Nowadays, most of us use vegetable oils in our homes and these oils are advertised as healthy, but in fact, these oils are very unhealthy and have many drawbacks; they are unstable, easily oxidized, have high omega 6 content in them, tend to cause inflammation in the body, and so on. Of course, not all vegetable oils are problematic, coconut oil, palm oil, and olive oil are all healthy.
Today we’re going to learn more about a healthy oil we often use in our keto diet – coconut oil.
Why Eat Coconut Oil?
Medium Chain Fatty Acids
The biggest difference between coconut oil and other oils is that it contains a high amount of medium-chain fatty acids, unlike other “long-chain fatty acids” that are metabolized in the body. Medium-chain fatty acids are characterized by going directly to the liver where they are metabolized quickly by the body and used to provide energy to the body.
Ketone body energy supply is characterized by greater brain clarity, logical thinking, better mental performance, and better sleep quality, and many recent studies have found that exercise levels increase once the body has adapted to the fat energy supply.
Lauric Acid
Lauric acid is one of the medium-chain fatty acids, which contains 12 carbon atoms (C12) and is the main component of coconut oil, accounting for about 50% of the MCT. In addition to lauric acid, the other medium-chain fatty acids (C6, 8, and 10) are collectively referred to as Capra fatty acids.
The greatest role of lauric acid is its ability to fight germs (antibacterial) and boost the immune system. Many people find that ingesting lauric acid greatly improves the ability to fight viruses such as flu, fever, and herpes. Lauric acid can also reduce antibiotic resistance and reduce the risk of heart disease, among other things.
For young women, one of the main benefits of lauric acid is skin care, and some studies have found it to be more effective than some well-known cosmetics.
What are the benefits of eating coconut oil regularly? Many studies have found that coconut oil is very healthy and that long-term consumption can extend life. One study found that Bosnians in the South Pacific, who get 60% of their calories from coconuts, have a very high intake of saturated fat, but they are very healthy and have a very low incidence of heart disease.
Relationship Between Coconut Oil and Weight Loss
If you want to lose weight, consuming a certain amount of fat is a must. Fat has little to no effect on insulin, which feeds the body. If you consume too many carbohydrates, it can affect insulin spikes and very easily store fat.
Low-fat, low-carb diets can be exhausting and, in the long run, lead to menstrual irregularities, hair loss and all sorts of other side effects, so fat is very important for weight loss, especially good fat. Of course, it also matters what fats are consumed, and coconut oil is more advantageous as an energy supply food because it is rich in medium-chain fatty acids, which provide energy directly to the body when consumed.
There are some studies comparing coconut oil with other oils and found that medium-chain fatty acids increase your calorie consumption, making it easier for you to lose weight. Other studies have found that consuming 15-30 grams of medium-chain fatty acids per day can naturally increase your energy expenditure by more than 5%, which also means it is a fat that can help you lose weight.
Relationship Between Coconut Oil and Appetite
For weight loss, and this is the most important point, coconut oil can reduce your appetite. Many people eat low-carb because they are afraid of eating fat, and low-carb plus low-fat can easily lead to a vicious cycle of overeating and dieting.
If you are losing weight and can’t control your appetite, then ingesting a spoonful or two of coconut oil before meals will greatly reduce your appetite. The main principle is that coconut oil produces ketone bodies after digestion, which have a very good appetite-reducing function.
One study found that after consuming medium and long-chain fatty acids, the medium-chain fatty acid group consumed significantly less than the long-chain fatty acid group, a reduction of 256 calories per day. Other studies have found that after consuming medium-chain fatty acids in the morning, the amount of food eaten at noon was significantly reduced.
The effects of good fat intake and appetite reduction after low-carb dieting are known only to those who have tried it, and good fat intake is also important during periods of low-carb discomfort.
Coconut Oil and Brain Power
With the development of society, we increasingly find that our brains are not enough, and this has a lot to do with diet. Especially practitioners of the ketogenic diet are in a much better state of mind after going ketogenic and feel that their brain is running much faster than before. The sugar brain (the brain that eats sugar) is easily confused, while the ketogenic brain is completely different, very awake and focused.
If you are a brainiac and can’t do low carb for a while, you can start by eating coconut oil because, coconut oil allows you to produce ketones directly, although you can’t have a constant flow of ketones every day like a ketogenic diet, but, MCT is still helpful for brain power.
Relationship Between Coconut Oil and Cholesterol
In 2015, with the revision of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines that removed restrictions on cholesterol, cholesterol in food has been shown to have no connection to heart disease, but many people are still more concerned about saturated fatty acids raising cholesterol levels, and yes, total cholesterol increases with coconut oil intake. Coconut oil increases good cholesterol (HDL) and, at the same time, decreases bad cholesterol (LDL), so there is nothing to worry about at all.
It with Skin Care, Hair Care
As many girls know, coconut oil can be used for skin care because of the antibacterial properties of lauric acid. Coconut oil can be used directly for washing the face, moisturizing, cleansing the skin, protecting the skin from the sun, removing makeup, and more. One study found that coconut oil can help moisturize dry skin, increase the amount of oil in the skin, and make the skin glow.
It can also protect hair from sunburn by blocking 20% of UV rays. It can also be used to wash your mouth as it has antiseptic properties and can also be used to protect your teeth, which is super effective due to the antiseptic effect of lauric acid.
How Much Oil Should You Eat Every Day?
Although coconut oil is good, all foods have calories, and although it is good for weight loss, if eaten indiscriminately, it may grow fat.
Many studies inside the amount given to the subjects, basically about 30 ml, which is generally two spoons (about 260 calories), this amount can enjoy the benefits of coconut oil, but will not make you fat, of course, if you eat more, you can also be appropriate to increase.
Experts recommend that you eat a variety of oils, not just one, there are many healthy oils, in addition to coconut oil, you also need to eat olive oil, avocado, other nut oils, and so on.
Side Effects of Coconut Oil
If you were previously on a low-fat diet and didn’t eat too much oil, suddenly adding a lot of fat all at once may lead to constipation because you don’t have a lot of intestinal bacteria in your gut to metabolize the fat over time. Therefore, many people will be constipated when they first start eating low-carb, high-fat, which has a huge relationship with intestinal flora, and it is also important to slowly increase your fat intake and let your body slowly adapt.
In addition, you can also directly add some probiotics, which contain a lot of intestinal bacteria that help fat metabolism, many people try to add probiotics after the constipation is magically better.
Conclusion
Coconut oil has many benefits, but not all coconut oil is the same, must eat virgin coconut oil, we all know that refined is not good, do not be greedy for cheap, and finally damage health, spend money to see a doctor, the loss is not worth it.
