Healthy to Know: What Happens to Your Body if You Consume a Teaspoon of Coconut Oil Every Day?

Whether you're already familiar with it and use it, or not, it's important to know the many health benefits of coconut oil beyond just strengthening hair roots.

The Asian kitchen, for example, did not stop using it even when the American Heart Association launched campaigns to disparage coconut oil, spreading rumors that it was dangerous to the body.

What the American Heart Association failed to mention is that the soybean and corn oils it praises in these campaigns are far worse than coconut oil, especially when they reach high temperatures.

In fact, research shows that Americans who started using these oils as a substitute for coconut oil experienced more vascular diseases, obesity, Alzheimer's, high cholesterol, and blood fat issues.

Conversely, a study conducted a few years ago by an American doctor, Dr. White, MD, found a direct connection between consuming coconut oil as a replacement for other oils and improved body health and avoidance of vascular and heart diseases.

The research results were published in 1999 in the medical journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Dr. White tracked 12 women with extreme overweight for 14 days, instructing them to consume only butter and coconut oil as fat sources in their daily diet.

Dr. White demonstrated that after seven days, metabolism rates improved, and the calories these women burned were higher in a shorter time compared to other diets. "We were able to demonstrate, almost irrefutably, that coconut oil indeed stimulates nutrient absorption in the body and eases the digestion process. All my patients who consumed it over time reported an energy boost and reduced cravings for sweets and junk food."

The reason for this, he says, is that coconut oil significantly contributes to balancing blood sugar levels and even stimulates hormone production that improves a person's mental-emotional state.

Dr. White further states that consuming one tablespoon of coconut oil daily "will extend your life and significantly improve your health."

He adds that coconut oil is particularly excellent for people who want to lose weight because its active ingredients, known as MCTs, have an exceptional calorie-burning ability compared to any other fat.