Coconut Oil: Nourishes and Promotes Healing
Will an apple a day keep the doctor away? Probably not, but a bit of coconut oil may do the trick. Although coconut oil is a saturated fat, it’s unlike most saturated fats because it is easily digested, absorbed and put to use nourishing the body. Unlike other fats, coconut oil doesn’t strain the digestive system. Actually, coconut oil provides a quick source of energy and promotes healing.
I do all my cooking with coconut oil. This white solid substance turns to clear liquid when heated, even in the jar if it’s warm enough in your house. And boy, is it good for you!
Dr. Joseph Mercola, physician and author, says this about coconut oil: “It may be surprising for you to learn that the naturally occurring saturated fat in coconut oil is actually good for you and provides a number of profound health benefits, such as:
• Improving your heart health.
• Boosting your thyroid.
• Increasing your metabolism.
• Promoting a lean body and weight loss if needed.
• Supporting your immune system.”
He goes on to say that multiple studies on Pacific Island populations that get 30 to 60 percent of their total caloric intake from fully saturated coconut oil have all shown nearly non-existent rates of cardiovascular disease.
Often I have a green smoothie for breakfast, but one of my other favorite breakfasts is poached egg and vegetables. It wouldn’t be the same without plenty of coconut oil.
Simple and yummy, grow-younger breakfast
Get out that old poaching pan you bought years ago and stopped using – or buy a new one. Mine has four cups but one of these days I’ll replace it with a 6-cup poaching pan.
- Put water into your poaching pan and heat the water over medium heat.
- Chop veggies (asparagus, broccoli, kale, spinach, whatever is fresh and green) into small pieces.
- Put a piece of whole grain bread into the toaster (if you’re not gluten intolerant.)
- Put about a tablespoon of coconut oil in each of the poacher cups.
- When the water in the bottom of the poacher begins to boil, put an egg in one cup (or two in two cups) and chopped veggies in the remaining cups.
- Put the lid on and set the timer for 5 minutes, 50 seconds.
- While it’s cooking, tear apart the toast or crumble a rice cake into a cup.
- When the timer dings, put the egg and liquid coconut oil into the cup atop the crumbled bread or rice cake. Give it a little salt and pepper it and mix it all up. I call this a “mommy egg” because my mother used to serve eggs this way.
- Put the veggies into a small bowl (with the coconut oil), add pepper, a squirt of Bragg amino acids and some fresh lemon juice.
10. If you do not eat bread or rice cakes, just put the egg on top of the veggies and mix it all up.
11. Pray. Eat. Easy, easy clean up.
It’s always fun to find something that tastes good AND is good for you – so if you haven’t tried coconut oil, I hope you will. Just make sure it’s not hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated – which somehow reverses the health benefits. Plain old virgin coconut oil does not go rancid even after a year at room temperature. It’s a great way to get the fats we need in a form that’s easy to digest and converted into quick energy – which means we’re not storing the fat.
Thanks for the great article! You are right – coconut oil is good for all that and more. It’s great for the skin and hair. After a bath or shower, don’t dry off completely – massage a small amount of coconut oil into your damp skin. For hair treatments, coat hair and leave on about 20 minutes (longer if your hair is severely damaged). Then shampoo – probably won’t even need conditioner. Coconut oil – lovely stuff!
Hi Ellen, I am amazed, when I used to work as a hairdresser and I came along to a customer with dry scalp, I was advising coconut oil scalp massage with excellent results. Now I have learned more, thanks to your divine sharing with us. But a quick question, could I just take a 5ml spoon daily? instead of doing your recommended precipice? As you may understand I am not a good cook!!
First, I’ll answer Michael: yes, go ahead and take a spoonful straight from the jar, if you prefer. Or put a spoonful on top of your oat groats or oatmeal before adding milk. And for sweetener, use coconut nectar – it’s not coconutty, tastes more like maple syrup. And thanks for your advice about coconut oil for damaged hair.
And Bess – thank you for your wonderful advice about coconut oil for dry scalp. Because I have my hair lightened (no gray hair, which I contribute to doing the Tibetans daily and my natural color is mouse brown – I prefer blonde)my hair is not in great condition so I use raw butter(my neighbor has cows. But if I’m out of raw butter, I use coconut oil. It’s wonderful!
Well, shoot! I just went to the store and bought olive oil but I’ll remember for next time. Nice to know it can safely be kept in the pantry for such a long time. Thanks so much for the great information. And thanks to Michael because I was going to ask if it could be used on hair. Keep up the good work, Ellen. Always love to read your articles.
Coconut oil is also great as a moisturiser when you shower or get out the bath it’s very gentle and also heals scars and us antibacterial naturally. Thank you Ellen I’m 35 and the age thing has daunted me my best friend died who I always thought had aged so well she was 63 but I discovered she had searched high and low for the fountain of youth …. I always had her as an example and was rather mortified to find so much hidden anti ageing lotions and potions and articles and that she was so depressed over it which I never reslised. Your story and site has given me new inspiration that we don’t have to accept the worlds version of ageing
Thank you, Jo. You’re so right: we don’t have to accept the world’s version of aging. It’s all about body, mind and spirit, including loving ourselves exactly as we are.
How much cocount oil a day? And if you say 1 tbsp. do you mean 1 liquid tbsp. or 1 solid tbsp.? Thank you.
One liquid OR solid tbsp. – it doesn’t matter. When it’s warm in the kitchen, the solid turns to liquid. I don’t think there’s a particular amount of coconut oil to consume each day. Just use it with all your cooking. If I have poached eggs and veggies for breakfast, I put it into the little cups. If I have oat groats, I add a tsp. or two to the oat groats before adding the coconut or almond milk. Joy!
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