Top 25 Coconut Oil Benefits for your Brain, Body and Health

Coconut oil is not only incredibly popular it’s widely available. The versatile, fibrous one-seeded drupe has a delicate taste, not to mention its collection of health benefits. Famously known as the “tree of life,” Cocos nucifera, has been used for thousands of years and its contribution to the ancient Ayurvedic healing tradition is well documented.The use of coconut oil started many decades ago, even before its popularity became widespread. Its use was advocated by our mothers and grandmothers even when no scientific study backed its vast array of health benefits. But, our fore-parents were not wrong. They knew the wonderful benefits coconut oil can bring for your hair, brain, heart, and even joints.In this article, we’ll discuss the key health benefits of coconut oil.

Before we dive into the benefits of coconut oil, let’s first take a microscopic look into this amazing oil. As the name suggested, coconut oil is extracted from coconuts. Coconut oil is a nutrient-dense component of the coconut. At room temperature, the oil is solid like butter, but interestingly, it doesn’t breakdown when subjected to heat.For long, the medical community has ostracized the coconut oil because of its saturated fat quantity. This is quite understandable bearing in mind that saturated fats are bad for human health. While it’s true coconut oil contains 90% saturated fats, 65% of these fats offer a unique blend of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). When consumed, coconut oil’s MCTs - unlike meat and dairy fats - are quickly and easily metabolized into energy to form special molecules known as ketones.Ketones are vital to brain fuel that help deal with disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot more benefits that coconut oil can offer. People are finally realizing these massive benefits, and coconut oil are finally making an unprecedented comeback in the conventional health community.

Here are some of the benefits of coconut oil to your brain:

1. Remedy for serious memory loss 

As mentioned earlier, coconut oil harbors the potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Particularly, its ability to treat Alzheimer’s disease is regarded as one of the most exciting use. 

Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain cells making them resistant to insulin. As a result, the cells do not get enough glucose and ultimately, they die.The best thing with coconut oil is that it bypasses glucose metabolism. This means, when you consume the coconut oil it takes energy directly to your brain cells in the form of ketones. [1] 

In fact, PET scans have shown that brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease are not resistant to ketones.Better still, coconut oil prevents the accumulation of the beta-amyloid plague. The presence of ketones in the body provides a therapeutic course that prevents the formation of this plague which is thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease. [2] 

2. Coconut for neurological disorders 

In addition, the MCTs found in coconut oil have been found to treat neurological disorders like stroke, Parkinson’s, and traumatic brain injury. Moreover, coconut oil can minimize other complications like retinopathy, insulin resistance, and kidney damage. [3] 

3. Coconut oil for an aging brain 

Studies have found that diets that include MCTs can prevent brain aging. [4] Primary, high-fat diets containing Coconut oil’s MCTs are highly recommended for aging brains. Not just that, coconut oil is known to contain vital antioxidant properties. As a result, it holds the potential to prevent free radicals from damaging brain cells. [5] While all body cells are affected by the oxidative damage of free radicals, it’s the brain cells that are most vulnerable. 

4. Coconut oil for depression 

In addition, studies have found that coconut oil possesses top qualities of antidepressant functional foods. Its antidepressant qualities are fundamentally exhibited by its antioxidants and MCTs. Besides, coconut oil has impressive anti-inflammatory qualities. As a result, when consumed in the right quantities, coconut oil can prevent brain inflammation which causes depression. [6] 

5. Treating stress and anxiety 

Even more, while there is no evidence that coconut oil can help deal with anxiety, some studies have found that coconut oil can obviate the impact of stress. [7]

When it comes to heart health, coconut oil is beneficial in multiple ways: 

6. Coconut oil and HDL 

Coconut oil lowers low-density lipoproteins (LDL) which are known to accelerate heart disease risks. LDLs, which are often referred to as bad cholesterols, can cause the formation of plaques in the arteries. Consequently, high consumption of LDLs can lead to atherosclerosis, which ultimately causes diseases like stroke and coronary heart disease. 

What coconut oil does is that it increase good cholesterols (HDLs) and lowers the level of LDL in the body. [8] Fundamentally, the myristic and lauric acids of coconut oil maintains the vital LDL/HDL ration in the body. This way, it boosts the lipid profile in your body and prevents the formation of plaques in the arteries, keeping you safe from potential heart disease risks. 

