Natural News - Natural Health, Natural Living
Coconut oil is an ancient super food that has been an essential component to many of the earth's healthiest cultures. Cultures that have consumed high amounts of coconut oil generally have not suffered with diabetes, as well as many other diseases. Unfortunately, as many of these people abandon their traditional ways of eating, they begin to suffer with diabetes, since coconut oil has been shown to protect people from this illness.
For example, the people who live on the island of Nauru in the South Pacific have enjoyed a diet of mostly bananas, yams and coconuts. Diabetes was a completely unknown illness. As the island became healthier and their lifestyle and diet began to include refined flour, sugar and vegetable oils, diabetes appeared. According to the World Health Organisation, up to one half of the urbanised Nauru population age 30 - 64 are diabetic today.
Although few people make the association between refined vegetable oils and diabetes, the link has been well researched. In the 1920s Dr. S. Sweeney studied the effects of vegetable oil on his student. His research showed that a diet high in vegetable oil could cause reversible diabetes within 48 hours in subjects who had not been previously diabetic. A 1998 study published in Metabolism showed that diabetes could be reversed by cutting out polyunsaturated fat. The same results have also been shown in humans.
What is the Difference Between Coconut Oil and Vegetable oils?
There is a molecular difference between coconut oil and all other common vegetable oils such as olive, sunflower and safflower oil. The molecules that make up these polyunsaturated oils are made up of a long chain of fatty acids. On the other hand, virgin coconut oil is made up of smaller molecules or medium chain fatty acids.
Long chain fats are either deposited in blood vessels as cholesterol or stored around the waist, thighs and buttocks as energy stores of fat for emergencies. Medium chain fatty acids are used immediately as a source of energy.
Why Regular Oils Can Potentially Cause Diabetes
Most people with diabetes are on strict low fat, high carbohydrate diets in which the limited fats allowed are restricted to polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as olive, safflower, or sunflower oils. However, studies have shown that if the fats consumed are polyunsaturated, long chain fats, this decreases cell's ability to bind with insulin, and reduces their ability to absorb glucose...especially when these oils are heated during cooking. In other words, polyunsaturated long chain fats, commonly thought to be "healthy", actually make diabetes WORSE!
Furthermore, polyunsaturated vegetable oils can cause free radical damage to the cells, and adversely affect their ability to function. The bottom line is that cooking with polyunsaturated vegetable oils, such as sunflower oil and olive oil, should be avoided by people with diabetes.
Why is Coconut Oil so Beneficial for Diabetes?
The smaller and more easily absorbed medium chain molecules found in coconut oil supply the cells with essential fatty acids without inhibiting insulin and without glucose, so they combat insulin resistance. Virgin coconut oil is a totally unique super food that serves as an energy boost to the body, without causing a spike in blood sugar levels.
Researchers have discovered that while heavy foods (including polyunsaturated oils) slow down the metabolism, organic coconut oil actually stimulates the metabolism to assist the fat burning process, even when they are heated. In simple terms, simply substituting your normal cooking oils with coconut oil can be a tremendous remedy for diabetes, and, along with avoiding sugar and getting plenty of exercise, can help prevent people who don't suffer from this dangerous disease from suffering later in life.
Friday, 23 January 2009
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
How to Add Coconut to your Diet:
GREEN LIVING - The Environmental Magazine
1. Coconut milk is a great base for smoothies. Blend one banana, one cup coconut milk and one cup orange juice. Substitute the banana for 1⁄2 cup fresh pineapple for a different taste, or simply blend one can coconut milk with a half can of water and 2 tbsp. honey for a refreshing afternoon drink.
2. Whenever you stir-fry, use coconut oil for a tropical, healthy flavor.
3. As a substitute for butter, have multigrain toast in the morning with coconut oil which melts nicely on the warm bread) and organic jam.
4. In salad dressing, you may want to try using equal parts coconut oil and olive oil. A simple, nutritious combo includes: 1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar, 1⁄2 cup coconut oil, 1⁄2 cup olive oil, sea salt and fresh herbs to taste. (These may include garlic, thyme, herbs de province, oregano, etc.)
5. Add coconut milk to tea and coffee as a substitute for milk or cream. You can also try adding a teaspoon or two to warm cider or hot chocolate. 6. For a creative dipping oil, mix 31⁄2 tbsp. coconut oil, 2 tbsp. diced onion, 1 tbsp. diced garlic, 1⁄2 tsp. basil, 1⁄2 tsp. oregano, 1⁄4 tsp. paprika, 1⁄4 tsp. salt and 1⁄8 tsp. cayenne pepper. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the mixture begins to simmer. Turn off the heat and let cool.
