Since the 1960s, coconut oil has been unfairly labeled as "unhealthy." The media reported studies of how tropical coconut oils were laden with artery-clogging fats. What wasn't reported was the fact that the coconut oil used in the studies was hydrogenated — not the virgin oil used for centuries as a staple food. We now know it's hydrogenation —artificially adding a hydrogen molecule to oils in order to make them shelf-stable — that's the problem, not coconut oil. Hydrogenated soy, corn, and canola oils — loaded with dangerous trans-fats and processed with toxic hexane solvents — are routinely added to packaged foods. Hydrogenation fattened corporate profits and American waistlines, and is now linked with diseases.

Coconut Oil is finally starting to get some of the recognition it deserves. It has been called one of the healthiest oils in the world and has been used for centuries in culinary applications as well as for body care and therapeutic applications.

Why is it that baby formulas often include coconut oil as an ingredient? Because coconut is one of the most healthy super foods in the world. Coconut oil is cholesterol- and trans fat-free, contains only 1% Omega-6 and is rich in medium-chain "good fats" that doctors recommend.

One of the good fats that comprises about 50% of coconut oil, is lauric acid. Lauric acid is a rare medium-chain fatty acid found in mother's milk that supports healthy metabolism and is now being studied for its anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial health-protecting properties. Some researchers predict that lauric acid will become as well known in health circles as Omega-3 is today. In fact, the Monsanto company has already developed a GMO canola oil variety that attempts to mimic coconut oil's high percentage of lauric acid. As we learn about the downsides of consuming too many Omega-6 vegetable oils, coconut oil is making a comeback. We suggest 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin coconut oil a day.

Virgin Coconut Oil is high in natural antioxidants and protects skin from damaging free-radicals. It also helps keep skin firm and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Virgin Coconut Oil can help heal and repair the skin and make the skin smoother and more evenly textured by removing the outer layer of dead skin cells.

Refined coconut oil has been stripped of natural antioxidants and is highly prone to free-radical generation. Free radicals damage skin cells and cause skin aging and cancer. The antioxidants in virgin coconut oil not only prevent free-radicals from forming in the oil, but also help protect against free-radicals that the skin is exposed to.

Clinical studies have shown that coconut oil has anti-microbial and anti-viral properties, and is now even being used in treating AIDS patients. Studies conducted in the Philippines last year showed that coconut oil does indeed reduce the viral load in AIDS patients.

So why has coconut oil gotten such a bad rap in the recent past? After all, much of the research supporting coconut oil as a healthy fat has been around for some time. The answer is politics and economics. Coconut oil was heavily used in the US at one time, being used for baking, pastries, frying, and theater popcorn. But starting in the 1980s some very powerful groups in the US, including the American Soybean Association (ASA), the Corn Products Company (CPC International) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), began to categorically condemn all saturated oils. Faulty science was used to convince the public that ALL saturated fats were unhealthy, when in fact saturated fats rich in the medium chain fatty acids, like lauric acid, are very healthy.

These organizations were/are aided by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many of whose key personnel are recruited from and return to the vegetable oil industry.

The result was that most people switched to vegetable oils, and the main source of lauric acid from tropical oils in the American diet was lost. The countries that these tropical oils came from, mainly the Philippines and Malaysia, were too poor to counter these untrue claims with advertising investments for the truth. It is only recently that the health benefits of these tropical oils are starting to become rediscovered. Much of the research can be found on the www.coconut-info.com website.