lifestyle & loves – coconut oil: the benefits, oil pulling and organic beauty
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| Coconut oil – Holland & Barrett (purchased during their 1p sale, winning) |
This week has been one of the most manic of 2014 so far and today I am paying the price, I feel utterly destroyed! Not exactly the start to an even busier weekend that I had hoped for. But its times like this when the convenience of the little things in life make all the difference. Therefore this weeks Loving Lately has got to go to my endless jars of Coconut Oil.
I first heard about Coconut Oil from my personal trainer, more so as use as a cooking aid. Just a simple Google search brings up endless articles stating the many benefits of swapping regular cooking oils for this organic alternative;
Immunity
Coconut oil is proven to boost your immune system. It contains a whole host of things that I don’t know how to say which research shows as proven components in protecting against many diseases and viruses such as herpes and even HIV.
Digestion
The research also supports the use of Coconut Oil in cooking to be a great aid for your digestion which means a profound reduction in bloating and great effects on the symptoms of IBS all while improving your body’s absorption of vital minerals.
Weight-loss
Well we’ve hit the jackpot here haven’t we anything healthy which promotes weight-loss is a must have in any ‘Healthistas’ kitchen. Using Coconut Oil in your diet along side improving digestion also takes the strain off your pancreas thus improving your body’s metabolism which means you burn energy more effectively.
These really are just scratching the surface but I found the most relevant to my own personal health goals and the main reason why I swapped to “Cooking with Coconuts” as I like to call it. I also like adding a spoonful to my Coffee just to take the edge off, although that isn’t for everyone as is does tend to sit on the surface.
Aside from ingesting Coconut Oil, I also use it as big part of my beauty regime. Coconut Oil is a component in most of your every day toiletries such as soaps, lotions and anti-dandruff shampoos so when I heard this I decided to do a little more research into it.
Haircare
I’d been using expensive leave-in conditioners and serums on my hair for god know’s how long, I mean really £30 for a 30ml bottle? What was I thinking when a tub of one of the best natural hair care products sat right in my kitchen cupboard.
Providing essential proteins and nutrients to aid with hair re-growth, scalp condition and repairing damaged hair, it’s safe to say I haven’t bankrupted my self with extortionately priced hair care in months (more money for shoes) and as always it’s the superficial things that win me over, the shine that was left on my hair was second to none. When I’m having a rare very rare pampering evening I apply it to the length of my hair and sleep with it on over night, washing it off in the morning. I do advise laying a towel on your pillow as it is an oil. But most often I’ll just take a pea sized amount, melting it by rubbing it in my hands and applying it to the ends of my hair.
Skincare
I’m kicking myself as I write this but I have only just discovered the moisturising qualities of using Coconut Oil as a face & body moisturiser as I enter the last of my 6 months on Roaccutane…Pretty sure I cannot fail much harder than that. Roaccutane removes all the moisture from your skin and it’s damn hard to find anything to counteract that. I’d been using E45 for the past 5 months and every morning I’d wake up feeling tight with cracks and flaking skin all around my mouth. I started using Coconut Oil on Monday and now I wake up with supple dewy skin with NO CRACKS. Obviously I am the extreme right now but it’s recommended for all skin types so I’m really intrigued to give it a go when normal oil function is restored.
It’s also used to help skin infections like eczema and psoriasis but the real pièce de résistance is that its proven to fight premature aging so I’m planning to spend the rest of my life in a bath full of the stuff, any inquiries, you can find me in the bathroom.
Dentalcare
It seems to be everywhere yet I’ve only this week heard about the trend of ‘Oil Pulling’ when I first saw it mentioned the thought of ‘pulling’ anything made me automatically wince. But when I did my usual research I discovered that in short its just prolonged mouth rinsing with Coconut Oil.
As we all know Calcium is component of our teeth and Coconut oil promotes the absorption of this by our body, but by sticking it in our mouths and swishing it around for 15-20 minutes every morning (on an empty stomach and before brushing) it pulls the toxins from in-between your teeth, under your gums and also whitens your teeth and freshens your breath. There are endless scientific reports supporting this, but they tend to make my brain hurt so I read up on a few other experiences and techniques before giving it a go.
To be honest, I’m just excited to walk into work and tell everyone that I ‘Pulled’ this morning.
