Therapeutic coconut oil

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Hello everyone, it's been a very long time since I've posted. I visited a very interesting woman today--a medical herbalist--and it reminded me how much I miss talking to people with similar interests. So here I am, looking for some kindred souls.

One of her recommendations, for thyroid issues as well as EFA deficiency, was unrefined coconut oil, 1 tablespoon 3x daily.

I have two questions.

1. Have you used coconut oil therapeutically, and if so, how did it work out for you?

2. How do you add the coconut oil to your diet? I can't see just eating it by the spoonful. Tonight I spread it on a piece of rye toast with a little cinnamon and honey and that was fine. I can also see adding it to a smoothie. But the more ideas, the better.

Thanks!

[artemis33]

It is really good on oatmeal (also with cream, nuts, a little maple syrup and fruit)!

[ps4624]

We use it as a cooking oil - we fry eggs, meat and veggies in it. DH mixes it with peanut butter and spreads it on apples. I coat our roasts in it before I put it in the oven. I heat some up, add cocoa powder and pour that over berries and freeze it as a little treat. I've heard of people adding spoonfuls of it into coffee and tea, but that doesn't appeal to me.

I also use it as a hair care product for myself and DD (a little bit goes a long way!).

[Sara Badger]

i put my first dose in coffee yummy! I haven't seen a difference with the thyroid, I have hypo. It is yummy though.

[IAMommy]

Does anyone know why it carries a warning for pregnant and lactating women on the side (the Whole Foods brand)? I keep thinking about eating it (I use it for skin care), but I just want to understand why they would say that.
Regardless, these are great ideas for eating it - I tasted it once and that didn't interest me in eating by the spoonful.

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Thanks for the ideas. It's hard to find actual evidence to back up all the claims online. Do you think all the saturated fat can be harmful if I'm eating 3 tablespoons a day?

Even Dr. Weil doesn't believe all the hype--there's an older article on his site about it. Mostly he says evidence is lacking...

Thoughts?

[cristeen]

I can't speak for taking it internally therapeutically. But I have used it topically to treat a rash on the baby's bottom.

As for how to use it... any way you'd like. I use it for sauteeing/pan frying anything that has flavor of it's own, even eggs and potatoes. I like it blended with peanut butter for PB balls, I use it in baking instead of butter/margerine/shortening. I don't use it for high heat frying (I use refined CO or lard for that), but I use it for every other heated purpose. I also like it in smoothies, instead of olive oil in pesto, etc.

[StrongBeliever]

MMM... I am eating some coconut fudge right now.

I feel like it definitely makes up an important part of my family's diet. There are SO many reason's why it is valued. I have had success using it for weight loss. My husband swears by it for cold hands and feet. For my children, if feel it is one of the building blocks of their healthy immune systems. I absolutely think we are healthier with it than without it.

As far as ways to get it down... Here in my household I feel like we reached what I call a "coconut oil saturation point plateau". We've used it in so many ways for so long that no-one really cares for the taste anymore. You know that feeling you get when you eat too many eggs for too long? Same feeling. I use that as my intuitive measure for how much of it we NEED. Like I said, saturation point. But we still use it a few times a week. I make coconut oil fudge, which works well to get everyone to eat it. Or I melt it on hot chocolate. Yes, chocolate and sweet stuff, but it's treats made in the best possible way I can manage. And it get's it when where I feel it's still needed.

My very favorite raw usages would have to be : In oatmeal. On mashed sweet potatoes. And then the chocolate applications. *haha* We used to use it in EVERYTHING. Baked goods, casseroles, pasta, fried eggs, sauteed veggies, browned meat. But we're kind of burnt out. I'd like to be able to get the three tablespoons a day in, just for weight loss purposes, but I can't make myself eat that much. I'm not at all afraid of the saturated fat. I have a pretty balanced fatty acid profile in my diet. And it's my understanding(my interpretation) that CO is kind of like a liquid-plumber fat. Or fuel-injector fat. It kicks up liver action and causes all fat to be better utilized for energy. Gets the sluggish works chugging back along. Sorry that is so unscientific. And I might be a little off. *haha*

[StrongBeliever]

IAMommy... I really have no idea why they would put a warning on there for pregnant or nursing women. Well maybe... I purchased a brand for my mom once that was being marketed as a nutritional supplement for weight loss, candida control and the like. I think under that guise, it is better for them to cover their butt than not. On brands marketed as a food, you generally don't see that warning. Personally, I think it would be a great addition to the pregnant and nursing woman's diet. All that lauric acid for some super nutritious breast milk and an immune boosted mama.

