Coconut oil

A common question that many people have is whether or not food should be eaten uncooked.

Some people believe that consuming a majority of their food uncooked is a cornerstone of optimal health.

Typically, the less processed and heat-treated the food is, the more nutritious and healthier it is going to be.

Nevertheless, most people prefer to cook their food, at least occasionally.

When you do, you're going to cook with some form of oil.

The question is, what's the best, healthiest type of oil to use when cooking?


Dr. Rudi Moerck has studied oils for a long time, and offers some intriguing insights.

Cooking with Tropical Oils – Your Healthiest Alternative

He has, for many years now, recommended coconut oil on the basis and the supposition that it doesn't contain much unsaturated fat.

As a result, it's not going to be damaged by heat and create trans fats like some other oils. (Another tropical oil that is very similar is palm oil.)

Coconut oil is okay to cook with.

It's a saturated fat.

Your body will burn it as fuel or it will get rid of it some other way.

It won't store it in your body..

So from that point of view, if you're going to use oil then that's a good one to use.

Interestingly, unlike carbohydrates, which can also deliver quick energy to your body, coconut oil does this without producing an insulin spike.

Yes, it acts like a carbohydrate, but without any of the debilitating insulin-related effects associated with long-term high carbohydrate consumption.

But that's merely the beginning. the health benefits of coconut oil, include:

Promoting heart health

Promoting weight loss, when needed

Supporting your immune system health

Supporting a healthy metabolism

Providing you with an immediate energy source

Keeping your skin healthy and youthful looking

Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland

Part of what makes coconut oil such a healthful oil for cooking is that 50 percent of the fat content in coconut oil is a fat rarely found in nature called lauric acid.

This is also one of the features that distinguishes coconut oil from other saturated fats.

Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties.

In addition, coconut oil is about 2/3 medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs.

These types of fatty acids also produce a host of health benefits.

Best of all, coconut oil is stable enough to resist heat-induced damage, which you cannot say for other oils.

In fact, it's so stable you can even use if for frying (although I don't recommend frying your food for a number of health reasons).

One can recommend using coconut oil in lieu of every other oil, whether your recipe calls for butter, olive oil, vegetable oil or margarine.

Now the taste that's another matter again!