Hey there my Steemit friends. One of my favorite health items that I almost always travel with is coconut oil! I say almost always as in some countries it's easier to get and more affordable than others. Thailand is one of the easiest and most affordable countries to get coconut oil. It's a fairly inexpensive high quality domestic product sold at just about every 7-Eleven in the country; and there are 7-Elevens everywhere!
This bottle is 120ml. I bought it at a 7-Eleven in Bangkok for about three dollars. The Thais are very healthy people and the health benefits of this oil is common knowledge to them. It's a crying shame that the American and global propaganda has taught people that all fats and oils are unhealthy. Only some fats and oils are terrible for you; mostly the synthetic ones while natural fats are often great for you. Not all fats are created equal. This oil is probably one of the healthiest on the planet!
Seems like the Ecuadorians haven't gotten the message yet. It's almost impossible to find coconut oil in Ecuador unless you really know where to look. It's often sold in natural health food stores in the western world. Ecuador has many health food stores, yet none of them sell coconut oil! In fact the only place I was able to find it and where I bought this 130ml jar was in the high end western style super market "Super Maxi". No coincidence that this is where most foreigners shop. This small jar was not cheap either. I paid about seven dollars for it!
Not all cultures and countries are the same or created equal. I'll state for the record I prefer Thailand over Ecuador. One main reason is that they are a much more health conscience culture. Hence you can buy coconut oil there at a fair price and on almost every street corner. I really love Thailand for this reason and many others.
Here we can see coconut oil being sold at the Yellow Green Farmers Market in Hollywood Florida. The vendors know how good this is for you so they are not shy about using it's incredible health benefits as an advertising aid. The western world is really becoming aware of healthy fats unlike years in the past. This product is growing in popularity in the USA and I'm happy to see that. If any country needs a health make-over my home country of the United States who leads the world in obesity certainly is it. When I saw this at the farmers market in Florida it really put a smile on my face.
If your ambitious enough, want to go old school, and you have your own coconut tree; you can make it yourself. This is Uncle Kenny's tree in his backyard. However I certainly don't see him going through the labor intensive process of grating mature coconuts, boiling them in water on a low heat for hours and then ladling off the coconut oil that rises to the top. However if you want to make your own, that is basically the process.
Besides all the great health benefits of coconut oil that I'll get into in just a moment. One reason why I take a spoonful of coconut oil each morning is because it makes the other supplements I take more bio-available. For example I always take turmeric capsules as part of my morning supplement routine. Taking coconut oil along with it really allows your body to adsorb all of the turmeric health benefits. Fats in general work well with nutrient dense foods allowing your body to absorb them better. If I don't have coconut oil on hand, I'll have a slice of avocado with my supplements, which is about 80% fat.
Health Benefits!
Coconut oil is 91% healthy medium chained saturated fat and 60% of it is comprised of super healthy Caprylic acid, Lauric acid, Capric acid. These kinds of fats are very easy for the body to digest only taking a three step process to turn into fuel, where unhealthy oils like vegetable oil take a 26 step process and is very hard on the body in many ways.
Coconut oil has been proven to aid in a host of different things. The way it naturally raises ketone levels in the body helps patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It increases HDL (good cholesterol) and converts bad cholesterol into good cholesterol making coconut oil incredibly good for the heart and cardiovascular system.
Coconut oil has anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties making it a good treatment for UTI infections and kidney infections. It is also a potent killer of intestinal candida overgrowth which is very common in the USA with the SAD diet. This amazing oil also has a protective effect on the liver as well; I know a lot of people that would love that!
Due to it's anti-inflammatory properties coconut oil is great for those suffering from any inflammation related illness. From arthritis to asthma, even brain fog! Coconut oil is also very anti-cancer. Studies where cancer was chemically induced on lab subjects, with the use of coconut oil the cancer was prevented!
Being anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal makes it one great booster for your immune system. Since coconut oil is quickly converted into energy, you can replace cheap carbohydrates with a table spoon of this oil three times a day to aid in recovering faster from many common illnesses like the flu or a cold. Sugars and cheap carbs often aid bad bacteria and viruses keeping you sick longer.
Coconut oil improves brain and memory function. The medium chain fatty acids are easily available for the brain cells to use as energy; there for as mentioned earlier it's obviously good for those suffering from Alzheimer. Coconut oil also increases your metabolism and gives you long lasting energy.
Coconut oil has also been proven to do much more like: improve digestion, reduce stomach ulcers, reduce symptoms of gallbladder disease and pancreatitis, improve skin issues, prevent gum disease and tooth decay, prevents osteoporosis, improves type II diabetes, aids in weight loss while helping build muscle, good for your hair, fights against candida and other yeast infections, balances your hormones, and it even slows the aging process!
This is one of the more powerful super foods/supplements you can take and I make sure to take it regularly. I spent some time on Dr. Axe's website researching all this information so I must give him credit on where I learned so much about this incredible stuff.
Yes, it really is incredible and I highly suggest you start adding it to your diet. You can even cook with it as it's very stable even at fairly high heat. For all these reasons coconut oil truly is a Travel Pro Health item and super food! Until next time -Dan "World Travel Pro!"
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