I learned about Coconut oil at last years Above Rubies Texas retreat, but I am just now getting around to making my first order. It took me a bit of reading to be convinced that the cost was worth it. Something has snapped inside my mind the past few weeks. After years of being a cheapskate and buying cheap, I’ve had enough. Not that my love of a bargain has disappeared. No, I love a good deal even more, but I have realized that cheap quality products, just because they are inexpensive, are NOT a good deal. I am tired of having lots of cheap crap, using cheaply made toxic materials and feeding my family less than the best. Truly, we don’t need as much as we think, and the things we do need are worth buying quality. The past few weeks of cheap-rebellion, I have found myself wanting less overall because the things I have bought are good quality and therefore more satisfying. Cheap, Wal Mart like “stuff” is like sugar; bad for you and addicting. There is whole satisfaction in consuming products that appeal to the mind, body, and spirit. It also seems that the closer a thing is to the creation of my Lord, the closer I feel to the Lord.

I have been meditating on the passages in the gospel where rich, wonderful ‘ingredients’ are mentioned, the myrrh and frankincense brought to the Lord as a child, the costly oil and perfumes poured on him by such desperately grateful sinners, the expensive balm taken by the women to care for His dead body. These oils and perfumes have rich meaning not because they were bought at the Wal Mart cart, but because they are rich and wonderful and expressions of quality and care. It truly is a joy to massage such wonderful ingredients into my little one’s legs and feet instead of the cetyl alcohol and distearyldimonium chloride that I was using in the Aveeno rip-off cream from Target.

But back to coconut oil. I found some good articles on the benefits of fresh, unprocessed coconut oil here and here, but Serene summarized the benefits best in her book “Rejuvenate Your Life”;

Coconut oil contains the least calories of any other fat. Differing from the cholesterol laden, high calorie, and long-chain saturated fat found in animal products, the saturated fat in coconuts is worlds apart in its impact on our bodies. Coconut fat consists of medium chain fatty acids, which the body easily and efficiently metabolized in exchange for energy.

The medium chain fatty acids (MCFA’s) found in coconut oil do wonders for our body. They can be emulsified in digestion without placing a burden on the gall bladder and liver. Raw, unprocessed coconut oil found locked inside the coconut or extracted in a low heat manner provides the most rapid energy exchange. . .

The MCFA’s in coconut oil contain anti-viral, anti-microbial and anti fungal properties. Lauric acid, one of coconut’s medium-chain fatty acids, which has the greatest anti-viral action, has been used with success in treating HIV conditions. Coconut oil also contains caprylic acid, which is a powerful yeast fighter.

Candida and other fungal ailments, as well as psoriasis, can be greatly alleviated by applying coconut oil externally as well as internally. Raw coconut oil also lowers cholesterol, is high in antioxidants, stabilizes blood sugar, restores thyroid function, repairs and nourishes the skin and much more.

Quoting from Eating for Beauty, David Wolfe writes, “MCFA’s disrupt the lipid membranes of viruses, bacteria, yeast and fungi. Lipid coated viruses and bacteria contain lipids in their membranes that are similar to those in MCFA’s.” Microbes and viruses can no longer regulate the location of their lipid membranes when coconut oil is ingested. The MCFA’s puzzle these microbial enemies of our body and make them leak their genetic contents, which become vulnerable prey for white blood cells to destroy.

Thus far, I have found two online retailers of coconut oil who I trust to be marketing pure, un-heated coconut oil; Wilderness Family and CoconutOil-Online. Read about the other processes used here and here.

At Central Market I found Garden of Life brand coconut oil, which is made using the fermented process, as well as Jarrow brand and Now brand. I cannot find which processes are used for these, but my guess is that they are either dried or fermented, which is not necesserily all “bad”. I suggest reading the second link on processing I listed above to decide which process is best for your family.