Uhmm.. so I have been reading several threads on the site and many times I hear about Coconut oil this and that ... I search the product section here to see if I found any info or opinions of the product but could not find such... Soooo What's up with coconut oil??!!! what are your experiences with it? would you recommend it? and wasn't coconut oil supposed to be bad.. like full of saturated fat...you know solid a room temperature...


thanks,
Michelle

I have been reading up on this and I am impressed with its abilities. For years it has been dissed by experts as being very unhealthy. I get the magazine She Knows Low Carb which had an article in an earlier issue about the benefits of coconut products, especially the oil. I loaned out my magazine and don't have information, word for word, but it stated that coconut oil heats up the metabolism,increasing energy. It raises good cholesterol without affecting the bad cholesterol. It is good for thyroid support. It has antibodies which fights bacteria and viruses. It softens skin.It is also good for wrinkles so basically it is the Fountain of Youth that Marco Polo was searching for...It was Marco Polo wasn't it?

Here's my experience: I have lost 6 lbs this month. That is the most I have lost since last summer '05. My skin is oiler which is bad for my face but I have not needed to use lotion or any other moisturizer on the rest of my body. Now the recommended "dosage" was 3 1/2 tablespoons daily. That is a lot but I try to come as close to that as I can. I look forward to seeing its results a year from now. It has proven to be more promising than chromium which I blame for a 10 lb gain last year.

Here is the link to the article I read back in February. I am sorry, this goes to the wrong page. Well, anyway click on this and do a google search for coconut oil. Then, scroll down to "Low Carb Health and Medical Conditions: Coconut and Coconut Oil.

http://sheknows.com/about/look/6958.html

Actually, it was Ponce de Leon..........

I love coconut oil on my skin (as in monoi tiare, about the best moisturizer and massage oil andbody lotion in the world). Now that I got a chance to buy 2 litres of organic virgin coconut oil I am incorporating the stuff into my diet.

I can't say if it makes a difference by now, but it sure tastes nice, and if I have a fat craing - sometimes I might crave mayo - now I go for the coconut oil.

Don't worry about the saturated fats, it's all a myth, actually coconut fat is good for you

dhania

Oh yeah. I knew that. I was just testing you guys

Black57, can you tell us how you use it? For grilling, just taking by the tablespoon, or simply in place of other oils with foods? Can you use it for basting foods you are baking, like chicken? I want to get a bottle and start using it instead of butter.

You know. Coconut oil is so expensive, I don't like using it to fry with. Too much is tossed out. I add it to my vegetables, like butter. I use it with butter and curry powder which makes a really good sauce that I also pour on my meat. I use it in my coffee. Coconut milk can also be put in coffee and added to other foods such as shrimp.

thanks for all the ideas for coconut oil .. regarding the skin and hair thing is supposed to be great so I think will start to use it on anything and everything... at the moment I'm in induction had some sweet graving so i have used stevia and aspartame to help withit along with heavy cream and cream cheese . think its making my ketones strips less purple .. more on the pink side.. so I think from what I read here and on the web perhaps coconut oil can be the silver bullet to help me with the sweet cravings and perhaps help kick me more into deep ketosis.. uhmm I hope ..I only hope.... ( dreading the balance for friday)...
thanks again for all the ideas regarding the oil..

cheers,
Michelle

Did you find that you were less hungry, so you also ate less, or did you eat the same amount, plus the coconut oil. 3 1/2 tablespoons is a lot of extra calories, so that is really interesting if you can add in that amount of calories on top of your baseline eating and still lose weight like that.

I like to make the chocolate coconut bark recipe but I haven't made it in quite awhile. It's really easy to get in 3 1/2 tablespoons/day of coconut oil if you eat it as candy- at least it is for me!

ddaniels, I think 3 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil is alot even without the calories. I could still eat the same amount of food, but I have backed off a little because of the calories. Considering the benefits, I would rather keep as much of this product in my diet that I can.

Oh yeah, I have also made cinnamon butter with the coconut oil and spread it on my low carb bread.

I've heard good things about coconut oil too but not actually tried it.

It is a medium-chain saturated fat but is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial etc plus it is supposed to speed up your metabolism thus aiding weight loss.It's also supposed to breakdown in your liver quite quickly providing lots of energy.

From a cosmetic point of view it's supposed to aid in the reduction of wrinkles.

Might be worth giving it a test trial.

I like coconut, but I also don't want EVERYTHING to taste like coconut. I purchased my Nutiva Coconut Oil from netrition.com (it was cheaper than Tropical Traditions and I think it is just as good). I fixed some scrambled eggs with it and did NOT like my eggs tasting like coconut. So my plan is to use it in protein shakes and see if that is more to my liking.

You also have the option of making coconut bark, which I have also done, and it is delicious as long as you don't OVER indulge! I can't speak for everyone, but I've found that consuming TOO MUCH makes me sick to my stomach--but that's if you consume it all at once.

Personally, I plan to use only about a teaspoon in my shake initially and gradually increase it until I get up to about 2 tbspns spaced throughout the day. By the way, I'm only consuming about a third of a shake at a time, so I'll have 3 portions daily with 1 tsp in each one.