The Coconut Oil Miracle (16 page)

Some people who are normal weight or even underweight express a fear that if they start eating coconut oil they will lose more weight. Let me assure you that if you are one of these people coconut oil will not cause you to lose weight. Coconut oil has a biodirectional effect on the body. Because it promotes better health and nutrition, it moves the body in a direction toward optimal weight. If you are overweight it will aid you in losing weight; if you are underweight it will help you gain weight. Coconut oil has been used very successfully in treating various malabsorption problems and nutritional deficiencies, helping malnourished children and adults gain needed weight. If you are underweight, you are probably malnourished to some degree. Coconut oil will help your digestive system absorb needed nutrients from your foods, improve your overall health and, in the process, encourage weight gain.

Many people are obsessed with their weight and even if they are normal weight or even a little underweight, they keep trying to lose more weight. Their vision of beauty is being skinny. Coconut oil may not make you skinny but it can help you reach your ideal weight and become healthier.

For thousands of years
, coconut oil has been used to make the skin soft and smooth and give hair a rich, shiny luster. Polynesian women are famed for their beautiful skin and hair, even though they are exposed to the hot blistering sun and chafing of the ocean breeze every day. As a skin lotion and hair conditioner, no other oil can compare.

Because coconut oil has a natural creamy texture, comes from a vegetable source, and is almost always free from pesticides and other chemicals and contaminants, it has been used for years in soaps, shampoos, creams, and other body-care products. Its small molecular structure allows for easy absorption, giving both the skin and hair
a soft, smooth texture. It makes an ideal ointment for the relief of dry, rough, and wrinkled skin. Many people use it as a lip balm because it is safe and natural. Unlike most other body-care products, it can be used in its natural form without adulteration by harsh chemicals and other additives. For this reason, it has been used for many years as a body cream and lotion.

We use hand and body lotions to soften the skin and make it look younger. Many lotions, however, actually promote dry skin. Commercial creams are predominantly water. Their moisture is quickly absorbed into dry, wrinkled skin. As the water enters the skin, it expands the tissues, like filling a balloon with water, so that wrinkles
fade away and skin feels smoother. But this is only temporary. As soon as the water evaporates or is carried away by the bloodstream, the dry, wrinkled skin returns. Ordinary body-care products cannot permanently cure dry, wrinkled skin. Most lotions contain some types of highly processed vegetable oils that are devoid of all the natural, protective antioxidants that are so important to skin care.

Oils have a pronounced effect on all the tissues of the body, especially the connective tissues. Connective tissue is the most abundant and widely distributed tissue in the body; it is found in the skin, the muscles, the bones, the nerves, and all the internal organs. Connective tissue consists of strong fibers that form the matrix, or supporting framework, for all body tissues. In other words, it holds everything together. Without connective fibers, we would become a shapeless mass of tissue. They give the skin strength and elasticity. When we are young and healthy the skin is smooth, elastic, and supple. As we age these fibers are continually breaking down because of free-radical attack, causing them to sag and wrinkle. The once young, soft, and smooth skin turns dry and leathery.

Once a free-radical reaction is started, it can cause a chain reaction that produces more free radicals, which ultimately damages thousands of molecules. The only means our body has to fight them is with antioxidants. When a free radical comes into contact with an antioxidant, the chain reaction is stopped. For this reason, it’s good to have plenty of antioxidants available in our cells and tissues to protect us. The number of antioxidants we have in our tissues is determined to a large extent by the nutrients in our diet.

Free-radical reactions occur in the body constantly, and they are an unavoidable result of living and breathing. However, some people
experience more free-radical damage than others. The reason is that there are many environmental factors that increase the number of free-radical reactions we are subjected to. For example, a diet low in antioxidant nutrients (vitamins A, C, and E, for example) will lower the amount of antioxidants our cells have available to protect themselves. Cigarette smoke and pollution readily create free radicals. Radiation, including ultraviolet light, can stimulate free-radical generation. Chemicals such as pesticides and food additives also increase free-radical activity. One substance that is commonly used in our food, and even in body-care products, and that leads to a great deal of free radicals is oxidized vegetable oil.

Conventional processing strips polyunsaturated oils from the natural antioxidants that protect them. Without these antioxidants, they are highly prone to free-radical generation, both inside and outside of the body. When we eat processed oils, our body has to use antioxidants to fight off the free radicals contained in the oil, resulting in a deficiency in vitamin E and other antioxidants. When we put these types of oils on our skin they also create free radicals, causing damage to connective tissues. This is why you should be very careful about the types of oils you use on your skin. If you use a lotion or cream containing this type of oil you are, in effect, causing your skin to age faster. The lotion may bring temporary improvement but accelerate aging of the skin and even promote skin cancer.

