Ready for a quick quiz?
What oil was normally used to make popcorn in movie theaters in America till the late 1980’s?
It is often mistaken in baked goods as butter, since it can give a buttery taste.
Last clue… When consumed causes the metabolism to increase burning more calories, aiding in weight-loss.
Give up?
Just want some of this food?
Ok, You ready…
It’s Coconut Oil!
Yes, coconut oil has some very beneficial properties. This oil provides so many wonderful things for the body that books have been written about it. But not everyone has always accepted it. Lets touch on some of these great properties, and what coconut oil is the best to get for all the rewards.
Movie Theaters & Fast Food
Coconut oil was one of the most popular oils used in popping that favorite movie theater snack, popcorn. In the 1980’s the American Soybean Association started a campaign against tropical oils, and soon movie theaters went with the flow dumping coconut oil in favor of vegetable oil with its trans-fats. Fast food of the past was often fried in some type of tropical oil, and it was a common ingredient in processed foods.
Weight Loss
Things are changing for the better. The truth about this oil has come to the surface. Something I share with my client’s is how coconut oil can help with weight loss. “How can eating fat help me lose fat,” you ask? That is one of the great benefits of coconut oil, it is a calorie deficit food. It takes more energy for the body to use coconut oil than it contains, sort of like celery. The down and dirty is that coconut oil can power the metabolism to run faster increasing the bodies ability to burn fat. One study at McGill University in Canada showed that after eating a meal containing coconut oil, the body burned 48% more calories because of the increase in metabolism. Read more about how coconut oil increases metabolism in, Your Body Will Thank You, Dance & Loose Weight.
Lower Sugar Cravings
Coconut Oil is a fat made up of MCFAs (Medium Chain Fatty Acids), which when consumed are digested/utilized differently than animal fats and vegetable oils. MCFAs are sent directly to the liver and are converted into energy much like carbohydrates, but they do not raise blood sugar levels like carbohydrates. So why is that important? Many people report that eating coconut oil helps them control their sugar cravings. This also makes coconut oil safe for diabetics.
Remember that McGill study I mentioned earlier? The study also stated, that if you were to change all your long chain triglycerides, such as soybean oil, canola oil, safflower oil, and the like, over to oils that were made up of MCFA such as coconut oil you could lose up to 36 pounds of excess fat a year. Notice this estimate did not include exercising, what more could that add?! Eat This Fat and Your Body Will Thank You, goes into depth about this great effect of coconut oil along with how much to add to your diet.
What & How
Ok, give me the skinny on what coconut oil to get and how do I eat it. That is the easy part. Most good healthy food stores carry coconut oil, even Costco now has it. Look for organic unrefined virgin coconut oil, it may even say it is raw. Caution. All coconut oil is not equal. Walmart carries the LouAnn brand that is hydrogenated destroying most all the great benefits of coconut oil.
One easy way to get some coconut oil into the diet is to just drink an ounce or two. For those of us that are not so die-hard, how about adding it to a shake. Hint: If you add it to a cold shake pour it in as a trickle after the shake is completed with the blender on a low setting. If you just pour it in all at once it will form a big coconut oil ball, not so easy to drink.
Coconut oil is a great fat for many uses, even cooking. There are many other fats that can help the diet, Healthy Fats: How to Cook with Good Fats the Right Way looks at all the good, healthy fats and how to use them in your cooking so you don’t destroy all that goodness.
Bonus
Share how you get your coconut oil into your diet daily. Here is a bonus way to get some coconut oil into your diet that I know you will hate, ;). Homemade “Healthy” Coconut Oil Fudge, exercise caution and supervision. lol
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