AIMEE HUGHES is a freelance writer and flamenco dancer currently residing in Walla Walla, Washington.
Subscribe to E/The Environmental Magazine!
1. Coconut milk is a great base for smoothies. Blend one banana, one cup coconut milk and one cup orange juice. Substitute the banana for 1⁄2 cup fresh pineapple for a different taste, or simply blend one can coconut milk with a half can of water and 2 tbsp. honey for a refreshing afternoon drink.
2. Whenever you stir-fry, use coconut oil for a tropical, healthy flavor.
3. As a substitute for butter, have multigrain toast in the morning with coconut oil which melts nicely on the warm bread) and organic jam.
4. In salad dressing, you may want to try using equal parts coconut oil and olive oil. A simple, nutritious combo includes: 1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar, 1⁄2 cup coconut oil, 1⁄2 cup olive oil, sea salt and fresh herbs to taste. (These may include garlic, thyme, herbs de province, oregano, etc.)
5. Add coconut milk to tea and coffee as a substitute for milk or cream. You can also try adding a teaspoon or two to warm cider or hot chocolate. 6. For a creative dipping oil, mix 31⁄2 tbsp. coconut oil, 2 tbsp. diced onion, 1 tbsp. diced garlic, 1⁄2 tsp. basil, 1⁄2 tsp. oregano, 1⁄4 tsp. paprika, 1⁄4 tsp. salt and 1⁄8 tsp. cayenne pepper. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the mixture begins to simmer. Turn off the heat and let cool.
AIMEE HUGHES is a freelance writer and flamenco dancer currently residing in Walla Walla, Washington.
Subscribe to E/The Environmental Magazine!
Cooking with Coconut Oil
GREEN LIVING: EATING RIGHT
The Environmental Magazine
The Saturated Fat That’s Good for You (Really!)
By Aimee Hughes
While coconut trees might not grow in your neighborhood, they do so in abundance in And coconut oil, packed full of good saturated fats, has been tropical regions. used for thousands of years as an external beauty product and an internal medicine.
Saturated fats are essential to living a long, healthy life. According to Teya Skae, author and founder of Empowered Living health and life coaching, “Saturated fatty acids give our cells structural integrity [and they] are needed for the proper utilization of omega-3 essential fatty acids, because omega-3s are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in In the modern American diet, however, saturated fats most saturated fats.” commonly come from animal sources—cream, eggs, meat, cheese, butter and Unfortunately, the ecological implications of a diet heavily reliant poultry. upon animals is not only bleak for our individual health, but also incredibly draining on the planet. Kerrie K. Saunders, author of The Vegan Diet as Chronic Disease Prevention: Evidence Supporting the Four New Food Groups (Lantern Books), writes, “Raising animals for food is by far the greatest consumer and polluter of fresh water on the planet, draining off 60% of our Now more than ever our dietary choices continent’s entire fresh water supply.” have huge sociological and ecological implications, and as the toxins in our external environment increase, we must protect our bodies with the foods we eat.
The Functional Food
Dr. Ryan Shelton of Whole Body Health medical clinic in Overland Park, Kansas, is a proponent of coconut oil for the following reasons: “It is a functional food,” he says. “That is, it is a food that can have powerful medicinal properties if used appropriately. The complex mixture of They can serve lipids (fats) found in coconut oil have proven health benefits. to increase metabolism and thus assist with energy and weight loss. They can which is important for cardiovascular disease. They decrease Lipoprotein(a), help protect the liver against damage from alcohol, drugs and other can environmental toxins.”
Using even the healthiest organic vegetable oils (including olive oil) in baking and frying creates cell-damaging free radicals because all vegetable oils oxidize, or combine with oxygen, especially when Organic virgin coconut oil resists oxidation, even at high temperatures. heated. Says Dr. Shelton: “The mixture of saturated fats in coconut milk with is difficult to oxidize under normal circumstances, making it an ideal fat which to cook.”
In addition, nearly 50% of the fatty acid in natural coconut oil is lauric acid, which converts to the fatty acid monolaurin in the body. Lauric acid has adverse effects on a variety of microorganisms including bacteria, yeast, fungi and certain highly-resistant viruses. It destroys the lipid membrane of en-veloped viruses like HIV, measles, herpes simplex virus and Coconut oil also contains caprylic acid and capric acid, both natural influenza. antifungals known to fight yeast overgrowth.
When purchasing coconut oil, be sure to buy only virgin Avoid refined oil, as it is sometimes hydrogenated, meaning that organic oil. high heat has been used in the refining process, destroying many essential nutrients.
Subscribe to E/The Environmental Magazine!
