{"id":125,"date":"2007-06-06T13:58:57","date_gmt":"2007-06-06T13:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drterikelley.com\/wp\/?p=125"},"modified":"2010-01-15T14:02:42","modified_gmt":"2010-01-15T14:02:42","slug":"coconut-oil-doesn%e2%80%99t-deserve-its-bad-reputation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/coconut-oil-doesn%e2%80%99t-deserve-its-bad-reputation\/","title":{"rendered":"Coconut Oil Doesn\u2019t Deserve Its Bad Reputation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For far too long coconut oil has been given a bad health label because of its saturated fat properties.<!--more-->\u00a0In defense of coconut oil, most of its studies were done decades ago using marginally hydrogenated coconut oils, the notorious trans fats which have been implicated in heart disease.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, coconut oil is saturated, but all saturated fats are not equal. Depending on the size of the molecule, fats are classified as short, medium, or long chain fatty acids. Coconut oil is mostly comprised of medium chain fatty acids such as lauric acid, found naturally in mother\u2019s milk and prized for its antibacterial and antiviral properties, and capric acid, well noted for its antimicrobial functions. Therefore, coconut enhances the immune system. The properties of coconut oil have been shown to deactivate:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bacteria<\/li>\n<li>DNA viruses<\/li>\n<li>Fungus<\/li>\n<li>Parasites<\/li>\n<li>RNA viruses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Coconut oil is heart healthy as it raises HDL or \u201chealthy\u201d cholesterol levels, lowers LDL or \u201clousy\u201d cholesterol levels, and improves HDL to LDL ratios. It also decreases the stickiness of blood platelets, allowing blood to flow more easily and resist clots.<\/p>\n<p>On top of all of this, the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil stimulate thyroid function, which is good news for those suffering from hypothyroidism, an epidemic in the United States, with symptoms including fatigue and weight gain.<\/p>\n<p>Due to its stable properties, coconut oil does not have to be refrigerated and is ideal for cooking and baking. When choosing coconut oil, it pays to do some research as its value can vary depending on the manufacturing process, and commercially available coconut oils may be bleached, deodorized, genetically modified, or hydrogenated.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #339966;\">THREE CHEERS FOR: Silver Tongue Cleaners<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the arena of oral health, the tongue is mostly overlooked but is in need of special attention. Because it has a rough surface, it can be a harbor for trapped food particles. In this climate, bacteria can thrive contributing not only to gum disease but to overall ill health.<\/p>\n<p>Forget cleaning the tongue with a toothbrush which can actually further distribute and pack down bacteria. Clean the tongue with a scraper to reduce bacteria, stimulate digestive enzymes, and even make food taste better. While any commercially available tongue cleaner will do a great job, consider the \u201cCadillac\u201d of tongue cleaners, one made from silver, which is toxic to bacteria, fungus, and parasites, available through Isabella (800) 777-5205 or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.isabellacatalog.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.isabellacatalog.com\/.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #339966;\">GIVE ME FIVE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Five brain boosters:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amino Acids<\/li>\n<li>Antioxidants<\/li>\n<li>B Vitamins<\/li>\n<li>CoenzymeQ10<\/li>\n<li>Garlic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For far too long coconut oil has been given a bad health label because of its saturated fat properties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tractsinc.com\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}