disease and cancer were almost unheard of at the time. Common sense would indicate that the saturated fats in coconut oil are not the poisons they are often made out to be.

“Why then, all the negative publicity regarding coconut oil? Since it is thought that ‘saturated fats’ are involved in heart disease, coconut oil was considered a health risk.

“Much of the information linking coconut oil and increased heart disease is, however, circumstantial at best and flawed at worst. Studies showing that dietary coconut oil raises blood cholesterol and increases the possible risk of heart disease were poorly conceived because the essential fats were not put into the diet.

Preventing heart disease with coconut oil

In reality, coconut helps prevent heart disease.

Dr. Fife writes, “Another remarkable benefit of coconut oil is its ability to prevent heart disease. Yes, I said prevent heart disease. While for years we’ve been led to believe coconut oil promotes this condition, recent research proves otherwise. In fact, in the near future it may gain wide acceptance as a powerful aid in the fight against heart and other cardiovascular diseases.

“We are told that in order to reduce the risk of heart disease we should limit fat consumption to no more than 30 percent of our total calorie intake per day. However, Polynesian peoples consume large quantities of fat in the form of coconut oil. For some, it comprises up to 60 percent of their total calorie intake, twice the limit recommend as prudent.

“The 30 percent limit is probably a good standard with oils typically eaten in Western countries, but coconut oil is different. It is one of the ‘good’ oils that promotes better health. As researchers have studied coconut oil, it has emerged as the premiere dietary oil of all time, providing health benefits that surpass even those of other highly regarded oils.”

Coconut oil use dates back thousands of years

Coconut oil is used as a food and medicine all over the world by many different cultures. For example, the superfood has been a key component to ancient medicine in India for thousands of years, and the people of Panama are known to drink it straight from a glass for its illness-fighting abilities, says Fife.

Jamaicans use coconut oil for its heart-strengthening abilities. In Polynesia, coconut palm is valued above all other plants for its nutritional and health-giving properties, Fife says.

So there you have it. It’s pretty obvious that coconut oil is not something we should shy away from, but rather embrace with open arms.

For more on the health benefits of coconut oil, be sure to pick up a copy of Dr. Fife’s book today.

Sources:

Fife, Bruce. The Coconut Oil Miracle.

http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/

http://www.everydayhealth.com/pictures/coconut-oil-skin-hair/#03