Why was Coconut Oil Given A Bad Rap?

I remember way back when popcorn in the movie theatres was made with coconut oil. In the early 90’s the Center for Science in the Public Interest released information that coconut oil used in movie theatre popcorn was full of  “heart-stopping fat.” As with most hysteria raising information, the general public took that at face value meaning that all Coconut Oil and products with Coconut oil were bad for you. As a result, I believe that it took many years for virgin coconut oil to re-emerge in the natural food industry as the healthy product that it is.

I am guilty of being influenced both positively and negatively by the power of suggestion and innuendo, but it is always my recommendation that we all do our own research.  Saturated fat, trans-fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat are all components of fats - oils.  The ‘high in trans-fat’ coconut oil that the Center for Science in the Public Interest was informing the public about was a product that was chemically produced using dry coconut, hydrogen and extreme heat. Trans-fats are formed when plant based oils are hardened into margarine or shortening formats and this is what was being used in movie theater popcorn.

The ‘heart-stopping fat’ aka trans-fats, also known as hydrogenated fats are chemically treated compounds. There is nothing natural about the process by which plant based oils are hardened by hydrogenation process. I am not a scientist, so I will not attempt to explain this process. The process is explained in simple terms at: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5632627_vegetable-shortening-made_.html. 

Virgin coconut oil is now on the shelf of every natural food store, gourmet food shop and grocery store. It is appearing on ingredient labels and in recipes all over the internet. We know that the mainstream conventional food manufacturers will try and capture the awareness of this ‘healthy product’; be wary and read the labels! I am quite certain that the cheapest, lowest grade format will be used. Unless it reads virgin coconut oil, don’t buy it!

When I started to use virgin coconut oil in my cooking some time ago, I also realized that it was a great moisturizer just based on how my hands felt after handling food that I had used it in. It wasn't long before I started to use this as the sole moisturizer for my face, hands and body. It was not until this recent post on Market Organics Facebook page  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Market-Organics/35967004532, that I realized how many uses there are:

• Athletes Foot & Fungal Infections

• Pimples & Acne

• Dementia & Alzheimer's

• Lice

• Stretch Marks

• Warts

• Burns, Cuts & Scrapes

• New Tattoos

• Eczema & Psoriasis

• Allergies

• Ear Infections

• Cold & Canker Sores

• Pink Eye

• Ulcers

• And so many more...

Delicious Obsessions lists 122 uses for coconut oil in total: http://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/01/52-uses-for-coconut-oil-the-simple-the-strange-and-the-downright-odd/.

Lyndsay also uses coconut oil for a process called “oil pulling”. Oil Pulling is a safe, simple and affordable home remedy to cure and prevent diseases and improve your overall health. She swears by it as a teeth whitening method also!  It is a process of placing 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, or other oil, in your mouth and swishing it between your teeth and entire oral cavity, including gums and palate. This process pulls the pathogens from the gaps and pockets in your mouth cavity and traps them in the oil. You must read fully up on this process, as there are many precautions such as not swallowing the liquid because it is actually filled with toxins that you are pulling out of your mouth and reabsorbing them can be dangerous.  Want to know more?  Type “Oil Pulling” into google or your internet search engine and many pages will come up.

When cooking with coconut oil, please keep in mind that coconut is still oil, so don’t over dose on it. I am sure that many of you out there ask how much fat should I take in? In a former newsletter, I wrote about how I discovered via www.myfitnesspal.com that I was taking in more fat that I needed, in spite of a healthy plant based diet. It was during this time that I stumbled across another resource that I had copied and pasted into a file for future reference. You can find this at http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/information/how-many-grams-of-fat-can-i-eat-in-a-day.htm.

How many grams of fat can I eat in a day?

by Elizabeth Scherer

By Clicking on the above link you will be brought to a chart to understand amounts. Here's how to use the chart. Look down the left-hand column until you find the total number of calories you should eat each day. When you find the right amount, look across to see:

• how many of your calories you can get from fat

• how many grams of fat this equals

• how many of your calories you can get from saturated fat

• how many grams of saturated fat this equals

Thanks for reading,

Laurie & Lyndsay

What is Tofu?

I work in the Natural Food Industry. I have had the pleasure of working with a new company ‘Craig & Noble’ in Ottawa ON Canada to bring a fantastic new tofu product to the market under the brand TOFOOD, a ‘Fresh New Food’. Two long-time best friends, Di Craig and Sue Noble have created the nutritious, delicious tofu product for the retail market. There focus is to take the stigma out of eating tofu and getting it to the mainstream retail market. In recent weeks, I have assisted with sampling TOFOOD in the retail grocery and natural food stores, as well as an appearance on Ottawa’s CTV Morning Live. In speaking with people all over the city I live in, I have realized that so many have no clue what tofu is and what it is made from. Once again, something going on in my life brings about a topic for the newsletter.

