I’m sure you’ve all seen a boom in ads for coconut oil, and if you’re an avid “pinner” on Pinterest you’ve probably seen countless pins for 100s of uses for coconut oil? Guess what, its awesome and totally worth the purchase!

Coconut oil is a blend of fatty acids (which our cells need to function). It contains an unusual and unique blend of short and medium chain fatty acids that could possibly have immense health benefits. Currently the only studies done have been relating decreased cholesterol and coconut oil consumption but I bet my bottom dollar many more are being performed and planned as I type this.

Eating good fats is a great way to fight off hunger, boost energy, and keep your skin looking young and vibrant. A lot of people are afraid to eat any fat in their diet because for so long, we’ve been told eating fat makes us fat. Note to self: eating health fats doesn’t make us fat, eating crap makes us fat! Healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, olive oil, meat, etc.) actually helps our body increase the good cholesterol (HDLs) and lower the bad cholesterol (LDLs). Again, the Mediterranean diet is high in good fats, fruits, and veggies and low in carbs, sugar, and other junk our bodies do not need but we consume anyways.

Some other possible health benefits from coconut oil are listed below in no particular order:

Coconut oil contains high amounts of lauric acid which is said to have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. There is a popular trend of “oil pulling” right now where you swish olive, coconut, sunflower, or flax oil around in your mouth. This may help reduce bacteria, freshen breath, and even whiten teeth if done on a regular basis. My dentist actually recommended I do it for a sensitive tooth rather than have oral surgery to repair the hypersensitive nerve. (Pretty cool everyone is trying to be more holistic huh?)

Coconut oil is great for your hair, scalp, skin, and lips! I use it daily as make up remover, lip balm, and lotion. You can also make a great gentle exfoliate with a little coconut oil and sugar for your face/lips to help get rid of dry skin. Weekly, I try to do a mask by rubbing the oil through my hair and massage it into my scalp and letting it soak in for 20-30mins before washing it out. It’s helped battle dryness and honestly, made my hair grow a lot faster by restoring the proteins we strip with harsh shampooing, styling, and coloring. I’ve heard if you apply a thin layer of coconut oil to your eyelashes it can help those grow in faster and fuller too but I haven't tested this myself yet! Coconut oil also helps block around 20% of the suns UV rays so it works as an all-natural organic sunscreen as well. Another beauty trick I like to do occasionally is apply coconut oil to the bottoms of my feet before bed. Throw on some thick socks and sleep the night away. When you wake up, your feet will be crazy soft!

Cooking, oh how great this stuff is for cooking. We have actually replaced olive oil with coconut when sautéing, frying, or baking. Olive oil actually breaks down with high heat, so you don’t get any of those good fatty acids when you use it. Coconut oil has a much higher breaking point so you still get to absorb all those good fats after cooking it up. I don’t think it adds much taste to our meals and doesn’t leave your veggies feeling greasy like some vegetable oils do.

This is just a list of the benefits I’ve found by switching to coconut oil. Have you found some different uses? I’d love to hear them!