Coconut oil should be a staple in the kitchen of any health conscious cook.

The benefits of coconut oil are far and wide.  One of the best features is that coconut oil has a high melting point. This helps it to hold up to the high temperatures of cooking where other oils become rancid. During the cooking process other oils can become toxic.

Not only does coconut oil hold up to cooking, its unique molecular structure offers nutritional benefits not found in other oils. Almost half of the fat in coconut oil is called lauric acid. Lauric acid is not found in many other places in nature. Once metabolized in the body, lauric acid is converted into monolaurin which has anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. This makes coconut oil a great friend to your immune system.

Coconut oil is also a rich source of medium chain fatty acids. Unlike long chain fatty acids, MCFA are easily digested and metabolized in the liver to produce energy. This makes it an ideal food for endurance athletes or anyone concerned about their weight or blood sugar. Since it is a fat and not a carbohydrate, you avoid the spike in blood sugar that is often followed by a crash in energy as the body works to balance the blood sugars and insulin levels.

With the increase in popularity of coconut oil in recent years you can find it in almost any grocery store. I encourage you to give it a try. For those of you who don’t like coconut, the flavor of the oil is relatively mild and is usually overpowered by the flavors of the other ingredients you are cooking with.

Bon appetite.