I live in the land of coconut trees. which is why I didn’t bother buying extra gallons of coconut oil from Costco when I left America for the South Pacific.  The oil will be cheap and plentiful, I thought.

But no! Its super expensive and the shelves are always empty.  So, we import gallons of it every few months.  It’s my go to for just about everything.  When in doubt, its likely coconut oil will improve the situation.

EAT IT. Its all rage right now and revered for being ‘good fat.’ Between ghee, coconut oil and olive oil, I’m all set in the kitchen. These are my top three uses, but there are 100’s more. 

1. Saute anything in it – veggies, fish, beef, eggs, anything.  Its got a super high smoke point and tastes yummy.
2. Make INCREDIBLE organic, sugar free, ready-in-20-min-chocolate. Since I’ve been sugar free for almost 2 years, this is my go to, always on hand treat.  Its truly super dooper easy.
3.  You’ve heard of Bulletproof coffee by now, but using coconut oil and ghee is my pick for the rare occasion I enjoy a cup o joe.  I thought it was all about getting the good fats into your diet and creating a slow release of the caffeine, but apparently, it boosts your metabolism (aka as burning calories). Try this recipe (with ghee instead of butter if you have it).

SKIN CARE. Over 10 years ago I started learning about Ayurveda and nearly promptly ditched all my skincare products that I couldn’t eat.  Ayurveda suggests that anything you put on your skin should also be edible. Duh, this made so much sense to me – our skin is obviously our largest organ and super permeable. I might as well be eating my lotion, my shampoo and my lip balm.  So, now i just have a jar of coconut oil and another of sea water in my bathroom and that’s about it.

1. Try washing your face.  Then wash it again with coconut oil.  Yep, use a cotton ball or cotton pad, dip it in coconut oil and rub it all over your face and neck.  Then, take another cotton pad and lap up the excess and all the dirt.  Notice how NOT white your cotton pad is. Or just use your hands with this method.
2. And while you’re at it, go ahead and do Abyhanga with it – a full body (self) massage. Depending on the season, I’m doused in coconut or sesame oil from head to toe. The benefits are much more than skin deep, but it might have contributed to my lack of stretch marks after 3 babies.  And while you are all oiled up, save the shaving cream and get your shave on.  Its a super smooth finish and there’s no need for lotion after.
3. Sunscreen – I’ve been noticing that I never get sunburned and I live in the sun drenched, often hot-as-shit south pacific. Coconut oil provides a light sunscreen (SPF 4) while allowing the good stuff (vitamin D) to get thru.  I do wear extra sunscreen when I hit the beach mid day for hours. For 16 more uses of coconut oil for skincare, check this out.

HEALTH CARE. This is where I really have had the most surprising results. Coconut has both disinfectant and antimicrobial properties making it infinitely useful.

1. Oil pulling. Wow, 15-20 minutes a day, keeps a lot of bad things away.
2. After 8 years of mothering 3 babies, I’ve used coconut oil to help heal just about everything – an abrasion, diaper rash, fungus, sunburn, growing pains, you name it, I hit it with coconut oil, and it almost always works.  But my two most clever discoveries involved LONG time problems.  Put these in the back of your mind.
3. Nits. I almost embarrassed to admit, but we had lice for over 6 months. All of us.  And there is a lot of hair in this family.  We tried bunches of professional products (the organic kind and the chemical kind) in 3 countries (USA, Australia & New Cal) I’m unofficially certified in combing now too. It wasn’t until I opened up a gallon of coconut oil on those little shits that they finally laid their last eggs.  Which of course turned out to be a real treat for the hair too.  Soft and fluffy (and bug free), finally!
4. When Ivy was a baby she had unexplained eczema, like a lot of babies do.  After nearly a year of painfully dry, cracked skin and lots of ineffective steroid creams, my Ayurvedic physician recommended a combination treatment of Need Oil, alternating with coconut oil.  Poof, eczema be gone. FOR GOOD.

Are your eyebrows raised?  While there is certainly a lot of hype about the good news, if you are on a targeted mission to reduce cholesterol, “it would probably be very difficult to get your LDL into these healthy ranges if you were eating a lot of coconut oil,” according to this article.

The article also notes that Polynesian cultures have long reported low rates of heart disease despite the high intake of coconut oil, revealing that high cholesterol may be impacted by other aspects of lifestyle as well.

So, everything in balance, right?

“To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.”

William Londen