Coconut oil, which had taken a backseat due to the aggressive campaign against saturated fats during the last 50 years or so, is now back in the limelight. This renewed interest in coconut oil has arisen because of the new revelations scientific research has made about its therapeutic properties and health benefits, busting some myths about the popularly used polyunsaturated vegetable oils.

We have been told all this while to abandon saturated fats like coconut oil, butter and margarine in favor of polyunsaturated fats like corn oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and the like. However, this has apparently turned out to be more of a mistaken belief or a marketing gimmick than plain truth.

And this is borne out by two key facts: (i) People who live in tropical islands consume coconut oil in a major way, yet do not seem to suffer from cardiovascular diseases attributed to saturated fats consumption; in fact, they appear to be enjoying better cardiovascular health than an average American. (ii) Most of the American population, which has been thriving predominantly on polyunsaturated oils for the past 50 years, has on the contrary shown only increase in conditions like obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancers, and other age-related degenerative diseases.

What Makes Coconut Oil So Unique?

New scientific research indicates that coconut oil, though having 92% saturated fat content, is one of the healthiest oils. Being saturated makes it an extremely stable oil not susceptible to degeneration and rancidity, unlike the polyunsaturated vegetable oils, which readily get oxidized upon heating. Its health benefits stem mainly from its medium chain fatty acids, particularly lauric acid (the only other natural source of which is breast milk and to some extent butter).

Coconut oil has been shown to be associated with the following health benefits:

•It stimulates the thyroid gland and helps fight hypothyroidism, i.e., impaired thyroid function.

•It increases the metabolic rate due to improved thyroid activity and hence helps in weight loss and fight against obesity.

•Its stability factor lends it antioxidant properties, which help improve the cardiovascular health.

•It strengthens the immune system.

•It has anti-aging properties and lends youthful appearance and glow to the skin when consumed or applied topically. It also lends a healthy sheen to the hair when applied on the scalp.

•It has anticancer properties and has been found to protect against colon cancer.

•It has anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.

These are some of the benefits of coconut oil. Apart from giving us this wonderful oil, the coconut fruit also gives us coconut water, coconut milk and coconut meat (the flesh), all of which come perfectly packaged by nature. And they all are extremely nourishing as well as delicious. Coconut water is the perfect natural health drink. The milk is generally used in curry preparations; the meat can be consumed as it is or used for making chutneys and sweet dishes.

If there is one food that can be considered as the new superfood of the 21st century, it's got to be coconut oil without doubt.