Coco-Nutty!

I have fallen in love with Coconut Oil. The local grocery here has a fairly nice selection of organic products so I was able to find a nice organic coconut oil to add to my pantry. Not only has it become a staple in my diet (I eat 2 tbsp, everyday!) but it has also become a beauty must have! It is truly miraculous!

For years I have suffered with really severe dandruff and excessively oily hair (doesn't seem like the two should go together, does it?) and I have tried tons of different dandruff shampoos/treatments with -zero- success.  If I so much as lightly scratched my head, it would trigger one hell of a blizzard and no matter how hard I tried, my hair was always lightly dusted in flakes which just made it look unwashed. It was really just awful and very embarrasing!! After some extensive research, I discovered a few new things about my condition. I mistakenly thought that my "dandruff" was just the scaling of an extremely dry scalp. Wrong! Actually, it is a fungal infection of the scalp!!! (Ewwww!!) Not only did I have a fungus ( Malassezia) on my scalp but I was actually feeding it! Apparently, this fungus was feeding off of the sebum that my over active sebaceous glands (another lovely symptom of PCOS)  were pumping out by the gallons! No wonder I had it so badly, this stuff was absolutely thriving on my scalp!

 Coconut oil has natural anti-fungal properties (and is also a great moisturizer) so I decided that if it was good enough to ingest, surely it couldn't hurt to slather it on my head! I warmed it up (until it was soft but not liquid) and massaged it into my scalp then I covered my head with a shower cap and let it sit for about 30-45min. I did this every other day for one week. By the end of the week, my dandruff was completely GONE. I am dead serious. Now, I do it once per week (because CO is kind of expensive) to prevent any future fungal growth. I could not be happier!!!!!

Now, on to the second amazing cure! My sweetie is an auto mechanic. This means he is always working with his hands and during the cold winter months they really take a beating. His poor hands are so chapped that they crack, bleed and are very painful. We tried all kinds of different salves and lotions that were supposed to treat them but never saw much improvement with any of them. One night I decided that we should try some coconut oil on them. I got a big glob out of the jar and massaged it into his hands (it melted very easily with the body heat) and the very next day, you could SEE the improvement!! Not only were his hands softer and less cracked but he also said they no longer felt "tight". He now uses coconut oil on them every evening after his shower and no longer has sore hands!

I keep 2 different types in the house. Unrefined and Refined. Refined has hardly no scent and only a very very light flavor to it. This is most useful for cooking when you don't want to add coconut flavoring to your dish. The unrefined probably boasts the most health benefits but it does taste like coconut. I really like to cook my chicken in it because it sort of reminds me of my sister's coconut chicken. I also think the extra coconut flavoring adds something special to stir frys and such.

The most important thing about buying Coconut Oil - make sure that it is NON-HYDROGENATED!! If it does not specifically state "non-hydrogenated" on the jar, I put it back on the shelf. I am only familiar with Spectrum brand CO but it clearly states that it is "non-hydrogenated" right on the jar.

 I guess I have ranted enough about my love for coconut oil! Have any of you tried it? If not, I recommend giving it a try! ^_^