The Environmental Magazine
The Saturated Fat That’s Good for You (Really!)
By Aimee Hughes
While coconut trees might not grow in your neighborhood, they do so in abundance in And coconut oil, packed full of good saturated fats, has been tropical regions. used for thousands of years as an external beauty product and an internal medicine.
Saturated fats are essential to living a long, healthy life. According to Teya Skae, author and founder of Empowered Living health and life coaching, “Saturated fatty acids give our cells structural integrity [and they] are needed for the proper utilization of omega-3 essential fatty acids, because omega-3s are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in In the modern American diet, however, saturated fats most saturated fats.” commonly come from animal sources—cream, eggs, meat, cheese, butter and Unfortunately, the ecological implications of a diet heavily reliant poultry. upon animals is not only bleak for our individual health, but also incredibly draining on the planet. Kerrie K. Saunders, author of The Vegan Diet as Chronic Disease Prevention: Evidence Supporting the Four New Food Groups (Lantern Books), writes, “Raising animals for food is by far the greatest consumer and polluter of fresh water on the planet, draining off 60% of our Now more than ever our dietary choices continent’s entire fresh water supply.” have huge sociological and ecological implications, and as the toxins in our external environment increase, we must protect our bodies with the foods we eat.
The Functional Food
Dr. Ryan Shelton of Whole Body Health medical clinic in Overland Park, Kansas, is a proponent of coconut oil for the following reasons: “It is a functional food,” he says. “That is, it is a food that can have powerful medicinal properties if used appropriately. The complex mixture of They can serve lipids (fats) found in coconut oil have proven health benefits. to increase metabolism and thus assist with energy and weight loss. They can which is important for cardiovascular disease. They decrease Lipoprotein(a), help protect the liver against damage from alcohol, drugs and other can environmental toxins.”
Using even the healthiest organic vegetable oils (including olive oil) in baking and frying creates cell-damaging free radicals because all vegetable oils oxidize, or combine with oxygen, especially when Organic virgin coconut oil resists oxidation, even at high temperatures. heated. Says Dr. Shelton: “The mixture of saturated fats in coconut milk with is difficult to oxidize under normal circumstances, making it an ideal fat which to cook.”
In addition, nearly 50% of the fatty acid in natural coconut oil is lauric acid, which converts to the fatty acid monolaurin in the body. Lauric acid has adverse effects on a variety of microorganisms including bacteria, yeast, fungi and certain highly-resistant viruses. It destroys the lipid membrane of en-veloped viruses like HIV, measles, herpes simplex virus and Coconut oil also contains caprylic acid and capric acid, both natural influenza. antifungals known to fight yeast overgrowth.
When purchasing coconut oil, be sure to buy only virgin Avoid refined oil, as it is sometimes hydrogenated, meaning that organic oil. high heat has been used in the refining process, destroying many essential nutrients.
Subscribe to E/The Environmental Magazine!
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Nature’s Candida Cure: Coconut Oil Solves Yeast ProblemsNatural
In countries where coconuts are regularly consumed, candida occurrences are surprisingly low, as noted by Dr. Bruce Fife, a strong believer in the healing power of coconut oil. Although many people in these regions live in conditions that typically promote candida overgrowth, they rarely suffer from candida.
This is because coconut oil is high in both lauric acid and caprylic acid, which both have antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. These components of coconut oil target harmful bacteria but leave friendly bacteria alone, which helps balances the flora in the digestive system. They also kill off excess yeast and other fungal overgrowth in the body. Studies in Iceland and Nigeria show coconut oil is an effective agent for killing off candida yeast.
If you've heard conflicting reports and are concerned about whether or not coconut oil is healthy, keep in mind the natural, unrefined fats in coconut oil are medium-chain saturated fats–the kind that are more easily converted into energy instead of being stored. Adding a moderate amount of coconut oil to your diet should be considered safe. In fact, the saturated fat content in coconut oil makes it an excellent choice for cooking because the oil is not damaged at high temperatures like other cooking oils.
Be sure not to buy coconut oil that has been hydrogenated. This destroys the beneficial attributes of coconut oil and makes it high in dangerous trans-fatty acids. The best kind of coconut oil is organic virgin coconut oil, which is closest to its natural state and will provide the most healthbenefits.
Read more...
Natural News.com - Phoenix, AZ ,USA
This is because coconut oil is high in both lauric acid and caprylic acid, which both have antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. These components of coconut oil target harmful bacteria but leave friendly bacteria alone, which helps balances the flora in the digestive system. They also kill off excess yeast and other fungal overgrowth in the body. Studies in Iceland and Nigeria show coconut oil is an effective agent for killing off candida yeast.
