20 Secret “Dangers” of Coconut Oil

20 Secret “Dangers” of Coconut Oil

Haven’t you heard? Coconut oil is all the rage! Though you might have heard the latest buzz about coconut oil over the years, this is one health trend that is here to stay. Taken from fully matured coconuts and able to last for months at room temperature without spoiling, coconut oil has taken the spotlight as a miracle product with hundreds of health benefits that have caused it to seemingly fly off store shelves around the world.

Some people have been skeptical of coconut oil since it has a high amount of saturated fats that are known to cause heart problems, but many physicians and health experts are saying the exact opposite. Instead of scaring people off as a “fat,” experts concur that coconut oil has many health benefits.

Does coconut oil secretly do more harm than good? What are some of the benefits that might persuade you to try it for yourself? From head to toe and beyond, join us as we uncover the truth about coconut oil.

#20 – Remember Every Detail

Where did I put my car keys? Did I lock the house? What’s her name again? If you ever have trouble remembering details or fear that Alzheimer’s disease might be in your future, then coconut oil might be exactly what you need. Multiple studies have been conducted on older patients that have found that symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s decreased while memory abilities improved with the use of coconut oil. So what’s the science behind it and how exactly does it work?

Coconut oil is made of medium chain triglycerides that can easily be absorbed in the body to increase brain cell power. In other words, coconut oil used over a period of time can improve people’s abilities to notice and remember details such as names, faces and dates. Taking just a few tablespoons each day has not only increased the memory capacity of older patients, it’s also shown huge advantages in younger people as well! So remember, a spoonful a day just might keep the forgetfulness away!

#19 – Possible Cancer Killer

Did you know that it’s estimated that more than 40 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their life and that 20 percent of people will pass away from the disease? The word “cancer” usually ignites plenty of fear, and all for good reason, since there is no cure despite thousands of products on the market that claim to help stave off the disease. While many of these products remain scientifically untested, coconut oil has been one of the few with studies to back up its claims in fighting cancer.

The science behind it is simple. Cancer cells found in tumors are completely dependent on the body’s glucose and grow stronger the more glucose the body produces. Diets rich in coconut oil help in reducing or preventing the creation of glucose which, in turn, can help prevent cancer cells from growing. Because of this, many cancer patients are turning to coconut oil with the hopes of shrinking their existing tumor cells in addition to preventing the further spread of the disease.

#18 – Unbreakable

“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back!” With over half of Americans over the age of 50, suffering from bone loss and osteoporosis, bones have become a huge concern. While a broken bone is painful as it is, another bone issue that many patients have is arthritis, which ignites intense and persistent pain in joints that can leave many crippled. Studies have shown, however, that people who take coconut oil early in their lives prior to experiencing any bone loss may be able to completely prevent these diseases and issues as they get older.

While many arthritis patients turn to anti-inflammatory medications, ice packs, heating pads or over-the-counter creams to ease the pain and reduce inflammation, most of the symptoms can be treated just as well (if not better) with coconut oil. When it comes to osteoporosis, the results are equally astonishing! Coconut oil dramatically increases the amount of calcium the body absorbs, which means that bone loss can sometimes be slowed to a complete halt. Whoever said getting old was rough definitely didn’t know the benefits of coconut oil!

#17 – You Won’t Feel Like Leather

Who doesn’t want their skin to feel smooth as silk? If taking coconut oil can help fight cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis, surely it can benefit your skin! As a natural moisturizer, coconut oil prevents the skin from drying out and can drastically reduce puffiness or bags around the eyes that so many people dread. Applying the oil after your nightly shower and letting it absorb for half an hour can do wonders for the softness of your face, not to mention your hands simply from applying it!

Your face, of course, isn’t the only part of your body that can benefit from coconut oil. Using coconut oil on your hands (like we mentioned before) and feet can help prevent cracked and dried out skin. After all, summer is almost here and no one wants to see rough sandal feet! With dozens of different applications from your elbows to your heels, you can’t go wrong with coconut oil as an affordable and healthy moisturizer for your daily skincare routine!