7. Cardioprotective 

In addition, coconut oil is cardio-protective food. In this sense, it maintains the overall heart health. This is to means when you consume coconut oil, primary virgin oil, you are protected from unhealthy lifestyle-related heart disease. [9] In addition the antioxidant quality of coconut oil means it prevents the hiking of blood pressure. Even better, Virgin coconut oil is known to boost the endothelial function. Hence, it lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, a primary risk that is caused by diets rich in trans-fats. 

8. Prevents oxidative damage 

Moreover, is known to possess vital antioxidant quality. In this sense, the tocopherol and polyphenols in coconut oil boost the antioxidant profile of the body, thereby preventing oxidative damage to the vascular cells. 

9. Good for metabolic health 

As you may have known, metabolic dysfunction is considered a major risk factor for heart diseases. Coconut harbors the capacity to enhance metabolic health. Researchers have found that coconut oil lessens enzymatic activities that lead to the production of cholesterol. 

On the other hand, coconut oil contains components that accelerate enzymatic activities that lead to break down of fat molecules. Most importantly, coconut oil enhances bile acid production. Together, these activities elevate metabolism, thereby preventing metabolic disorders such as fatty liver and obesity.

10. Coconut oil as a moisturizer 

One thing you will like about coconut oil is its moisturizing quality. If your lips are cracked and dry, apply a dash of coconut oil and you’ll be amazed. 

11. Treat fungal infection 

Besides, coconut oil can be used to treat areas of the skin affected by fungal infections. Coconut oil contains lauric acid which is known to possess antifungal properties. When coconut oil is applied to the affected areas, it cures the fungal infection. Additionally, consuming coconut oil acts as a preventive method that keeps fungal infection at bay. 

12. Diminish stretch marks 

Better still, coconut oil can be used to naturally combat stretch marks. The oil packs a punch when it comes to moisturizing qualities and it’s quickly absorbed by the skin. This means, even if your stretch marks are deep within the skin, coconut oil takes little time to act on them. 

Also, as aforementioned, coconut oil exhibits quality anti-oxidative qualities. Besides fighting harmful free radicals, coconut oil helps nourish the skin. [9] Therefore, when you rub the oil on the affected areas, you will nourish the skin and get rid of the stretch marks. It’s recommended that you apply the oil 2 to 3 times a day. This way, you’ll help in moisturizing, soothing, healing, and clarifying the skin. 

13. Coconut as a Hair mask 

Are you tired of the expensive beauty products? And do you want to have gorgeous hair? If the answer is yes, good for you. 

Coconut oil provides a natural way of improving the health and appearance of your hair. What you need to do is to shampoo your hair, then apply large amounts of coconut oil and twist the air into a bun. Give it fives before rinsing. That’s it! 

14. Coconut oil for removing makeup 

You know removing makeup isn’t the most pleasing undertaking. However, with coconut oil, you can do the trick with. All you need to do is to warm coconut oil and massage it into the target areas. The makeup will easily melt away, and after, you can rinse with warm water. 

 15. Lice remedy 

Interestingly, coconut oil is a lice remedy. Ideally, first, you need to treat the affected hair with apple cider vinegar. Next, apply a generous amount of coconut oil on the affected hair and let it soak overnight. Brush through your hair, before shampooing it. 

16. Body moisturizer 

Better still, coconut oil is a highly effective body moisturizer. You can apply it on the skin to make it soft and radiant. 

17. Face moisturizer 

As you may have noticed, beauty products are getting expensive by the day. But, who said to look beautiful you need a celeb budget. The thing is, coconut oil is cheap, but it’s highly effective as a face moisturizer. Just as it moisturizes the body, coconut oil is good on your face. Fundamentally, it can be used a primer to soften your face’s skin, before using the makeup on it. 

18. Itch relief 

Even better, if you’ve bug bites, bruises, and burns coconut oil can help you sooth the resultant itchy feeling.

As you can see, coconut oil has plenty of benefits to offer. However, you need to note that there different types of coconut oil like refined, partially hydrogenated coconut oil, and virgin coconut oil. The benefits we’ve highlighted above can be reaped only by using virgin coconut oil.