Coconut, The Tree of Life

When you smell a coconut, it probably makes you think of sun tanning and drinking pina coladas on the beach but do you know about the incredible health benefits of it’s oil? Yes, coconut oil consists of more than ninety percent of saturated fats with traces of few unsaturated fatty acids, such as monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids but don’t panic when you hear the words saturated fat when it comes to coconut oil. Continue reading and you’ll understand why. There is widespread misconception that coconut oil is bad for you because it is said to raise blood cholesterol and cause heart disease. The only "proof" is one four-decades old study. The study used hydrogenated coconut oil. It is now known that the process of hydrogenation creates "trans fatty acids" (TFAs), which are toxic entities that enter cell membranes, block utilization of essential fatty acids (EFAs) and impede cell functionality. TFAs also cause a rise in blood cholesterol. These substances are not present in natural coconut oil.  Another reason people believe coconut oil must be bad for you is misguided association: it is a saturated fat and "saturated fats are bad for you." Dietary guidelines inevitably fail to distinguish between different kinds of saturated fats and insist that saturated fats (meaning all saturated fats) are harmful. This is not just misleading. It is bad science. Leading scientists now recognize that just as there is good cholesterol, there are also good saturated fats.   link