The Magic Wonder........continua

Good morning my booboos,

Trust you all had a great week? I did....really busy but very fulfilling and topped with my baby's birthday yesterday....she had a blast and loved her F.i.t.T.r.i.x Deli Rainbow cake.....healthy but still yum!!! And yes I made it myself!!! Like I do all my other healthy cakes and treats! hahahahahaa.....

 

 

As promised last week, I need to let you know the other wonderful benefits of this oil, according to research.

 

 

 

Hair care:

Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shiny complexion. It is effective in reducing the protein loss for damaged and undamaged hair.
Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. Most of the people in these countries apply coconut oil on their hair daily after bath. 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....and we wonder why they have fabulous hair!! 
Regular head massage with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, even if your scalp is dry. It also helps in keeping hair and scalp free from lice and lice eggs.
It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. Coconut oil is normally applied topically for hair care.

Skin care

Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care. Coconut oil also helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.

 

Heart diseases

There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 48% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful as it happens in case of other vegetables oils. It does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis.

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., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids which we need and require for our bodies to function maximally.

 Immunity

Coconut oil is also good for the immune system. It strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV (na so them talk o). It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.

Healing and infections

When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.

Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.

Other equally important benefits

Coconut oil is strongly recommended for other benefits which are given below. Usage of coconut oils mildly helps for the following:

Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as the substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.

Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.

Pancreatitis: Coconut oil is also believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.

Stress relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue.

Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.

Bones: As mentioned earlier, coconut oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium which are necessary for development of bones. Thus coconut oil is very useful to women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age.

Dental care: Calcium is an important element present in teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in getting strong teeth. Coconut oil also helps stop tooth decay.

HIV and cancer: It is believed that coconut oil plays an instrumental role in reducing viral susceptibility of HIV and cancer patients. Preliminary research has shown indications of the effect of coconut oil on reducing the viral load of HIV patients.

Fitness and endurance: Finally, coconut oil is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are living a healthy life style. The reason behind this being that coconut oil contains a little less calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.

 

With these few (:p) points of mine I hope I have been able to convince and not confuse you :D. Need to run (yeah i know right!, I am always running), I need to chat up some bad ass decorators for my sisters wedding.....wish us luck!!!

I am super excited about next week though...................*drumroll** F.i.t.T.r.i.x is 6 months!!! yaaaaaay...and I'm gonna be showcasing some really beautiful and determined ladies.....watch this space. muah!

 

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The magic wonder....

Hi my booboos, I really have to share this. I have had this info a little while now but been a little hesitant and been trying to figure out a way to break the "olive oil" news softly. In my usual curiosity and research I stumbled on 'heart breaking' info about olive oil. In summary, its a very heart healthy oil BUT not built for plenty frying or high heat. Its best as a salad dressing or very light/medium heat like a quick 2 minute or less sauté. The high heat makes it rancid and get carcinogenic!!! hian!! I remember I called my folks in panic and told them my findings.

So a little frustrated, I began "asking" for the way out. We still need some sorta oil for high heat na......especially for we Nigerians that can fry for Africa! And viola I stumbled on Coconut oil....I was very impressed as the benefits are astronomical! There's sooo much info on it I would split it into 2 write ups......today we will talk about its composition and benefits to weight loss. We will look at the other key importance of Coconut oil next week.

 

Coconut oil is used extensively in tropical countries especially India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Phillipines etc, which have a good production of coconut oil. The benefits of this oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, (48%) capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial and soothing properties.

How is lauric acid used by our body?
The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV ( errrrm I don't know o about this one o, na so the research talk.....). It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and helicobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia. As a result of these various health benefits of coconut oil, though its exact mechanism of action was unknown, it has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system. The Coconut Research Center has compiled various benefits in both traditional and modern medicine. Lauric acid is also found in human mother’s milk! No wonder we are hounded to breastfeed!!


 

Before we move on to the benefits of coconut oil in detail, let us quickly understand its composition.

Composition of Coconut Oil:
Coconut oil consists of more than 90% percent of saturated fats (Don’t panic! first read to the last word. Your opinion may change), with traces of few unsaturated fatty acids, such as monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Let us have a bit detailed study of this.

·         Saturated fatty acids: Most of them are medium chain triglycerides, which are supposed to assimilate well. Lauric acid is the chief contributor, with more than forty percent of the share, followed by capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid and palmitic.

·         Polyunsaturated fatty acids: Linoleic acid.