#16 – You Won’t Be Pigging Out

Overeating is a supersized problem in the United States with many triggers like stress and fatigue playing a huge role in a generation fueled by fast comfort food and mindless eating. With the world looking for a quick fix in terms of diet and weight loss, coconut oil might be the ticket in preventing people from accidentally devouring an entire cake or pizza without giving it a second thought. Why? Coconut oil can actively decrease your appetite thanks to its medium chain fatty acids that are absorbed by the liver making you feel fuller faster.

We’ve got the science to prove it! Studies show that men who consumed coconut oil were more likely to eat over 250 fewer calories than their normal diet and, when they took the oil with breakfast, they didn’t eat nearly as much at lunch. Some people have gone so far as to add coconut oil to their coffee in what they call a short term caffeine boost that, when paired with the long term effects of coconut oil, create a real one-two punch in fighting the fat.

#15 – Stopping Seizures

Though not as common as Alzheimer’s disease or cancer, epilepsy is a significant concern in the field of medicine as it is the fourth most common neurological disorder that affects people of all ages. With approximately one percent of Americans diagnosed as epileptic, the disorder can be extremely scary and generally presents itself as unexpected seizures that can happen anytime, anywhere. Medications to treat the disorder are extremely expensive but most patients have no other choice but to fork over the money in order to lead seizure-free lives.

So where does coconut oil come into play? Many people with epilepsy have reported that after starting a coconut oil regimen that they have gone for extended periods without seizures for the first time in years. Directly related to coconut oil’s impact on the brain’s functions, a ketogenic diet rich in coconut oil has also proven to have one of the biggest benefits in younger patients with epilepsy without resulting in negative long term effects.

#14 – Stylists Will Ask You for Tips

With your skin as smooth as silk, the same thing might happen with your hair as well! If you are one of the many people who struggle with trying to style dry and brittle hair, coconut oil can easily take care of that. Hair tends to dry out because of the body’s lack of water and the overabundance of chemicals in styling products like gels and hairsprays. And, as you might have guessed, coconut oil is exactly what the stylist ordered when it comes to revitalizing your locks!

Filled with fatty acids, coconut oil gives your hair everything it needs to rejuvenate and moisturize throughout the day. Though taking coconut oil supplements are excellent for long term results, coconut oil can also be applied directly on your hair as a fast-acting conditioner. A real no muss, no fuss application, just leave it on your hair to soak in for a couple of hours before rinsing and people will think you walked off the set of a shampoo commercial!

#13 – You Might Feel Invincible

Do you know someone who gets sick all of the time? Chances are you most likely work with someone who seems to be sick more than they are healthy and, undoubtedly, share their sickness with you on a regular basis. Instead of popping a handful of vitamins that might leave you feeling just as sick as before, a daily dose of coconut oil can give your immune system a huge boost while making your sickly coworkers jealous of your persistent good health.

Coconut oil is filled with lauric acid, which is used to combat viruses in the body. Because of this, coconut oil works overtime attacking these nasty and annoying illnesses before you ever start to feel any symptoms. Now, instead of using up your sick days coughing, sneezing and bedridden with a debilitating cold, you can put those days to use as a mini-vacation for something far more enjoyable than snotty noses and high fevers!

#12 – Balance Blood Sugar

Nearly 30 million people in the United States alone have been diagnosed with diabetes and face a lifetime of dietary changes and, all too often, cumbersome treatments. Directly caused by the body’s inability to process sugar or glucose in the blood, there are three types of diabetes – Type 1, Type 2 and gestational or pregnancy-related – that are commonly treated through insulin and non-insulin treatments. Recently, however, many medications used to treat diabetes have been yanked off the shelves due to their high risks and side effects.

With coconut oil still on the shelves, there might be a better alternative. The amount of insulin that your body produces can be balanced with a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil taken every day. But how does it work? The coconut oil provides an increased amount of ketones that give your body an energy source that isn’t completely glucose based. Since coconut oil can also help in controlling your appetite, the added weight loss can also be a big help in fighting diabetes even more aggressively.