One of the classic signs of old age is the appearance of brown, frecklelike spots on the skin. This pigment is called lipofuscin. It is also known as aging spots or liver spots. It is a sign of free-radical deterioration of the lipids (fats) in our skin, thus the name lipofuscin. Oxidation of polyunsaturated fats and protein by free-radical activity
in the skin is recognized as the major cause of liver spots. Liver spots don’t ordinarily hurt or cause discomfort. If we couldn’t see them we wouldn’t even know they were there. But they do affect our health and our appearance.

While liver spots are clearly seen on the skin, they also form in other tissues throughout the body—intestines, lungs, kidney, brain, and so on. They represent areas that are damaged by free-radical reactions. The more you have on your skin, the more you have inside your body, and the more damage or “aging” your tissues have undergone. To some degree you can judge the damage free radicals have done to the inside of your body by the size and number of liver spots on your skin. The more you have and the bigger they are, the more free-radical damage has occurred. All the tissues affected are damaged to some degree. If this occurs in your intestine, it can affect the organ’s ability to digest and absorb nutrients. In the brain it will affect mental ability. Likewise, free radicals break down connective tissues, causing sagging and loss of function of the skin. And the same thing happens to the internal organs; they sag and become deformed. The skin acts as a window by which we can see inside the body. What we look like on the outside reflects, to a large part, what is happening on the inside.

Because cells cannot dispose of the lipofuscin pigment, it gradually accumulates within many cells of the body as we age. Once lipofuscin pigment develops, it tends to stick around for life, but you can prevent further oxidation and perhaps even reduce the spots you already have by using the right kind of oils in your diet and on your skin.

The ideal lotion is one that not only softens the skin but also protects it against damage, promotes healing, and gives it a more youthful, healthy appearance. Pure coconut oil is the best natural skin lotion available. It prevents free-radical formation and the damage it causes. It can help prevent the skin from developing liver spots and other blemishes caused by aging and overexposure to sunlight. It helps to keep connective tissues strong and supple so that the skin doesn’t sag and wrinkle. In some cases it can even restore damaged or diseased skin. I’ve seen precancerous lesions completely disappear with the daily use of coconut oil.

The Polynesians, who traditionally wear very little clothing, have for generations been exposed to the hot blistering sun, yet have beautiful healthy skin without blemishes and without cancer. The reason is they eat coconuts and use the oil on their bodies as a lotion. The oil is absorbed into the skin and into the cell structure of the connective tissues, limiting the damage excessive sun exposure can cause. Their skin remains undamaged even when exposed to long hours in the hot sun.

The difference between coconut oil and other creams and lotions is that the latter are made to bring immediate, temporary relief. Coconut oil, on the other hand, not only brings quick relief but also aids in the healing and repairing process. Most lotions do the skin no lasting benefit, and many actually accelerate the aging process. Why take the risk of permanently damaging the skin when you can easily use coconut oil to help bring back its youthful appearance?

Coconut oil is an excellent exfoliant and can make your skin look
more youthful. The surface of the skin consists of a layer of dead cells. As these dead cells fall off, new cells take their place. As we age, this process slows down, and dead cells tend to accumulate, giving the skin a rough, flaky texture. Coconut oil aids in removing dead cells on the outer surface of the skin, making the skin smoother, enabling it to reflect light more evenly, creating a healthier, more youthful appearance. The skin “shines” because light reflects better off evenly textured skin.

The removal of excessive dead skin and the strengthening of underlying tissues are two of the key advantages to using coconut oil as a skin lotion. Sometimes even young people can be troubled with chapped or excessively dry skin, producing an abnormally thick and often irritating layer of dead cells. Coconut oil not only provides immediate relief but often brings lasting improvement as well. People with a variety of skin problems have experienced remarkable results from using coconut oil. Many people who have tried it won’t use anything else.

When using coconut oil as a lotion, it is best to apply a small amount and reapply it as often as necessary. When first applied it may seem like you’re spreading a very oily substance on your skin, but because it is quickly absorbed, it doesn’t leave a layer of greasy film the way many commercial lotions and oils do. If you apply too much oil all at once, the skin becomes saturated and will not absorb it all. This will leave a greasy film. If your skin is still greasy after a few minutes, you used too much; simply wipe off the excess.

People with extremely dry skin need to reapply the oil often when they first start using it. Some people with this problem desire the greasiness common with many lotions to soften extremely dry or
hardened skin. At first they don’t think the coconut oil does enough because it is absorbed so quickly. With coconut oil you will need to reapply the oil more often when the skin is very dry. The real benefit of coconut oil will come with repeated use over time. While other lotions temporarily soften dry skin, they won’t heal it. Coconut oil will gradually soften the skin, removing dead layers, and encourage the growth of new, healthier tissue.