Opinion: And yes they lied about coconut oil (the tree of life)

By Temi Tex Ipinmoroti

News flash: it is a known fact, that nothing concocted in a laboratory can have enormous value or replaced with something found in nature. Mother Nature has been generous to us in Africa, providing us with loads of fruits and vegetables for our usage, to nourish our body and gives us a healthier life.

One fruit in particular, the coconut referred to as the tree of life is so abundant in Africa and has lots of healing properties rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber (the essential nutritional building blocks for perfect health).

For decades now, there has been a misconception spread among the whites to Africans about coconut oil, they lied to we Africans about the usage of coconut oil with a conclusion of it causing heart diseases.

But in recent years it has been proved that coconut oil doesn’t cause any heart diseases, instead it is of enormous benefits to our body both internally and externally. Widely consumed in Asian countries like the Philippines and India as a super food.

Its numerous health benefits include:

Skin care: coconut oil is an excellent massage oil that acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skin including dry skins, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin from the application of coconut oil. Therefore it is a safer solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays the appearances of wrinkles and sagging of skin which normally accompanying aging.

Hair care: coconut oil helps in healthy growth of hair, gives you shiny quality. It is also highly effective in reducing protein loss, which can lead to various unattractive and unhealthy qualities in your hair.

It is used as hair care oil and is used in manufacturing various other conditioners and dandruff relief creams. It is an excellent conditioner and helps the regrowth process of damaged hair. By regularly massaging your hair with coconut oil, you can ensure that your scalp is totally free from dandruff, even if your scalp is chronically dry.

Heart diseases: there is a misconception spread among people that coconut oil is not good for the heart health. this is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fat but in reality it is beneficial to the heart. It contains 50% lauric acid, which helps in actively preventing various heart problems like high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Study has shown has intake of coconut oil may help maintain healthy lipid profile in pre-menopause women.

Weight loss: coconut oil is very useful for weight loss, it contains short and medium chain fatty acids that helps in taking off excessive weight. Research suggests that coconut oil helps reduce abdominal obesity in women. Further, it increases the body metabolic rate by removing stress on pancreas, thereby burning more energy and helping obese and overweight people lose weight. Hence people living in tropical coastal areas who use coconut oil every day as their primary cooking oil are normally not fat, obese or over weight.

Immunity: strengthens the immune system because it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acids, capric acids and caprylic acids which have antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which research has supported as an effective way to deal with viruses and bacteria that cause diseases like herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus. Coconut oil helps in figuti, harmful bacteria like listeria monocytogenes.

Digestion: internal functions of coconut oil occur primarily due to it been used as cooking oil, it helps to improve the digestive system and thus prevents its various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have antimicrobial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi and parasites that cause indigestion.

Healing and infection: when applied to infected areas, coconut oil forms a chemical layer that protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and viruses. Coconut oil is highly effective on bruises because it speeds up the healing process of damaged tissues.

Coconut oil uses include the following, used as natural moisturizer for the skin, used by applying to the hair, used as oil in cooking, frying, baking, used in taking coffee when droplets are added to it, added to smoothies to give energy, used in brownies and used in your protein shakes to give energy.

When next you come in contact with coconut oil, grab it with both hands, and just in case you don’t, you can contact me for the best coconut oil in Africa.

Follow her blog and on twitter @oluwatexbaba

 

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