#11 – Achieve Some Balance

Have you ever been in such a cranky mood that you don’t even enjoy your own company? One of the biggest contributors to these types of feelings or moods is a hormonal imbalance, which is often associated in pregnant women. Having imbalanced hormones for an extended period of time can not only lead to bad moods, it can also cause severe acne, irregular menstruations, weight gain, chronic fatigue and a long list of other bothersome things.

Thanks to coconut oil’s abundance of lauric acid (which we mentioned before), it can wipe away most of these problems and more! Studies have even shown that women going through menopause saw an increase in estrogen thanks to a strict coconut oil regimen. With coconut oil helping with dementia, diabetes, weight loss and even hormones, who says it couldn’t help with hot flashes and night sweats – wouldn’t that be the real icing on the menopausal cake?

#10 – Give Germs the Boot

The magic of lauric acid strikes again! Earlier on the list we mentioned how coconut oil is beneficial in boosting your immune system, but did you know that it can also kill bacteria that tries to make its way into your body? Bacterial diseases are just as nasty and disruptive as viral diseases with some of the biggest players to strike being E. coli, salmonella and meningitis. Lucky for us, coconut oil’s lauric acid can knock these out of the park.

When you take coconut oil regularly, enzymes in your body combine with the oil to create monolaurin, which is an antibacterial that is used before you get sick or even during. As a result, getting over illnesses can be a snap especially if you replace the sugar in your diet with coconut oil. Since bacteria feeds off the sugar in your body and allows the virus to grow, coconut oil’s ability to step in and block further growth means you’ll be back on your feet in no time at all!

#9 – Your Teeth Could be Blinding

Why waste thousands of dollars on teeth whitening treatments when you could use coconut oil instead? To get a better shine and reduce or eliminate the effects of gum disease, swishing around coconut oil in your mouth might make a world of difference. It only takes a tablespoon of oil to get started and, as you swish, the microbes and nasty bacteria nestled between your teeth are yanked out like a tiny tooth miracle. Just make sure and remember not to swallow!

Commonly referred to as “oil pulling,” people who have seen the best results have been swishing coconut oil around their mouths for up to 20 minutes per day. Not only does this help in preventing gum disease, it also makes your teeth look better while improving your breath and revitalizing your smile. So go ahead and have those garlic and onions for lunch, just make sure to swish with coconut oil to kill that funky breath!

#8 – Feeling Fresh

Quite possibly one of the most embarrassing topics of conversation for anyone to talk about is not feeling fresh because of a yeast infection. Unfortunately, yeast infections are very common with three out of four women typically experiencing at least one in their lifetime. Recent studies have shown, however, that yeast infections may be prevented with coconut oil since it drastically helps to replace the body’s sugar, which is exactly what the infection feeds off of to grow.

The added bonus of taking coconut oil is its ability to team up with the body to absorb vitamins that help knock out yeast infections and the remaining bacteria in no time at all. Once the infection is gone, the coconut oil doesn’t stop there as it continues to work its magic by producing nutrients and vitamins that help prevent further infections by creating a protective layer. See, we told you it was magic!

#7 – Lift a Bunch of Heavy Things

Though people typically think of the word “fat” when it comes to coconut oil and believe that it will only make them fatter as a result, this is far from the case. Instead, the opposite actually happens as coconut oil helps burn fat and is often a huge benefit for those who are trying to build more muscle. While many people hitting the gym religiously take a variety of supplements to build muscle, they might see some of the same benefits with a daily dose of coconut oil.

Whether you’re a gym rat, a health nut or someone looking to be in better physical shape, then the MCT’s in coconut oil are ideal for the boost you need. Instead of pushing the limits and risking injury at the gym, you can increase your workout regimen at a more comfortable pace since your muscle mass will be increasing naturally thanks to coconut oil. Of course, if you still want to throw in a few extra reps, you’ll definitely have plenty of energy for it!

#6 – No More Pressure

Say goodbye to high blood pressure and lectures from the family doctor! With nearly 30 percent of Americans diagnosed with high blood pressure, it’s long overdue that we learn how to better manage our health. While dietary changes and stress reduction are obviously the first solutions with expensive medications coming in at a close second, there is another option that is cheaper but just as effective. You guessed it! Coconut oil – what, were you expecting a different answer?

