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Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Why coconut oil is bad for your heart
The benefits of coconut oil for health are countless, ranging from preventing tooth decay to burning belly fat. Coconut oil is one food source that can be categorized as superfood thanks to its nutritional wealth which is good for the health of the body.
Benefits of coconut oil for body health
1. Prevent osteoporosis
Coconut oil helps the body more effectively absorb fat-soluble vitamins, such as magnesium and calcium. Adequate calcium intake in the body leads to stronger bone structure and density. Thus, consuming coconut oil in its most natural form can help reduce the symptoms of bone loss caused by osteoporosis.
2. Fight inflammation
This oil is also enriched by antioxidants to counteract free radicals as a cause of inflammation. A study from India reported that high antioxidant content in coconut oil acts as an anti-inflammatory agent to fight symptoms of infection and inflammation in the body, for example in arthritis, gallstones and pancreatitis.
3. Prevent gum disease and dental caries
Gargling with coconut oil (technique oil pulling) actually has been used for generations as a natural method of maintaining oral and gum health, such as preventing tooth decay and bleeding gums. Research reports, routine oil pulling can effectively erode the layers of dental plaque and also prevent the formation of new plaques that cause gingivitis, gum infection.
4. Prevent and accelerate cancer treatment
One of the most beneficial properties of coconut oil is its medium chain fatty acid (MCT) content. MCT is not only more easily absorbed by the liver, but also metabolized quickly. That is, these healthy fatty acids can be further processed into ketones.
Tumor cells need energy from glucose to multiply and survive in the body. When accompanied by a low-carbohydrate diet, the body has more energy stores than ketones and not glucose, as a result tumor cells cannot access the main food source. Therefore, ketones can act as a barrier to tumor growth. In fact, a study shows that when coconut oil is injected into adenocarcinoma cancer cells in the large intestine, ketones are actually able to inhibit cancer cell growth without affecting normal intestinal cells.
5. Stabilize blood sugar
A diet menu enriched with MCT (65% of which you can get from coconut oil) has been shown to increase glucose tolerance and reduce body fat buildup. MCT has also been reported to maintain insulin action and resistance, even though so far it has only been proven by lab rat experiments. Coconut oil can also increase insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetics.
6. Burn belly fat
In addition to helping fight brain and memory disorders, consumption of medium chain fatty acids contained in coconut oil, has been shown to increase the number of calories you burn compared to other fatty acids. In other words, the body can easily change fat to be used as energy. This oil effectively trims belly fat, which is the most dangerous fat stack of all types of body fat and is strongly associated with various chronic diseases. In addition, ketones, as one form of energy from fat metabolism, are known to have the effect of reducing appetite.
This method is important for people who are on a diet, because basically coconut oil has the potential to help reduce weight dramatically if consumed in the long term.
7. Suppresses the risk of heart disease
Coconut oil contains healthy saturated fats, which can increase "good" cholesterol (HDL) in the body, while also helping to convert "bad" LDL cholesterol to a more benign form. This oil can also increase other risk factors and therefore protect against heart disease.
8. Maintain healthy hair and skin
Coconut oil does not always have to be consumed by mouth to show the health benefits. Many people use this healthy oil for cosmetic purposes, to improve the health and appearance of skin and hair.
Research shows coconut oil is effectively used as a skin moisturizer, especially for people whose skin tends to dry out, by increasing the moisture and fat content of the skin. The benefits of coconut oil for beauty are also an alternative to lighter sunscreens - blocking about 20% of the sun's UV rays. This oil is also effective at protecting against hair damage.
