(OrganicJar) Coconut oil has a surprising number of health benefits, from relieving stress to bolstering your immune system. It’s rich in the lauric, capric and caprylic acids. These omega three fatty acids give it its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti fungal properties. It can be used to cook food, moisturize skin, and treat infections. With all of these benefits, it’s hard to imagine why you wouldn’t add coconut oil to your life. Check out the top 10 reasons why coconut oil is a miracle of nature and why YOU should be using it.

Improves Your Skin

Coconut oil acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. It can treat psoriasis, eczema, rosacea and even wrinkles and protects the skin from sun exposure, skin cancer, and free radical damage.

1. Helps You Lose Weight

   Unlike many other common oils, like soy (vegetable) and corn that contain LCT (long-chain triglycerides ) that are typically stored as fat. Coconut oil won’t make you fat. Coconut oil contains MCT (medium-chain triglycerides), which are an easy fuel for the body to burn, without turning to fat. When you add coconut oil into your diet, you’ll feel more full and eat fewer calories over all.

2. Stress Relief

   Coconut oil is very soothing so it’s an excellent massage oil for the skin. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue. Just the natural aroma of coconuts is extremely soothing thus helping to lower your stress level.

3. Makes Your Hair Grow and Repairs Damage

   Coconut oil is one of the best natural remedies for your hair. It helps in the healthy growth of new hair and provides a shiny complexion. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair.

4. Anti-Aging Properties

   The small molecular structure of MCTs allows for easy absorption into your skin giving it a soft, smooth, and supple texture. Coconut oil strengthens your skin’s underlying connective tissues warding off lines and wrinkles and supplies healing and repairing properties. It prevents destructive free-radical formation and limits the damage excessive sun exposure can cause and helps rejuvenate the skin by removing the outer layer of dead skin cells.

5. Improves Healing and Fights Infections

   Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. When applied on scrapes and cuts, coconut oil forms a thin, chemical layer which protects the wound from outside dust, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil speeds up the healing process of bruises by repairing damaged tissues.

6. Improves Digestion

   Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti-microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

7. Gives you Energy

   Because of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the fact that it increases the metabolism, most people that switch to coconut oil feel a burst of added energy in their daily life. This is due to those MCT’s and coconut oil is nature’s richest source of them.

8. Prevents Disease

   Coconut oil has been shown to prevent liver, kidney and gall bladder disease. It improves our ability to absorb important minerals needed by our bones, thus warding off osteoporosis. With its ability to increase insulin production and control blood sugar, coconut oil helps prevent and treat diabetes.

9. Great for the Heart

   Comprised of about 50% lauric acid, coconut oil helps control high cholesterol, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. The saturated fats in coconut oil do not have harmful properties of those contained in other vegetable oils.

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10. BONUS: May Protect Against STD’s

    6-7% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are a MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) called capric acid. Capric acid is formed into monocaprin in the human body which has been shown to have antiviral effects and is being tested for effects against herpes, chlamydia and other sexually transmitted bacteria.

Source: pubmed, coconutresearchcenter.org, naturalfamilyonline.com
Image: hailmerry.com