Most of us know very little about our circulatory systems, including the baroreflex receptors that tell the brain when the blood pressure is too high or too low. This is exactly where coconut oil comes into play by stimulating these receptors. As a result, many people have seen their blood pressure readings drastically improve with a combination of coconut oil and exercise that has allowed them to reduce their medications or eliminate them altogether.

#5 – You’ll Still Get Carded

Excuse me, may I check your ID? Are you a bit jealous of your friends when they still get asked for their IDs when you’re getting a few drinks out on the town? If the bartender doesn’t even bother asking you, it might be time to look into the miracles of coconut oil! Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on anti-aging treatments or even thousands on Botox injections that make you look like a mannequin, coconut oil offers an all-natural solution for slowing down the aging process.

In addition to moisturizing and reducing signs of aging, those who suffer from eczema are able to find some relief from coconut oil as it is also used in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. The natural collagen in coconut oil will also stop you from getting those wrinkles around your eyes and lips that can make you instantly appear a decade older. If that isn’t convincing enough, a jar of oil won’t break the bank and it doesn’t require any needles for you to see its lasting effects!

#4 – Clear a Path

From $5 drive-thru pizzas to mile-long dollar menus, hot dog stands, food trucks and all of the other wonders of fast food, it’s no surprise that so many of us experience digestive problems like constipation, irritable bowel and ulcerative colitis. You can probably even name at least one person who has gone through one of the widely popular detox cycles to help clear their digestive systems. But, you don’t have to jump on the bandwagon and subject yourself to some awful-tasting juice cleanse while depriving yourself of anything else for a week.

Like we saw earlier on the list with coconut oil and how its MCTs can help build muscle mass, the same MCTs are also quickly and easily absorbed into the digestive system and allow you to get the nutrients you need while preventing the symptoms of common digestive problems. Studies have even shown that patients suffering from Crohn’s disease and IBS have seen a drastic reduction in their symptoms after getting on a daily coconut oil regimen.

#3 – Easier to Lock Lips

Pucker up! Depending on where you live in the world, it can be almost impossible to avoid chapped and dry lips as a result of the weather conditions or the lack of moisture in the air. Regardless of the cause, it’s highly unlikely that anyone will want to pucker up and kiss you if you have dried out, painful and peeling, snake-skinned lips. So, why miss out on another kiss?

While most of us have at least three different kinds of lip balm in our bags or pockets at any given time, what if we told you that coconut oil could work 10 times better and last twice as long? No, we aren’t joking! The increased moisture that your body sees from coconut oil can help your lips look naturally smoother and fuller making them more kissable than ever before. What are you waiting for? Grab some coconut oil and pucker up already!

#2 – Feel Like You Can Go Forever

Do you know how many steps there are in the process for fats to be converted into energy? It takes nearly 30 steps in the body’s normal fat conversion process while the fatty acids in coconut oil need only three! Can you believe it? While most people reach for bad fats or too many carbs, coconut oil can offer a natural and almost immediate energy boost without the aftermath of an energy-draining crash.

Instead of grabbing a donut or two (or a dozen) in the morning on your way out the door, coconut oil is a better alternative and can help you feel energized throughout the day while helping you become more productive, but that’s not all. If you’re one of the many people who struggle to get through a workout, mixing coconut oil in with your water can give you an energy boost and knock out those “too tired to do anything else” excuses.

#1 – You Might Get Tired of Compliments

How many New Year’s resolutions or self-improvement plans involve weight loss, healthier living or diets? People who have been trying to lose weight have seemingly tried everything and, after reading 19 of the secret benefits to coconut oil, it should come as no surprise that it is a fat burner as well. Regular exercise and a balanced diet enhanced by coconut oil can do wonders in the battle of the bulge and will cause a flood of compliments as people remark on your ability to fight cravings, burn more calories and maintain higher energy levels than ever before.

Though you most likely won’t transform from someone with high blood pressure, dry hair, chapped lips and extra fat to the epitome of health in one night, you’ll be well on your way to overall better health with coconut oil. With over 30 years of research showing the beneficial effects of coconut oil on weight loss, it definitely seems worth giving it a shot and, after all, you might see a few other benefits in addition to losing a few pounds!