5 Ways to Multi-task with Coconut Oil

Could anything in this world be more wonderful than coconut oil?

(Ok, besides goat cheese, the Silly Goose, & Jesus?)

In all seriousness though, coconut oil definitely tops the list of must-have products on my list.

Coconut oil (and all coconut products, really) have gotten a terrible, though incredibly undeserved, reputation over the last 50 years or so. People freak out over the caloric intake of coconut products, bemoaning and lamenting the saturated fat found in coconut milk and coconut oil.

Truthfully, eating a low-fat diet is one of the worst things you could possibly do for your body (50% of your cell membranes are made up of saturated fatty acids. No healthy fats=a terrible hormone imbalance=all kinds of problems with weight gain, hair loss, or painful or irregular menstrual cycles). Eating healthy saturated fats can actually help you lose weight!

Sally Fallon (of Weston A. Price fame) gives a laundry list of the benefits of saturated fats:

• Provide our cells with necessary stiffness & integrity
• Play a vital role in bone health (at least 50% of your fat intake should be saturated in order for calcium to be absorbed properly)
• Protects our liver from alcohol and toxins (like Tylenol)
• Enhance the immune system
• Protect the heart during times of stress
• Provide antimicrobial properties

It's also very interesting to note that coconut products contains lauric acid--the same type of fatty acid found in women's breast milk. Turns out God knows what He's doing...

So, why is coconut oil so wonderful?

So glad you asked.

Here are 5 reasons I love coconut oil:

1) I cook with it. Coconut oil has a higher heat threshold, making it ideal for higher temperatures. Oils like vegetable oil, canola oil, and even olive oil, can't handle high heats and will oxidize (i.e. turn rancid) when the temperature gets too high.

2) I moisturize with it. I threw out all my froo-froo smelling lotions when I learned that the majority of the ingredients were carcinogenic. Coconut oil doesn't have fake colors, fragrances, aluminum, parabens, propylene glycol, or sodium laurel sulfate.
It's also a myth that people with oily skin should not use oil-based beauty products. What really happens is that washing your face too much and using toxic lotions will strip your skin of it's natural oils, causing it to produce more. Coconut oil will balance your skin's natural oil production. I no longer deal with an oily face!

3) I use it as a mousse. I tried quite a few natural mousse/gel products for my curly hair, but nothing impressed me. Especially at the price I paid. But coconut oil works better than anything I've tried in the past! I don't use much, mostly focusing on the ends and the top layer to prevent frizz.

4) I protect from sunburn with it. It's no secret that I don't wear sunscreen. But I will put on a layer of coconut oil if I'm going to be in the sun for more than an hour or two. This also works with high quality olive oil (but has the potential to look ridiculous if you aren't a muscular male from the Mediterranean...)
Coconut oil also works wonders for a sunburn. I rarely peel from a sunburn anymore if I apply coconut oil twice a day to the affected area.

5) I use it on scratches, wounds, breakouts & bug bites. Because coconut oil has antimicrobial products, I apply it to any part of my skin that needs to be kept clean in order to heal properly.

You can find coconut oil at pretty much any natural health food store (always get unrefined!). But you'll find a much better price if you order it online.

So, do you love coconut oil as much as I do? Have you ever even used it before? Maybe you have a new use. Share away!


This post is also linked to Simple Lives Thursday.