Coconut Oil / Coconut Butter - a Superb Superfood

There is a wide range of illnesses and ailments with which Coconut Oil might possibly help. The list includes abscesses, bronchitis, bruises, burns, colds, constipation, cough, dysentery, earache, fever, flu, gingivitis, kidney stones, lice, malnutrition, nausea, rash, scabies, scurrvy, skin infections, painful menstruation, jaundice, normalises blood sugar levels, increases energy, candida, fungal conditions, tonic, sore throat, ulcers and more. It's a natural product, not chemically manufactured and to my mind that means it can't hurt to try it out!

My own use of Coconut Oil began when making my own healthy Chocolate with Cacao Butter, Cacao Powder and Agave, (which means I eat chocolate that is sugar free, dairy free,has no unhealthy fats and is additive free). I found that adding some Coconut Oil makes the chocolate just that bit more smooth and velvety and deliciously moreish!

Coconut oil is about 44.6% lauric acid, 16.8% myristic acid, and 8.2% palmitic acid. It seems that MCFAs (medium-chain-fatty-acids ) of which coconut oil is mostly composed is valuable for providing keeping up energy levels due to their molecular structure. Many bodybuilders and athletes rely on MCFAs as a key part of their high physical performance diets. And possibly it's why using coconut oil can help you to lose weight!

Coconut Oil is wonderful for cooking because it has a much higher temperature tolerance, better than extra virgin olive oil. Its fat molecules stay intact, so that makes it safer and more stable and healthy for use as a cooking oil. Substitute Coconut Oil for butter and other fats listed in cooking, baking and frying recipes - you'll be doing your health a great favour!

It's widely used in the raw food world for salad dressings, cakes, cookies, chocolate, soups and more as a source of delicious plant-based fat and high nutritional content.

And of course, lets not forget that Coconut Oil as a beauty product is awesome - as a moisturiser for skin care, conditioner for hair and as a suntan lotion. Try adding some of your favourite essential oils, not only as a remedy but for the delicious aromas available, to create a blend unique to you. With the added essential oils, it makes a gorgeous Massage Oil too.

After reading and researching more about Coconut Oil, that it is antifungal, antimirobial and antibacterial, when my Cat, Jewels, had a skin problem and lost lots of her fur (got quite bald in fact) I put Coconut Oil to the test and concocted a very simple potion of Coconut Oil and Essential Oils that worked!

Coconut Oil and Coconut Butter are actually the same thing.

The creamy white butter becomes a clear oil when heated above about 25 degrees Celcius. As the climate in the United Kingdom is generally cold, this oil will usually solidify at room temperature.

Simply stand the tub (with the lid on) in a bowl of fairly hot water and the butter will melt back into an oil.

If using to moisturise the skin - the warmth of your hands will melt the butter.

I try to use ingredients that are as natural and unprocessed as possible, so use:
* Coconut oil instead of butter or margarine (Coconut Oil is one of the healthiest oils available as it remains stable and is not altered when heated). Once I made these with coconut oil, margarine and butter no longer taste good to me in this recipe!
* Honey or agave instead of syrup.
* Organic Coconut chips - taste sooo much nicer - pop them into the food processor to shred - instead of shop bought dessicated coconut.
All of these work well and I feel that they are a more healthy choice for me.

However, I tried swapping the flour for coconut flour - yuck, disaster! The crunchies were crumbly and oddly dry; not at all a good taste for me, so definitely won't try coconut flour in my fave recipe again!

This is one of my most favourite delicious cookie recipes in the world -and here it is to share it with you. By the way, mention Crunchies to just about any South African and they will know what you are talking about!

Made with Oats, Crunchies are very similar to Flapjacks as they are called in England; but are more crisp and chewy; delicious with a coffee ... or a cup of tea... or for breakfast ... or as a snack ... or picnic ..... or just because ...

Raw Chocolate is considered by some to have the highest concentrations of anti-aging, life-enhancing antioxidants! Also know as the Food of the Gods. Blend together Cacao Powder, Cacao Butter and Agave, pour into icetrays and keep refridgerated and you have healthy delicious chocolate.

But, if you blend in some Coconut Butter as well, the chocolate has a smoother taste and then you have Cacao Chocolate perfection!

Conventional suntan lotions have received a lot of bad press recently because of synthetic ingredients and preservatives in them; the possibility that they are not good for our bodies and could be the cause of skin damage.

My Quest for radiant health and wellbeing for my family and our planet and wanting to use natural resources led to Coconut Oil at the perfect moment (synchronicity is awesome!).

