Coconut Oil ! Friend or Foe?
It seem's to be in everyone's mouth at the moment (quite literally!) - but what does it actually do?Fear not, I have the LIGITIMATE answer to all this coconutty confusion!
First off, let's examine some of the different version of Coconut oil:
In a nutshell ... Refined vs. Virgin Coconut Oil
One of the biggest questions for most new coconut oil users is
Whut the Nut is difference between refined and virgin oils?
Let us shed some light onto this:
🌴 Virgin Coconut Oil 🌴 (also called "pure" coconut oil) is cold pressed directly from either wet or dried coconut meat. As this is a fairly quick process, the oil won't require any further additives, exposure to heat or chemical processing - so you get the full natural coconut concentrate.
🌴 Refined Coconut Oil 🌴 is additionally processed via high heat deodorizing (taking out some or all of the coconut flavour) and bleaching (to "kill off" any unwanted particles that can't be removed during the initial oil extraction). This not only gives the end product a longer shelf life (especially through added sodium hydroxide), but is also more hygienic.
At times - and depending on the manufacturer's processes - some chemical solvents may also be added
in the first part of oil extraction (to extract as much oil as possible from the coconut meat) before
it undergoes hydogenation (treated with hydrogen to improve the oil's consistency).
Added chemicals, as we all know, are never a great thing -
and the hydogenation process will add trans-fats (the bad ones!) to the end product.
Whereas both, refined & virgin coconut oil contains about the same levels of the
benefitting fatty (lauric) acid - the substance that makes it antibacterial -
virgin coconut oil contains more antioxidants (which get mostly destroyed during the refining process)
and retains more vitamins and micro-nutrients that make it the superfood everyone praises.
Which one to use then... ?
I'd recommend (and this really applies to anything!):
🌴 Always read the label & do your research 🌴
Look out for any added substances & chemicals, as well as the process of manufacturing - here goes, less is definitly more! In addition we recommend to research the manufacturer to ensure they are fair trade and ideally certified for both, products and their business practices. Organic will ensure that it's definitly GMO-free, so this should always be a preference!
Generally speaking you can use either for any, but most people prefer the refined version for cooking
(also as refined coconut oil has a higher smoking point of 230 degree celcius rather than
175 degree celcius for the unrefined versions) and virgin olive oil for external applications.
For more information, don't hesitate to check out this great in-depth post with
even more detail about the different types of coconut oil over at thank your body.
Thank you for reading & don't hesitate to share your experiences via comment below!
🍃 NAMASTE 🍃
with lots of love & light from your
Natural Vegan Gypsy
with lots of love & light from your
Natural Vegan Gypsy