In my last two articles, I have brought up discussion in what I see as being two of three major categories of uses for coconut oil. These categories were topical coconut oil uses, uses such as skin and hair care, and culinary coconut oil uses, i.e. cooking with coconut oil. Today I would like to delve into another area of research that has recently been a hot topic around coconut oil. That is, how can coconut oil affect your physical and mental well being?

Coconut Oil Uses That Will Save Your Life!

So far we have discussed mainly superficial uses for coconut oil. It makes you look good, and it tastes good. But what about its actual effect after you have ingested it? Lets take a look at some of these coconut oil uses.

Coconut Oil Is Anti Everything

Did you know that coconut oil is actually anti-bacterial? How about if I told you that it was also anti-viral and anti-fungal? It's true! Extra virgin coconut oil has actually been shown to attack and kill many of the most common viruses, bacterias, and fungi that plague our modern society. Some examples include the flu, mononucleosis, HIV, Hepatitis, urinary tract infections, meningitis, gonorrhea, pneumonia, ring worm, and athletes foot. This is only to name a few of the uses for coconut oil that are life altering.

Coconut Oil As Energy

What would you do if you had more energy? Spend more time with you family? Maybe get more work done? How about pick up that hobby that you've been too tired to keep up with again? Coconut oil works absolute miracles in this department! Unlike other fats and oils that you ingest from meal to meal that your body automatically stores away, coconut oil actually acts like a carbohydrate. Because coconut oil is the right kind of medium chain fatty acid, our liver is actually able to quickly break it down and convert it directly into energy. This also acts to increase your metabolic rate! How is that for having your cake and eating it too. You get all the satisfaction of sauteing and frying foods with none of the fattening down side, AND it will actually help you be energized and lose weight!

Coconut Oil As A Gateway Nutrient

Uses for coconut oil are not exclusive to their own benefits. One major up side to using extra virgin coconut oil whenever possible is that it actually acts as a gateway for your body to better absorb other vitamins, nutrients, and amino acids! This is especially true of calcium and magnesium, so it is a wonderful way to ensure that all that extra supplementation that you doctor suggests in an effort to thwart osteoporosis doesn't go to waste. Increasing your bodies ability to absorb what it needs also ensures that your immune system is in peak condition and also helps to protect from premature aging and degenerative diseases. I am sure that you would agree that these coconut uses are awesome!

Coconut Oil For Mental Health

The most devastating and unfortunately common mental disease plaguing western culture today is Alzheimer's disease. Another of the uses for coconut oil, is that being a medium chain triglyceride fat, it actually is metabolized by the body and gets turned into what is called ketone bodies. This, in lay terms, is what the body produces when it does not have any carbohydrates to burn, and so begins turning fat into these ketone bodies. The interesting fact here is that the brain, while generally using carbohydrates as its energy source, can also make use of these ketone bodies.

This example of coconut oil uses has multiple implications for us, one, when we are working with a healthy diet that includes coconut oil, the brain is actually being fed with carbohydrate energy AND ketone energy, thus causing you to feel much more clear headed and giving the ability to be more focused and productive. The second implication has to do with preventing diseases like Alzheimer's from even coming into play. India is a great example of this in action. Extra virgin coconut oil is, among other things, a very common ingredient in their dishes, and as a result they have very few cases of Alzheimer's disease reported. Think about that for a moment, the United States has a fraction of the population of India but has exponentially more cases of this mental disease. This to me is one of the most important uses for coconut oil.

Conclusion

As we can see, coconut oil uses are many and diverse. Today we have talked about uses for coconut oil that are beneficial to your health and well being. In addition to this we have looked at coconut oil uses that range from tasting great in a variety of foods to making your skin and hair look young and healthy. I hope that you will be able to take this information and really begin to implement these uses for coconut oil into your own lifestyle.