What is tofu anyway? Tofu is a considered a bean curd. Soy beans are soaked in water to create soy milk which is then heated and curdled with a natural coagulant such as gypsum (calcium sulfate) and/or nigari (magnesium chloride), both natural products. The curd is then separated from the liquid and pressed into blocks. Tofu is probably one of the most common meat substitutes in our world and is extremely versatile in its use. Tofu is touted as a complete protein, containing all of the essential amino acids. It is low calorie, is a source of calcium and isoflavones, is low in saturated fats and is cholesterol free. 

Lyndsay and I tend to cook with different forms of tofu on a regular basis as we both enjoy it and we appreciate some of the conventional food substitutes it allows us. Tofu products are not just for the vegans out there, but the dairy free by choice, the lactose intolerant and the kosher eater who just cannot give up the sour cream on a potato when eating meat. We know that although so many people out there will eat tofu, however they do not always know what to do with it when it makes it home in their grocery bag. I trust we are helping those of you out there with getting comfortable using this fantastic flexible food. You can dice it, slice it, puree it, whip it, sauté it, fry it and grill it! What other food out there is nutritious and can be prepared and eaten in so many ways? 

As we suggest or imply every week, it is important to do your own research on any of the topics we write about. Here are a few sites you may find interesting:

 http://www.soyinfocenter.com/

 http://www.soyfoods.org/

 http://soyfoods.com/

Although soy has many health benefits: low in saturated fat, low in sodium and contains no cholesterol, it is also important to be aware that the soy bean is one of the two most genetically modified foods on this planet! Soy is also one of the eight foods responsible for the majority of food allergies that we suffer from today. Knowing the genetically modified aspect of soy, it is wise to shop organic as much as you can with soy.  Organic does as a rule cost more money, however in terms of tofu, there really isn’t that much difference on the price tag – which is a bonus for us!

Some say that the western diet is starting to come around with accepting tofu and that it just might be fighting for shelf space beside the meat products. What do you think? ... We truly hope so!

Thanks for reading,

Laurie & Lyndsay

Kefir is an Incredible Gain - So Many Health Benefits

So I recently was in Ventura, California on a women's retreat and sharing a hotel room with a wonderful women whom I had not met before this retreat. We started off with small talk which quickly led to both our interest and passion about the health industry and cause illnesses with natural remedies.

Quickly I learned that she is much more advanced in this area that I, and I was so fortunate because she opened my eyes to many sources that I was not aware of.  Even after all the research that I have done with digestion, candida, energy, beauty, sleep, eczema and the list goes on, I had never come across Kefir.

This is also not been brought to my attention from the many homeopathic doctors that I have seen.

She started taking Kefir after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and was dealing with leaky gut syndrome. For her, it immediately gave her relief of gas and other uncomfortable symptoms of poor digestion. I was eager to learn more, as she touched on the fact that Kefir is actually a healthy form of candida and helps to balance the candida in your body.

Immediately returning from my 4 days away, I started to google and sure enough, there was all kinds of information regarding Kefir and it's link to Candida. 

You can buy Kefir grains and make your own Kefir water or your local grocery story may have some products with it present.  Living in Calgary, AB our grocery stores do not carry some of the products that I say when I was in the US, however when I was looking for a digestive enzyme, I came across a product by the name of Kefiactive - Kombucha by Botanica, which is a raw fermented tea prepared using the kefir grain. 

I purchased this product, and did some research on it and decided to drink the maximum that you are allowed each day, which is 4 tablespoons.  I was mixing this with 16 oz high quality water and 1 tablespoon of pure cranberry. 

Well immediately, I had the most incredible amount of gas produced, which was caused by the fermented product trying to clean out my digestive track and having suffered from Candida most of my life, there was a lot of aiding to be done.  When the kefir grain hit the unhealthy candida, it was exploding and causing the gas. Also, I had what seemed like a reaction to allergies, my nose was so stuffed but I was blowing 30 times a day and there was never lack of mucus to be removed.  This was also the Candida existing my body.

After about a week of living with the most awful uncomfortable pain, I decided to scale it down to 1 tablespoon in the morning with the 16 oz of water and cranberry and the same mixture before dinner.  With this recipe, I had no gas, however so many health benefits.

During this time:

• My skin was clearing us
• enzyme was going away
• digestion was incredible
• Body functions were all working, I was regular and healthy
• No suffering from gas after certain foods
• My nose drip was non existent
• No itchy throat

There are many documented benefits to the addition of kefir to ones diet and although I encourage you to do your own research, here is a list of what I found:

• Aids in digestion
• Protect the intestines from disease causing bacteria
• Supports the immune system
• Is a natural source of Vitamins A, B2, B12, D and K
• Assist in keeping the nervous system stable
• Known to inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells
• Reduction in the size of certain tumours
• Natural anti Inflammatory
• Has been known to correct ulcerative colitis
• Significantly lower blood glucose levels
• Shown to inhibit pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, while leaving other lactobacilli and human cells unharmed *
• Can increase folic acid in the body
• Aids in controlling candida

It goes without saying, I would recommend Kefir to anyone.  It is now in my daily doses I take, along with acidophilus which I have taken faithfully for over 15 years.

Thank you Kate for introducing me to this incredible product that has truly improved my quality of health.

Lyndsay

http://www.vegmenufortheweek.com