If you've heard conflicting reports and are concerned about whether or not coconut oil is healthy, keep in mind the natural, unrefined fats in coconut oil are medium-chain saturated fats–the kind that are more easily converted into energy instead of being stored. Adding a moderate amount of coconut oil to your diet should be considered safe. In fact, the saturated fat content in coconut oil makes it an excellent choice for cooking because the oil is not damaged at high temperatures like other cooking oils.
Be sure not to buy coconut oil that has been hydrogenated. This destroys the beneficial attributes of coconut oil and makes it high in dangerous trans-fatty acids. The best kind of coconut oil is organic virgin coconut oil, which is closest to its natural state and will provide the most healthbenefits.
Read more...
Natural News.com - Phoenix, AZ ,USA
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Get Rid of Cellulite by Eating Right
Include essential fatty acids in your diet and eliminate the bad kind of fats from it
“When you do not eat enough fiber and cellulite is a problem, your diet may contain more of the foods that can cause cellulite,” says John Degram in “Cellulite Treatment.”He recommends replacing those fats with fiber and the right type of fats (extra-virgin olive oil, butter and unprocessed coconut oil for cooking, for instance). “Any salty or fatty foods will go straight to your hips and thighs if you do not use fiber to prevent this from happening. Fiber acts like a scrub brush for the body. Fiber will improve circulation and improve your skin’s appearance from the inside out,” Degram points out.
Softpedia - Bucharest,Romania
View more
“When you do not eat enough fiber and cellulite is a problem, your diet may contain more of the foods that can cause cellulite,” says John Degram in “Cellulite Treatment.”He recommends replacing those fats with fiber and the right type of fats (extra-virgin olive oil, butter and unprocessed coconut oil for cooking, for instance). “Any salty or fatty foods will go straight to your hips and thighs if you do not use fiber to prevent this from happening. Fiber acts like a scrub brush for the body. Fiber will improve circulation and improve your skin’s appearance from the inside out,” Degram points out.
Softpedia - Bucharest,Romania
View more
Tips on Fighting Dry Skin
Go all natural for healthy skin
While our first thought would be to go out and get the first body lotion or hand cream that comes our way, dermatologists tell us that we should do our best to avoid commercial products because they contain all types of ingredients and additives that are anything but good for us.
Instead, we should use natural oils, like virgin coconut oil, coconut butter or shea butter, which we must apply immediately after stepping out of the bath, ...
Softpedia - Bucharest, Romania
Read more
While our first thought would be to go out and get the first body lotion or hand cream that comes our way, dermatologists tell us that we should do our best to avoid commercial products because they contain all types of ingredients and additives that are anything but good for us.
Instead, we should use natural oils, like virgin coconut oil, coconut butter or shea butter, which we must apply immediately after stepping out of the bath, ...
Softpedia - Bucharest, Romania
Read more
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Virgin Coconut Oil: From Fiji Isles, to Australia and now the World!
NATURE PACIFC was founded in Australia in 2004 as a joint venture to market Virgin Coconut Oil being made by Banaban families in Fiji.
NATURE PACIFIC directors Ken Sigrah and Stacey King were already involved in the natural health industry in Australia since 1997 with direct links through out the Pacific region importing and exporting raw materials for Australian companies. So marketing the family's Virgin Coconut Oil was a natural progression. Originally they began selling the oil in bulk through out their existing business networks, but at that time even the natural health industry was not fully aware of just how important Virgin Coconut Oil would become. They soon realised that to make Nature Pacific a company that could support the full scale production required to provide a self supporting industry back in Fiji they needed to turn over volume. They also realised that by 'value adding' the raw Virgin Coconut Oil here in Australia was key to producing quality products.
The first product they made were scented body oils based on traditional blends made back on the Island.
The Banabans pride themselves on smelling good with golden glistening skin and hair and coconut oil had always been an essential part of their daily life. From that point on, they marketed their products based on the values and traditions from their Island home and realised that with the development of the BANABAN brand they could also use their products to tell the world about the plight of Ken's people - the Banabans! Today their products are exported worldwide.
If you would like to find some of the great Banaban Virgin Coconut Oil products that are now available go to: Nature Pacific
The Banabans pride themselves on smelling good with golden glistening skin and hair and coconut oil had always been an essential part of their daily life. From that point on, they marketed their products based on the values and traditions from their Island home and realised that with the development of the BANABAN brand they could also use their products to tell the world about the plight of Ken's people - the Banabans! Today their products are exported worldwide.If you would like to find some of the great Banaban Virgin Coconut Oil products that are now available go to: Nature Pacific
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)