I’ve been itching, but not literally thanks to coconut oil, to get this post up!  Every winter I experience extreme leg and hand itch due to super dry skin.  At my first itch I automatically sought relief in the various kinds of lotion strewn around the house.  Finally, on the third or fourth try I opted for my coconut oil and I will never go back.  It is officially the ONLY thing that will completely vanquish my terrible itch!

What is Coconut Oil?

Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the meats of mature coconuts.  It has provided the main source of essential fats in the tropical region through the generations. It comes in two familiar forms:  expeller-pressed and regular – in my experience, regular retains the coconut scent and expeller-pressed is without.

I use coconut oil for…

• lotion
• deodorant
• butter substitute

Lotion

I’ve briefly explained this scenario above, but I particularly have found coconut oil to be my winter itch saving grace.  I’ve had this problem since I was a kid… come winter time I itch myself raw in my sleep and it is utterly unbearable.  I’ve tried the cheap and the expensive lotions, vaseline, ointment… everything I could think of.  This year I thought of coconut oil and by the miracle of its super hydrating nature it worked!  I find that, not only does it hydrate, but it leaves a protective coating over my skin that helps it to remain itch-free all day.

Beyond this personal experience my research indicates that it is indeed recommended for a lotion due to its moisturizing qualities and it reduces protein loss when used in hair.  Ironically, I have already intended on using coconut oil on my hair as soon as I run out of my current hair product.  So, perhaps I’ll have a personal testimony on that soon 🙂

Deodorant

As for deodorant, this tip-off came from my sister-in-law, Alison.  She did a hard-core hormone reset dieting plan through her gym about a year ago.  As a part of it they weren’t allowed to use deodorant or anything on their skin except for coconut oil.  Alison mentioned that, according to research, the body should give off a naturally pleasing aroma as long as one’s food consumption is in line with your body chemistry.  I’m not certain about that but I have found coconut oil most sufficient when in line with good eating habits.  I will warn you though, if you are going to commit to such a healthy method to deodorizing your body be aware that it may take several weeks for your body to adjust to the freedom of no aluminum or other anti sweat and pretend smell agents that are prevalent in manufactured deodorant.  There are still some days when I need to apply it more than once because I find my left armpit stubbornly stinky 😉

Butter Substitute

I am not officially a vegan, though I am a vegetarian and rarely consume animal byproducts.  I believe God wouldn’t give us unfertilized chicken eggs and other animal byproducts unless it was in His blessing that we use them kindly.  After all, he did promise a land of milk and honey to the Israelites – that is, of course, real, right-from-the-cow milk and raw honey so there is noteworthy difference there.

However, since coconut oil is so nutritionally full of great things and butter is not, I occasionally use coconut oil in place of butter in my frying pan and it surely is tasty.  It can, and is, also used in baking and in place of butter in other scenarios as well.

My Health Benefits Testimony

Now, bear with me, I am going to tie my research to these new habits and to other things that have taken place in my life because of them.  For those of you who know me you might be aware that I have dropped some weight; according to my calculations it was about 20 pounds total since October and I dropped 2-3 pant sizes (depending on the brand).

In October I made a couple of changes.  Josh was gone most of the month and I tend to gravitate towards eating mostly fruits and vegetables instead of pizza and pasta whenever he is gone so my carbohydrate consumption lessened.  And, right around that time, my winter itch kicked in so I started using coconut oil as lotion and figured, while I was at it, I would try it as deodorant.  Those were my only changes.

Now, the point in my research that stunned me most was learning that coconut oil helps increase metabolism.  Research also specifically states that reducing carbohydrate consumption and increasing coconut oil in the diet can lead to weight loss.

So as I am using coconut oil across the surface area of my largest bodily organ I believe that my integration of steady doses of coconut oil into my blood stream through my skin seems to be a logical explanation for my sudden weight loss – especially when paired with consuming less carbohydrates.  I had only wondered at this possibility until doing my research today.

My research also indicates that coconut oil has anti bacterial and virus fighting qualities.  It is primarily the lauric acid that contributes to this quality. Lauric acid is only found in one other place, breast milk.   So, as mothers breast feed their children through the flu season to keep them from picking up the bug I, essentially, am doing the same thing by adding coconut oil into my body chemistry.  On top of moisturizing my skin and increasing my metabolism, apparently I am also fending off the winter illnesses that are plaguing all of my friends.  Some people actually specifically use it as an oral dietary supplement for that reason but my theory is that I haven’t been sick yet this winter because I’ve been integrating it into my body through my skin.

For all these reasons, and the fact that there are so many studies out to advocate keeping the manufactured products off your skin, I strongly recommend using coconut oil as your lotion and deodorant and maybe even occasionally instead of butter.

Some Final Facts…

Medically, coconut oil is also said to benefit hypothyroidism patients and to have repairing and even reversing qualities on Alzheimer’s and diabetic patients.  In people with hypothyroidism the coconut oil combats the disease by increasing metabolism and it raises body temperatures which, in turn, also promotes thyroid health.

Source:  http://coconutoil.com/