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Many Say When They Added Coconut Oil To Their Diet, Their Energy Went Up and Their Weight Down!
Virgin coconut oil is high in lauric acid, which is a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA). These MCFAs have been shown in studies to increase metabolism. That's good news if you are one of the 2 out of 3 Americans who are overweight. As you may already know, when your metabolism goes up, you burn more calories, even if you don't exercise.
Around 50% of the fat in virgin coconut oil is one of those medium-chain fatty acids, lauric acid. Studies have shown that the amount of energy your body uses to metabolize these MCFAs is more than the energy provided by the MCFAs. In other words, you will burn more calories than are contained in coconut oil just by your body digesting, or metabolizing the oil. In fact, according to many scientists, lauric acid is more quickly metabolized than any other fatty acid. Plus, virgin coconut oil appears to raise your body temperature (it has a thermogenic effect). This seems to help boost energy as well as metabolism, which may be why virgin coconut oil seems to be so helpful if you have an under-performing thyroid.
Weight Loss and Virgin Coconut Oil
Many people who consume Virgin Coconut Oil say that it helps them to lose weight. They often report higher energy levels and lowered cravings for carbs as well as desserts. The recommended amount of Virgin Coconut Oil to consume is 2-4 Tablespoons per day for many therapeutic reasons, and these fats make you feel more full if you eat them with meals. This helps you to actually eat less than when you eat a low fat meal, and your body actually needs some of the saturated fats found in coconut oil. Natives of Asia have consumed coconut products including coconut oil for thousands of years without having any problems with heart disease (until they adopted Western-style refined food and vegetable oil diets!).
Virgin Coconut Oil is Burned 3 Times Quicker Than Other Fats
According to a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, your body burns coconut oil three times quicker than lots of other types of fats. In a 1986 study by T.B. Seaton et al in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who consumed foods with MCFAs in them, such as found in virgin coconut oil, increased their metabolic rate by 12%, on average, compared to a 4% increase for those eating meals with long-chain fatty acids instead of the medium chain fatty acids. The scientists concluded that adding foods high in medium chain fatty acid (like coconut oil) to your diet could "over long periods of time produce weight loss even in the absence of reduced (caloric) intake". Doesn't that sound almost too good to be true? They are basically telling you that you can eat the same level of calories in your diet and still lose weight as long as you include foods high in medium chain fatty acids like virgin coconut oil!
So Add Some Virgin Coconut Oil to Your Diet Today
Coconut oil is known to be the best source of these MCFAs, which not only increase metabolism, but have many other healthy properties. There are many newspaper and magazine articles touting the "miracle" of coconut oil for losing weight, including one in Women's World Magazine last year. We wouldn't go so far as to call coconut oil a miracle, but we do think it has its place in many diets, especially if you are trying to lose weight. So if you want to have an easier time losing weight, stop trying to eat low fat and add some virgin coconut oil to your diet.
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