Coconut Oil for Everything

“The research over four decades concerning coconut oil in diet and heart disease is quite clear: coconut oil has been shown to be beneficial.” - Dr. Mary Enig

I have an addiction. Coconut oil. I bought my first jar for my hair. I was growing out my relaxer, and all of the naturalista's were gushing on how good of a sealer it was. I wasn't sure what I was trying to seal in, but it was only a few bucks from Trader Joe's so I bought a jar to give it a try. I have never really liked the taste or smell of coconut, so I wasn't terribly excited about it. I opened up the jar and my oil was now completely solid. I ran downstairs and popped the jar in the microwave to get it to melt (I now realize that this was totally unnecessary). I took a scoop of this hot oil and rubbed it in my hair, and honestly, I wasn't terribly impressed. I'm not usually into fads, so I just put the jar away and figured coconut oil was another senseless fad. I even considered taking it back to Trader's Joe's, I hate wasting money.

A few months later I ran out of lotion and I reluctantly grabbed my jar of coconut oil. I scooped the solid oil out of the jar, and begun to rubbing into my legs. Now, I have always had a hard time with lotion. I feel  like it is either too watery too thick or too oily. I never actually feel like I am getting moisturized. I already had a bias against this overrated oil, so I was rubbing it on my skin already expecting it to be sub-par. I put it in the the too oily bucket, and continued getting dressed. However, and this is a big however, after about 10 minutes, the oiliness went away and my skin felt super moisturized. Usually I get ashy by the end of the day, but surprisingly, this didn't happen with coconut oil. And boy this is just where the story begins.

I'm a bit clumsy and I was a "tomboy" when I was younger, so I've always had scars all over my legs from falling off my bike or tripping over my own feet. So, when I started to see my scars fade after I was using the coconut oil, I became a believer! Now, I wanted to see what else this miracle oil could do. I recently scrapped my leg doing a box jump (I told you I was clumsy), so I slathered some coconut oil on my wound just like I would Neosporin to see what would happen. At this point I think it is miracle oil, so I would swear it healed faster and made the scar lighter, but clearly I am biased.

The next thing I tried with my new forming addiction is oil pulling. Oil pulling, also known as "kavala" or "gundusha," is an ancient Ayurvedic dental technique that involves swishing a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth for around 20 minutes. This action draws out toxins in your body, primarily to improve oral health but also to improve your overall health. The benefits are supposed to be:

• Whiter teeth
• Cavity and gingivitis prevention
• Better breath including morning breath
• Stronger teeth and gums
• Less jaw pain, sleep problems, and sinus issues
• Alleviation of headaches, hangovers and skin issues (reports have shown improvement in acne, psoriasis and eczema)

Now, I have not experienced all of these benefits. But better breath and whiter teeth, OMG! After doing this for like 3 days, my teeth were noticeably whiter and my breath was much better in the morning. I am always leery of chemicals, so a natural way to accomplish these goals, clearly a miracle oil.

Before you know it, I will be cooking with it. Stay tuned, I am sure it will be life changing, and before you know it, I will have a list of 100 things that I do with coconut oil.