Coconut oil — especially virgin coconut oil — is the hottest topic in the health food world. This fragrant cooking oil has seen one of the fastest turnarounds ever, flip-flopping from vilified fat just a few years ago to the darling of the health food community today.
Proponents claim that coconut oil can boost metabolism and help you lose weight, brighten your teeth, and strengthen immunity. Coconut oil can also positively affect our hormones, improving thyroid function and insulin use within the body. It improves digestive function and helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
Coconut oil is also a tremendously popular ingredient in body balms, beauty treatments, anti-aging creams, and even hair care products because of its ability to lock in moisture without the use of petroleum-based ingredients or chemicals.
At Azure we offer two types of bulk coconut oil under the Azure Market brand: Extra Virgin (unrefined) Organic Coconut Oil and Flavorless (refined) Organic Coconut Oil.
Both oils are expeller pressed without the use of chemical solvents or lye. This oil is not hydrogenated and contains no trans fats and no additives or GMOs.
At Azure, we are very careful about the products we put our name on. We buy our bulk coconut oil from sustainable producers in the Philippines. Each batch is tested and held to the highest European Union standards of Certified Organic purity. No chemicals are used in the extraction or refining of our oils.
The basic refining process for coconut oil goes like this: The organic oil is treated with citric acid that removes impurities such as trace metal ions and gums. The degummed oil is then bleached using activated carbon and filtered to remove any particulates. Finally, the deodorizing step uses steam to remove elements such as free fatty acids and peroxides as well as aromatic compounds. So the oil retains its nutritional value while losing its coconut flavor.
COOKING & BAKING WITH COCONUT OIL
In many ways, coconut oil is the perfect cooking oil: It’s healthy and stable. It does not go rancid, and it has a relatively high smoke point. People in the coastal areas of Asia, particularly Southern India and the Philippines, have known this for centuries.
Coconut oil stands up beautifully to high heat. Its smoke point is adequate for every type of cooking, except deep frying. You can use coconut oil in place of butter, shortening and oil in most (if not all) of your baking.
Unlike most vegetable oils, coconut oil is solid at room temperature. In the cold winter months coconut oil is as hard as a rock. However, it will begin to liquefy quickly at 76 degrees Fahrenheit, so if you’re in a warmer location, coconut oil may likely be liquid unless refrigerated. Don’t worry about a “liquid” forming on top of the coconut oil. This is completely normal. Remember, coconut oil will solidify if added to cold ingredients (i.e., eggs and milk) so it's best to make sure all ingredients in the recipe are at room temperature before you add the coconut oil.
Use virgin, unrefined coconut oil on certain roasted vegetables such as sweet potatoes, and in some baked goods where a hint of coconut is complementary. But extra-virgin coconut oil doesn't belong everywhere. A little goes a long way, and too often the coconut flavor is overpowering. So if you’re making your own kale chips or roasting Brussels sprouts, it’s best to use the Azure Market refined, flavorless coconut oil.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF COCONUT OIL
Coconut oil has been demonized in the past because it contains saturated fat. In fact, coconut oil is one of the richest sources of saturated fat known to man, with almost 90 percent of the fatty acids in it being saturated.
However, new data from large-scale studies is showing that saturated fats are not harmful – concluding, perhaps, that the whole “artery-clogging” idea was a myth. Not only that, coconut oil doesn’t contain your average run-of-the-mill saturated fats. About half of virgin coconut oil's saturated fat is lauric acid, a medium-chain triglyceride that is a beneficial fatty acid that improves levels of "good" HDL cholesterol and supports a strong immune system.
Medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil are metabolized differently than the more common, long-chain fatty acids. MCTs are absorbed straight into the liver, which then quickly converts it into energy. And here’s the really good news: MCTs have been shown to improve cognitive function, boost energy levels, fight bacterial infection and viruses, and aid digestion.
MCTs in coconut oil provide a unique combination of appetite suppression — because MCTs make you feel full — and metabolism boosts that seems to show results for people trying to lose weight. More specifically, coconut oil appears to be especially effective in reducing abdominal fat, which lodges in the abdominal cavity and around organs. This is the most dangerous fat of all and is associated with many Western diseases.
At Azure we strongly encourage our customers to thoroughly research any new diet program or medicinal food. And always use moderation: Too much coconut oil could be too much of a good thing.