Oh, now that I think about it... Since the addition of coconut oil to my diet about three years ago, I have had very little issue with what used to be a never ending battle with yeast infections. I went from having them all the time, as in never really going away, to basically GONE. I may have had one or two very minor cases, and come to think of it they were in a coconut oil lull when we weren't buying it.

[Bri'sgirl]

I've been using CO more and more for cooking, but I use it the most when popping popcorn. I use 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 CO, then drench with butter. YUM!!

I also love using it for personal care, including skin and other things...

[sarah_bella1050]

I just take my coconut oil in tea or warm water 20 min before each meal for weight loss. It doesn't taste like much of anything. I can see a huge difference with my fybromyalgia, my energy levels are WAY up and my pain levels are way down. For the first several days I was having trouble sleeping at night b/c I had so much energy actually LOL. I have been able to start up spin classes and I energy to spare!

[witchygrrl]

I was reading Eat Fat, Lose Fat today, and to be at it's best, CO should be about 3-4 tablespoons a day, along witha dose of CLO. This and other TF diet staples will be the most therapeutic. I'm going to shoot for the max amount (I have hypo too, Sara) and when I decide what CLO I want to use, add that into my morning routine.

[Boobs]

I use it all the way that have been mentioned already, plus I really like it on baked potatoes.
Also, it works better than anything else on my dermatitis herpetiformis, which is the Celiac rash. It works better than rx creams.

[mbravebird]

I used it therapeutically at the three-tablespoons-a-day level the first time I did some major adrenal healing, and I felt it helped. I was also doing liver pills and daily nettle infusion at the same time. I've stopped it now because it made me very nauseous during pregnancy.

As for saturated fat -- we need saturated fat; it lays down minerals on our bones. In whole fats, balanced with other whole fats, there is nothing to worry about. Even mainstream medical folks are now debunking the whole "saturated fat heart disease" claims. They've done a recent study that shows that vegetables only lower your risk for heart disease IF they're eaten with sufficient saturated fat.

I also felt an immune boost when I did the CO at therapeutic levels -- I assume that's because of the lauric acid.

I got it down by swallowing the solid oil in little chunks, like pills. When it was a liquid I would swallow a spoonful and chase it with a drink. I found that doing it by the tablespoonful was the only way I could ensure I was ingesting truly therapeutic levels. My cooking varied too much to guarantee I would get enough that way every day.

[Peacemamalove]

ooh some lovely ideas here. We cook with it all the time and add it to smoothies and such. I love the taste!

[BeagleMommy]

I've just tried something new and wonderful- coconut cream concentrate!
I put a spoonful or two in my coffee this morning and it was soooo yummy!
Coconut cream concentrate is mostly coconut oil. I got it from Tropical Traditions.

Popcorn is the best way to coconut oil into my hubby and daughter. 3 TBSP oil to 1/2 cup corn in my spaghetti pot with lid on tight! Add butter after cooking and salt and pepper! Mmmmmm!

[Whisper-ma-Phone]

Wow, awesome ideas. Thanks everyone.

Is the nutritional value of coconut oil diminished when it's heated or cooked?

[StrongBeliever]

Yes, some of the fabulous things about it do get diminished by cooking. I can't remember exactly what though, and my books are lent out. I do know that it is still a very healthful oil to cook with. It does retain some of the magical stuff, and has the added benefit of being able to withstand high heat cooking without turning BAD for you. If you are gonna go all out to purchase the extra virgin stuff it's best to eat it raw, in my opinion, and use cheaper, easier to come by oils for cooking. I think the only exception would be in the event I needed to deep fry something(and didn't have lard). I would use it then. I have read that the refined oil is an economical choice for deep frying, but I don't know how I feel about all the bleaching and what-not. That being said, I find that high heat causes VCO to lose a lot of it's flavor and aroma and become very neutral... I think in essence high heat "refines" it. So I try to take it raw as much as I can.

[HappilyEvrAfter]

Another coconut oil user here....about 1.5 tbls 3x a day, roughly, for almost three months now. I use it internally and externally.

Started because of many unrelated issues that didn't seem to point to any one diagnosis. Used it to supplement my candida detox and got wonderful results so I just continued with it.

There are so many ways to get it in. Generally I eat it straight.
I also like to mix it with unsweetened cocoa and chase it with hot mint tea...lovely. Or spread on apple slices..yum.
My favorite way is to spread it on banana slices for a morning boost prior to working out.

I don't cook with it, per say, but I will add it to cooked foods and let it melt...in place of butter. In fact, I haven't used actual butter/margerine in weeks.

It really has been an awesome discovery.