Coconut oil is a superfood and a daily essential for many. If you are someone who has trouble with their metabolism, skin, energy levels, or are simply just worried about your wellbeing, coconut oil is the magic potion that you need. So, in this article, we will discuss the fourteen uses of coconut oil.
The benefits of coconut oil in health are stunning and day by day more people are aware of the different uses of coconut oil. With the remarkable combination of healthy fatty acids, coconut oil has a myriad of benefits to offer you.
Health-food experts and celebrities swear by its advantages, so let’s find out what the fuss is all about. Emma Stone considers it the best ingredient for beauty and health. Now, let’s look at some benefits and uses of coconut oil.
The uses of Coconut Oil:
1. Good for Heart
Heart diseases have become so common around the world, and millions of people die every year. One of the top fourteen uses for coconut oil is its effectiveness for heart health. Coconut oil address the core issue of the heart.
It is antioxidant in nature, and this is how it fights oxidative stress in the body. The body gains normal blood pressure when you consume coconut oil and prevents stroke.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who take most of their calories from coconut tend to have low rates of heart diseases (1).
2. Protects the Skin
If you are looking for the best ingredient for your skin, then coconut oil might be the best addition. It is an excellent ingredient that rapidly absorbs in the skin and restores your skin, according to Dr. Frances P. Jones.
According to experts, coconut oil has an impressive barrier function to prevent evaporation. According to a 2011 study published in the Journal of Pharmacognosy Reviews, coconut oil blocks 20% of the UV rays from the sun (2).
True, coconut oil can give you a little protection from the sun, but don’t use it as sunscreen. It is not healthy for the skin and can cause burns or long-term skin issues. The best thing to do is to rub it on your skin after spending time in the sun.
3. Improves Dental Health
Everyone loves to have strong, shiny teeth. People try various remedies for their teeth. There are a variety of bacteria in our mouth that cause infection, tooth decay, and plague. Coconut oil can serve the best in this regard.
According to a 2015 study, you can get rid of plague and inflammation by swishing daily with coconut oil (3).
You can also use coconut oil to freshen your breath. This isn’t for only those people that are battling with bad breath. If you feel your mouth is clean, you’d be surprised how much cleaner coconut oil can make it.
Put it in your mouth and swirl for a few minutes, then spit out and rinse with cold water. You’ll even see the substance you spit out to be milky-white in color.
4. Face Wash and Makeup Remover
This oil is very safe to use, not only as a facial cleanser but also as a makeup remover. It has antibacterial qualities that make it perfect for this purpose.
If you are having trouble with the face wash or makeup removing, then coconut oil is the best and the readily available ingredient for you. It contains great cleansing properties. For this purpose, you just have to rub it with hands and apply it on the face. Use a washcloth to cleanse the face.
If you are one of those women who struggle to clean off mascara, this oil can save you a lot of stress. Once you apply the coconut oil to your face, you will notice the makeup melting off your face, use warm water to rinse off and pat dry.
5. Brain Function
For coconut oil, the most important use among fourteen uses for coconut oil is its unique capability to improve your mental health. It contains medium-chain triglyceride, aka MCT. British Journal of Nutrition found that the MCT produced ketones that helped boost mental health or brain function (4).
6. Mosquito Bite and Sunburn Remedy
According to Dr. Debra Wattenberg, coconut oil contains antibacterial properties. Because of these anti-bacterial properties, it is considered as one of the best and readily available remedies for a mosquito bite. Studies have also suggested that coconut oil can be the best remedy for sunburn. As said earlier, it blocks 20% of the dangerous UV rays from the sun (2).
7. Hair Care
No one can deny the importance of healthy and long hair. Every woman dreams of having long shiny hair. The use of coconut oil for hair can bring your dreams into reality. It provides guaranteed help for your hair health to impart shine and strength to hair.
Coconut oil can make your hair as beautiful as you can imagine, so feel free to use it. You can use it to detangle your hair every day, as a conditioner, and as a base for hair coloring. It has also been proven to prevent/cure hair breakage and dandruff.
Scientific research in the Journal of Cosmetic Science compared different types of oil and found that coconut oil prevented hair damage due to the presence of fatty acids (5).
You can also use coconut oil as a home remedy for dandruff to get rid of it naturally. According to a study, intermittent coconut oil usage on the head for 8 weeks helped solve the dandruff issue by about 70% which, I believe, is significant (6).
8. Spot or Stain Remover
No one likes the spots or stains on the carpet or any household item. If you are fed up with the stains, then you are at the right place and reading the right ingredient for this purpose.
