If a person wants to be healthy, he must not only exclude harmful foods from his diet, but also enrich his diet with the help of so-called superfoods. One of the most balanced nutritional components is rightly considered coconut oil for food. He will be discussed today.
A unique combination of fatty acids
Every day, consuming the necessary amount of fruits and vegetables, meat and milk, greens and seafood, a person nonetheless can not do without fats. Fatty acids have a tremendous impact on human health. Scientists have proven that the combination of plant-based saturated fat of coconut oil has a positive effect on processes in the body. This cannot be said of saturated fats of animal origin.
Having received the first confirmation of their assumptions, scientists began to deeply examine natural coconut oil and revealed a number of striking points. It turns out that people who eat this product are less likely to suffer from various diseases. In other words, they can be considered the healthiest people on the planet.
What diseases can be forgotten?
Naturally, in the middle zone of Russia, cold pressed coconut oil can surprise the mass consumer. Here, people are just getting acquainted with this product, therefore, African tribes were studied, first of all, where coconut oil is absorbed daily. In some tribes, coconuts and their derivatives are almost the only available diet and saturate the Aboriginal body by more than 60% of the daily diet. In such tribes, people are not aware of heart and vascular problems. From this we can conclude that coconut oil for food does not adversely affect the general condition of a person, even if you use it in large quantities.
Saturated fats found in coconut oil are metabolized in the body, getting from the stomach directly into the liver. And already in the liver, these substances form ketone bodies, which have a positive effect on the nervous system, in particular, on the brain.
Coconut oil for food: a positive effect on obesity
Yes, paradoxical as it may seem, but it is the “right” fat that can contribute to weight loss. After all, nutritionists have long proved that it is important not the number of calories, but the source of their receipt. So, the triglycerides contained in coconut oil significantly increase energy consumption during metabolism, which consequently leads to weight loss. If a comprehensive approach to solving the problem, then it is quite possible to achieve good results in burning extra pounds.
Dulls hunger
How many of us dream of not having an acute hunger, especially when we try to limit ourselves in food. Now all the afflicted have a panacea. It turns out that cold pressed coconut oil can easily dull the feeling of hunger, and, in addition, stock up on such an important energy. Scientists have proven that ketone bodies reduce appetite by conducting an interesting experiment in which men participated. Insignificant consumption of the product in the morning led to the fact that, compared with the usual diet, each man absorbed an average of 250 calories less per day.
What is the function of lauric acid?
We are getting to know an amazing and unique product called coconut oil. We will tell you how to use the product a little later, but for now, on the example of some fatty acids, we consider all its positive properties. Lauric acid accounts for more than half of the total composition of the product. When the substance is broken down by enzymes during metabolism, the acid turns into monolaurin, which is able to effectively resist various viral bacteria and fungi. Thus, edible oils can prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases of different origin and act as a prophylactic.
Spin technology
It is not coconut pulp that is pressed, but copra - a layer between the pulp and the shell. At the initial stage, the nut is cleaned, copra is separated from the pulp, dried and crushed. Then, crushed coconut copra is pressed in two ways:
- hot pressing method;
- gentle cold pressing.
With cold extraction, the output is much less than the finished product, however, this oil preserves the most valuable substances contained in coconut. That is why coconut oil produced by cold pressed technology is much more expensive than its counterpart, extracted in the traditional, hot way. Interestingly, with hot pressing, 1 kg of copra leaves an average of 300 ml of the finished product.
Kinds of Coconut Oil
Like all vegetable oils produced on the planet, the copra pressed product is divided into refined coconut oil and unrefined (unrefined). For oil refining, purification is carried out using high pressure. Refined refined oil looks transparent and lacks a pleasant tart tropical flavor. But the crude oil has a characteristic smell and a milky white or yellowish tint. Interestingly, at temperatures below 25 degrees, coconut oil can harden and turn into a kind of granular mass.
How to store the product?
Having bought coconut oil for food, do not worry about how to store it. Such a product practically does not deteriorate. The high content of saturated acids almost completely inhibits the oxidation process.
Areas of use
- In cosmetology for the enrichment of creams, masks, balms, lotions and other cosmetics.
- In the production of margarines.
- As a component of suppositories and medicinal ointments.
- In the confectionery industry.
- As an alternative fuel in some countries.
Culinary use
Edible coconut oils in Asian cuisine are often used as dressing for fresh vegetable salads - this is the main use of the product. However, cooks in Southeast Asia before that revere the presented butter that they are ready to flavor everything in the world for them: from meat and seafood, to traditional rice and spicy vegetables.
Do not be afraid to fry in coconut oil, because, as we recall, its composition is practically not oxidized, which means that all valuable and nutritious substances will be preserved during heat treatment. Ideally, despite the high price, to maintain your own health, you can refuse our traditional vegetable oils containing high cholesterol. Replacing sunflower or olive oil with coconut, we get an absolutely harmless fried food.
Culinary specialists prepare cottage cheese casserole, cottage cheese pancakes, sweet desserts, pancakes with fruit toppings, adding coconut oil to the dish. Cook recipes also recommend using the presented product as an addition to cereals, milk soups, various cocktails, for baby food, as well as an addition to cocoa and coffee. Coconut oil can replace the usual option, going to freshly prepared toasts.
For the prevention of diseases
To strengthen the immune system and increase the body's resistance to various viral infections, coconut oil begins to take one teaspoon in the morning on an empty stomach and in the evening before bedtime. Gradually, a single dose is brought to two tablespoons.
Coconut Muffin Recipe
And in conclusion, we offer you a recipe for a delicious dessert with coconut oil and vanilla extract. To prepare the dish you will need the following ingredients:
- flour - 0.5 cups;
- coconut flakes - 3/4 cup;
- Greek yogurt (warm) - 250 gr;
- sugar - a third of a glass;
- coconut oil - 120 g;
- fresh chicken egg - 1 pc;
- vanilla sugar - 1 teaspoon;
- salt -1/4 tsp;
- baking powder - 1 tablespoon.
Take a saucepan, melt coconut oil and heat it slightly. In one dish we mix flour, half a portion of coconut flakes, salt and baking powder, and in the other we beat an egg, sugar, heated coconut oil, vanilla and Greek yogurt. Then combine both mixtures. We spread the dough into molds for baking muffins, after sprinkling them a little with oil. Decorate with coconut flakes on top and send to the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
Have a nice tea party!