It sounds really odd to use an oil when going out in the sun, you would think you would fry; but having tried and tested over many summers, it works. I have spent a weekend in the sun recently, applying coconut oil as needed and my skin went a golden brown. A few days later, I spent a half hour during my lunch hour in the nearby park, didn't have my coconut oil with me and in that short time my face (especially my nose) burned red! USEFUL TIP: Don't go out in the midday sun!

The only Lotion I use now before going out in the sun is Coconut Oil. I don't get red or burned and my skin feels silky and soft! BUT, of course, I try to be sensible - keep out of the sun at the hottest times of the day, that's usually between about 12 midday and 3pm.

It seems that as a suntan lotion, Coconut Butter works better if you are eating and using it in your diet as well as it on the skin! I use a lot of Coconut Butter in my diet, in smoothies, Cacao Chocolate, salad dressings, Raw cookies and cakes etc; perhaps that's also why it works so well for me.

A few years ago, my son broke his arm during the summer and fortunately a waterproof cast meant he could still enjoy a trip to a waterworld fun park. The cast was a bit loose by then and as he ran around throughout the day, it kept moving, exposing the skin on his hand and wrist that had been covered up. That evening, this patch of skin was horribly red and swollen with sunburn. I mixed up a potion that I hoped would soothe this and kept applying the lotion during the evening. I really was amazed the next morning to see the sunburn swelling had gone and the red burn had changed to a golden brown colour.

It's such a simple recipe; but so effective. Try this if you ever do get sunburned; I hope it works as well for you as it did for my son.

Sunburn Potion:
* Half a cup of Coconut Oil
* 6 - 8 drops of Lavender Essential Oil

Mix well and apply as often as possible to the sunburned area of skin.

Oil Pulling is a practise from Ayurvedic medicine that involves swishing oil in your mouth for a time.

A variety of people have reported results ranging widely from whiter, straighter teeth, curing gingivitis, weight loss or even reversing grey hair! I love a natural source like Coconut Oil as maybe these are outrageous statements; but trying this product is not going to cause you any harm!

There is huge long list of reported benefits using this method to detox your body and here are just a few:

* Healthy gums
* Clear skin
* Increased energy
* Decreased allergies
* Improved PMS symptoms
* Helps with migraine headaches
* Helps decrease asthma symtoms
* Clearer sinuses
* Better sleep
* Aids weight loss.

- First thing in the morning before breakfast, swish about a tablespoon of oil (coconut oil or sesame oil) slowly around your mouth, making sure it reaches every corner of your mouth.
- Do not swallow the oil as it is contains the toxins it's drawing out of your body.
- Swish the oil for 10 -15 minutes. The oil will become foamy and thin.
- Spit out and rinse your mouth out well with water; then brush your teeth and tongue with a natural toothpaste.
Oil pulling can be done daily if you choose.

I've been doing this for a while; usually only a couple of time a week though - it's an amazing feeling having such a clean feeling mouth.

A couple of years ago, Jewels the Cat @ SynchronicityHouse, started to get large bald patches round her sides and back and it looked really awful; she got quite stressed out with scratching. Maybe she picked up something from the foxes that enjoyed visiting our garden or possibly it was from fleas. I knew it would cost a fortune to take her to the vet and didn't want to use commercial unnatural products, so decided to try a homemade remedy first.

Being addicted to using Coconut Butter (knowing it has antiviral, antimicrobial and antibacterial properties) together with delicious Essential Oils as the answers to all sorts of skin conditions myself, I concocted a potion! I knew she'd be cleaning and licking her fur, so the remedy had to take that into account as well.

After about a week I could see the areas begin to change, she wasn't scratching as much and at the end of about two weeks her fur began to grow back. It was amazing! I then used the potion once or twice a week until her fur began to get thick and then stopped applying it and she has never had a problem since then.

Occassionally, I use this potion on her in summer (yes, we do get really hot days here in England!) and this little potion seems to deter the fleas as well.

Anyone else had success with homemade remedies? If you try my potion, I would love to hear if it worked for your pet too!

Jewels the Cat @ SynchronicityHouse - Potion for Bald Fur Patches!

A homemade potion that worked for my Cat.

1. Put Coconut Butter into a container and stand in hottish water until it turns back to oil - about 1 cup
2. Stir in 1 drop of Tea Tree Essential Oil
3. Stir in 1 drop of Lavender Essential Oil
4. Mix together (it may solidify back to butter; but will melt in warm hands).
5. Apply to the affected areas every day for about 10 days or so.

When the fur begins growing back, apply only once or twice a week. Stop applying when the fur is beginning to grow more thickly.

Try using this occassionally when it's flea season during hot summer days - it just may work. (Using more natural products and less chemicals is healthier for your Cats, Humans and the Planet!)