Coconut: The Secret Behind The Oil
Virgin coconut oil is a newly introduced product gradually gaining popularity among people in the Western.
It is nutritious oil and has wide group of applications as a pharmaceutical, nutraceutical
and cosmoceutical. The defatted residue obtained after extraction of virgin coconut oil can be process into high value products rich in protein and fiber.
This article will discuss the endless benefits of coconut oil
Nutritional value
One tablespoon serving size of Coconut oil provides 121 calories and 13.47 grams of total lipid fat while saturated fat has majority role. It does not have protein, cholesterol and carbohydrates. Coconut oil also has iron, vitamin K and vitamin E and high content of phenolic compounds that are natural antioxidants. Coconut oil (unrefined) has high content of phenolics. Antioxidants help to prevent body from damage caused due to free radicals and toxins.
Edible Uses of coconut oil
Coconut oil has a high degree of
saturation with a high content of
saturated fatty acids. Because of
high content of saturated fatty acids
coconut oil is highly resistant to
oxidative rancidity, coconut oil is
used as a component of infant milk
powders because of its easy
digestibility and stable flavor.
Coconut oil is extensively used in
the food industries as a
confectionery fat particularly in the
preparation of ice creams. In
imitation chocolates coconut oil is
used in place of cocoa butter along
with cocoa powder.
Non-edible applications
of coconut oil
One of the major non-edible
applications of coconut oil is in the
soap industries; one important
chemical derivative of coconut oil
is methyl esters of coconut fatty
acids, which are produced by
treating coconut oil with methyl
alcohol. These methyl esters
constitutes an important raw
material for the chemical industries
as they are more stable and are
easier to separate by fractional
distillation. Coconut oil has many
other industrial uses in the
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, plastics,
rubber substitutes, synthetic resins
etc. Coconut oil has also been found
useful for mixing with diesel. These
mixture in the proportion as 30:70
has given excellent road
performance of diesel vehicles.
Methyl esters of coconut oil fatty
acids is also being used as lubricants
and biodiesel in aviation industry.
Healing properties of coconut oil
Coconut oil is antiviral, anti-
fungal (kills yeast too) and
antibacterial. It attacks and kills
viruses that have a lipid (fatty)
coating, such as herpes, HIV,
hepatitis C, the flu, and
mononucleosis. It kills the bacteria
that cause pneumonia, sore throats,
dental cavities, urinary tract
infections, meningitis, gonorrhea,
food poisoning and many more
bacterial infections (63). It kills the
fungus/yeast infections that cause
candida, ringworm, athletes foot,
thrush, jock itch and diaper
rash
Medicinal properties
Roughly 45 to 50% of fatty acids
of coconut oil form lauric acid.
Lauric acid is known to kill viruses
and bacteria that are enveloped in a
phospholipid membrane. Examples
of viruses with a fatty capsule are:
influenza viruses and HIV. Coconut
itself contains about 75% fiber, not
bran fiber from wheat and grains
(which contains phytic acid that
absorbs calcium and other mineral
from your body before it is
excreted), but dietary fiber that feeds
beneficial colon flora. As the fiber
is metabolized by the naturally
occurring bacteria, they by default,
crowd out other potentially harmful
pathogens and produce short chain
fatty acids (SCFA’s) like acetic acid
(minute amounts of vinegar and
butyric acid (originally isolate in
butter) both compounds are known
to have varying degrees of anti
microbial activity. These fatty acids
are absorbed directly into the colon
and serve as energy in that way.
Butyric acid has been shown to have
anti-tumor properties. Many
researchers have reported that
coconut oil lowers cholesterol. The
cholesterol-lowering properties of
coconut oil are a direct result of its
ability to stimulate thyroid function.
In the presence of adequate thyroid
hormone, cholesterol (specifically
LDL-cholesterol) is converted by
enzymatic processes to the vitally
necessary anti-aging steroids,
pregnenolone, progesterone and
DHEA. These substances are
required to help prevent heart
disease, senility, obesity, cancer and
other diseases associated with ageing
and chronic degenerative diseases
Anti-Cancer Effects of Coconut
Oil
In 1987 Lim-Sylianco published a 50-year literature review showing the anti-cancer effects of coconut oil. In chemically induced
cancers of the colon and breast,
showed that coconutoil was by far more protective than unsaturated oils. For example 32% of corn oil eaters got colon cancer whereas only 3% of coconut oil
eaters got the cancer. Animals fed
unsaturated oils had more tumors.
This shows the thyroid-suppressive
and hence, immuno-suppressive
effect of unsaturated oils.
Although many consumers are raving about health benefits they have experienced from VCO, research into the oil is still in its infancy, and many nutritionists continue to caution against the oil because of its high saturated fat content.
Information
http://www.innisfilsco
Edible applications of
coconut oil
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225341350_Physical_refining_of_coconut_oil_Effect_of_crude_oil_quality_and_deodorization_conditions_on_neutral_oil_loss
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/coconut-oil/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5044790/
https://academic.oup.com/fqs/article/3/2/61/5475954
CoconutOil
Chemistryproductionanditsapplications-areview.pdf
https://www.aocs.org/stay-informed/inform-magazine/featured-articles/coconut-oil-boom-may-2016?SSO=True
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