·         Monounsaturated fatty acids: Oleic acid.

·         Poly-phenols: Coconut contains gallic acid, which is phenolic acid. These poly-phenols are supposed to be responsible for the fragrance and the taste of coconut oil and Virgin Coconut Oil is rich in these poly-phenols.

·        Certain derivatives of fatty acid like betaines, ethanolamide, ethoxylates, fatty esters, fatty polysorbates, monoglycerides and polyolesters

·         Fatty chlorides, fatty alcohol sulphate and fatty alcohol ether sulphate, all of which are derivatives of fatty alcohols.

·         Vitamin-E and vitamin K and minerals such as Iron.

Recent researches however show that not all saturated fats are bad for health and coconut oil is one of them. Some saturated fats may increase the level of cholesterol in the blood, and even if they do, this cholesterol need not always be the Bad Cholesterol. 

Biko let me explain this in a bit more detail. There are two types of cholesterol, namely High Density Lipoproteins or Good Cholesterol and Low Density Lipoproteins or Bad Cholesterol. While the Bad Cholesterol (LDL) gets deposited in the inner walls of arteries and poses a threat for heart (in extreme cases, it can give heart attacks), the Good Cholesterol (HDL) does just the opposite. It helps lower the level of Bad Cholesterol, provides energy and nutrition to cells and benefits the body in other ways too.

You will be delighted to know that coconut oil has some saturated fatty acids that raise the level of High Density Lipoproteins in the body, lowers Bad Cholesterol, boost immunity and fight ageing. They also increase the rate of metabolism and thus help shed weight. Isn’t it amazing? Oil that helps us loose weight! *whoopwhoop*

Please note that our bodies react different to different food items. So for some people, the cholesterol levels may increase on consumption of coconut oil. Therefore, if you are planning to start using coconut oil in order to lose weight, do check your cholesterol levels regularly.

Health benefits of Coconut Oil

Let us now explore the benefits of coconut oil in detail though due to the major purpose at F.i.t.T.r.i.x which is weight loss, we would concentrate more on that. :D
 

Weight loss

Coconut oil is too useful in reducing weight on a healthy lifestyle plan. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight.

Hence a more natural way to boost the metabolism without resorting to popping pills full of chemicals and caffeine. With all the dangers associated with thermo genic stimulants, it's no wonder a growing number of people are beginning to shy away from them.

Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight. Coconut oil primarily consists of medium-chain fatty acids. These triglycerides can speed up the metabolism because they are so easily digested and converted into energy. Long-chain fatty acids, like those in polyunsaturated oils, are more difficult for the body to break down and use for energy. Instead, long-chain fatty acids are usually stored as fat in the body. Several scientific studies have exhibited these principles.

One study examined the effect of medium-chain fatty acids on metabolism. Participants' metabolism was evaluated before and after a meal rich in these fats. On average, metabolism increased by 48%. In obese individuals, the increase was as high as an astounding 65%. Studies have shown this thermo genic effect can last for 24 hours.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that medium-chain fatty acids were three times more effective at raising the metabolism than long-chain fatty acids. Researchers concluded that replacing long-chain fatty acids with medium-chain fatty acids was an effective method for weight loss. Another study from the same journal showed that eating medium-chain fatty acids increases metabolism and also helps burn off stored fat.

Coconut oil can support an already healthy weight in other ways as well:

- Coconut oil slows down the digestion of food, which helps you feel fuller after a meal. Many people notice that after adding Coconut oil to their diet, they are less prone to snacking.

- Because it slows digestion, coconut oil also helps prevent blood sugar fluctuations after a meal by slowing the rate carbohydrates are broken down into blood glucose.
- The medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil destroy candida, a condition of yeast overgrowth in the body which triggers symptoms of weight gain, carbohydrate cravings, fatigue and many others. Eliminating candida is an important part of achieving permanent weight loss.
- Coconut oil is excellent for detoxification. It cleanses the body of many infirmities, balances the digestive tract and nourishes all cells in the body. These benefits restore your health and pave the way for natural weight loss.

The kind of coconut oil you choose is very important. Organic, unrefined extra virgin coconut oil is the best choice since it preserves all the natural goodness of the oil.

We would conclude these series next week....need to run. I am eating into family get away time and boo has been using 'koro' eyes to look at me. He cant understand meeehhhn.....a commitment is a bond!!! Whether I am at home, kutuwenji, 4Points or Prison...I need to keep motivating, informing and educating you!

 

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