There are several home remedies where you can find coconut oil as the best ingredient for stain remover. You can rub it on the stain to loosen it and mix it with baking powder to remove the stain permanently.
9. Appetite Suppressant
Overeating is an eating disorder that leads to obesity. If you want to control overeating, then the best ingredient that comes in mind is the coconut oil. It controls your hunger with the help of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), and ultimately you eat fewer calories (7).
10. Shaving Cream
It looks weird, but it is one of the top fourteen uses for coconut oil. Sometimes, you run out of the shaving cream, and then you don’t have to worry at all because you have coconut oil at home. It will help you have a smooth shave when there is not shaving cream at home.
11. Weight Loss
Weight gain or obesity has become a global issue, and it gives rise to various other diseases. Coconut oil can help you in this regard as well. You can easily shed off your extra pounds after using this weight loss ingredient.
There are several ways by which coconut oil helps for weight loss. It contains MCT that controls your appetite, and you eat less. It is an evident fact that when you eat less, you will lose more.
Scientific studies have shown that it is one of the most effective substances to reduce belly fat (8).
12. Boosts Immune System
A weak immune system exposes the body to various types of germs and bacteria. On the other hand, a strong immune system guarantees success against bacteria and viruses.
Coconut oil contains lauric acid and capric acid. It offers a great obstacle to bacteria and viruses owing to the presence of these acids. The MCT breaks down into fatty acids and glycerol that serve for the immune system.
13. Perfect for the Cook at High Temperature
Coconut oil has a lot of health advantages such as it has a high saturated fat content. In fact, about 87% of its fat is saturated (9). This feature makes it one of the best fats for high-heat cooking, including frying.
A lot of health experts have said this is the healthiest oil in the world. It is better than other types of oil, so it very good for cooking. Some of the properties that make it great for cooking are the high smoking point, 76°F melting point, little or no cholesterol.
Oils such as corn and safflower when you cook it in high temperatures can cause more damage than good because corn and safflower are converted into toxic compounds when heated (10). Therefore, coconut oil is a safer alternative for cooking at high temperatures.
14. Prevent/Cure Skin Acne
It is surprising that so many people are still moving around with acne on their skin when we have coconut oil. It can clear out acne as well as any scarring associated with it because of lauric acid that kills the bacteria known to cause acne (11).
Just apply on the skin and place a warm facecloth after some time, then clean off with water.
However, if your skin is sensitive then never use it as a moisturizer. Your sensitive skin will make you give a sad story after you use coconut oil. If your skin is “special,” you may end up having clogged pores because is comedogenic. If you have doubts, ask a dermatologist to be sure.
Though coconut oil is a far cry from ordinary, you can’t really blame those who think it’s a scam because, in all honesty, coconut oil is not good for everything. There are things you can do with coconut oil that can actually turn out bad, and you must avoid that at all costs. Below some are listed:
- Never use it as lubrication with condoms: It’s true that coconut oil is an excellent lubricant, but when condoms are involved…don’t even try it! When the latex of condoms is mixed with coconut oil, it weakens the latex and reduces, if not totally eliminate the usefulness of a condom.
- Never use it as a bathing soap: You may love adding coconut oil to your bathing treatment, but it will give your plumber more work, increase your bills, and even kill main or kill you. Coconut oil will make your bathroom floors slippery, which could cause a hard fall with no one in there with you to help. Also, if coconut oil goes down your pipe and dries up, it could harden and cause blockage somewhere in the pipe, which will eventually make you spend money on plumbing repairs.
- Never use it as a salad dressing: Unless you want to rush the meal and finish it in nanoseconds, don’t make salads with coconut oil. If you do, you will have a thick mold when you put it in the fridge or when the coconut oil solidifies naturally. Instead of making plans to rush your salad before coconut oil solidifies, just use a substitute dressing and take your time to enjoy your meal.
- Never use it if your hair is coarse: Coconut oil has astringent qualities that could dry up your hair if it is coarse, so don’t be in a hurry to join those girls giving testimonies of how this oil has rejuvenated their hair. You won’t get the same result. This is probably new to you, but it is real. Using this oil for the wrong reasons can backfire. Simply put, it is not good for everything.
Do not underestimate the power of the coconut oil because it is not just a basic fatty oil. Coconut oil offer several health benefits. This article highlights only a few uses for coconut oil, and these uses are further supported by scientific studies. Always have coconut oil in your home, and you will see astonishing and visible changes in your beauty and health.
