Wonder Coconut Oil Benefits for Hair, Skin and Weight Loss

Top benefits of coconut oil

Coconut oil is known for its amazing health benefits and medicinal uses. It is categorized as a superfood due to its surprising benefits. It is the richest source of saturated fat.

• • Weight loss: The oil increases the energy consumption in the body due to medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) thereby helping to burn extra calories. The fatty acids reduce appetite thereby helpful in reducing weight. Thus, it satisfies your hunger and makes you eat less. It is good for the better function of the thyroid gland and reduces the impacts of thyroid disorders that lead to obesity and weight gain. It enhances the metabolic rate of the body thereby burning more energy and helpful for obese people.

• Reduces belly fat: It is good to reduce abdominal fat as it tends to lessen your hunger and maximize abdominal fat burning. So, it’s a wise step to include this oil in your diet.
• Hair loss prevention: The massage with coconut oil on the scalp strengthens the hair follicles and protects hair against damage. It blocks the ultraviolet rays thus protect your hair from getting a break. It is one of the few oils that provide healthy hair with shine. It is the best conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. Massaging with it is good to nourish the hair and controls dandruff. Haircare with this oil is quite prevalent in the Indian sub-continent.
• Beauty skin: Coconut oil increases the moisture and lipid content of the skin and plays an effective role in maintaining healthy skin. The application of the oil is good in skincare by preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It delays wrinkle formation and cures many skin problems such as psoriasis, dermatitis, and eczema. It acts as anti-aging and also used in many beauty skin products such as creams, lotions, and soaps.
• Reduce bad breath: Using it as a mouthwash ensures the killing of some harmful bacteria in the mouth, which tends to reduce the chances of bad breath.
• Stave off infections: It presents lauric acid that helps to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
• Reduces seizures: The fatty acids in this oil changed into ketones, which reduces the impact of seizures in epileptic children.
• Lowers heart disease: It improves blood’s good cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. The saturated fat contains 50% of lauric acid, which ensures in controlling heart disease problems like cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, etc.
• Good for Alzheimer’s patient: Ketone’s presence (fatty acid) in the oil boosts brain function by supplying energy to the brain thus reduces the symptoms of dementia.
• Medicinal uses: The lauric acid in the oil is helpful in fighting viruses and bacteria that cause diseases like herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and HIV too.
• Full of saturated fat: More than 90% of coconut oil consists of saturated fat even though it is one of the wonderful food items as its saturated fats are extremely beneficial for health. Maximum saturated fatty acids are medium-chain triglycerides which comprise lauric acids (highest percentage), capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, etc.
• Immunity booster: it strengthens the immunity system because of some biochemical compounds such as antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid, and caprylic acid, which have antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties.
• Improves digestion: It has the ability to improve different digestion related disorders.
• Prevents skin cracking: It is full of moisture that helps to treat skin cracking and dryness.
• Protect infections: It forms a protective layer around the infected part thus save from bacteria, fungi, viruses, and dust. It also enhances the healing process of damaged cells and tissues. The infections are controlled due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties.
• Liver disease: The medium-chain triglycerides easily convert into energy and reducing the workload of the liver along with the prevention of accumulation of fat.
• Stress relief: Massaging with the oil gives a soothing effect on the skull part and provides great relief in eliminating mental fatigue.
• Diabetes: The oil activates the pancreas that improves the secretion of insulin, which is good for the proper utilization of blood sugar.
• Prevent osteoporosis: The presence of calcium and magnesium prevents osteoporosis by strengthening the bones.

Coconut oil types

The following varieties of it are

1. Pure coconut oil: It is extracted from the dried coconut kernel. This is edible and can be used for massage, hair care, and cosmetic purposes.
2. Refined oil: This is the pure saturated fat and obtained after refining, bleaching, and deodorizing.
3. Virgin oil: It is obtained from the milk of fresh coconut meat.
4. Organic oil: It is obtained after using organic manure. No use of chemicals. It is used in organic soaps, organic skin creams, and lotions.
5. Organic virgin oil: It is extracted from organic coconut. It is the purest form of coconut oil.
6. Extra virgin oil:

Best uses of coconut oil

It is one of the best oil for skull massage thereby helps in the prevention of hair loss, graying of hair, and controlling of dandruff.

1. It is an excellent natural conditioner.
2. It is used as a homemade lotion bar for skin care to make the skin smooth
3. As a beauty tip, it is used as an eye-make-up remover, to remove or lighten the pimples, wrinkles, blackheads, etc.
4. To prevent the mark that occurs during pregnancy.
5. It helps to ensure the better function of parathyroid and thyroid glands.
6. Along with sugar in equal proportion, it is used as body scrub.
7. Good for healthy skin after injury or infection.
8. Good for skin problems like itchiness, psoriasis, eczema, skin inflammation, etc.
9. It prevents lice spread when used with apple cider vinegar.
10. It increases the milk of breastfeeding mother if takes 3-4 tsp for a day.
11. It reduces the chances of varicose vein appearance.
12. The oil is anti-inflammatory in nature when applying reduces the pain of arthritis.
13. Regular intake of it helps to improve sleep.
14. It increases the absorption of calcium and magnesium.

Nutritional value of coconut oil

One tsp of coconut oil contains the following ingredients: energy (117 calories) and fat (13.6 gm)