I’ve been using coconut oil for more than 10 years. I consume it as food (pretty much a lot) and apply it to my skin every single day. It really benefits me a whole bang lot in terms of health and skin care.
But if you’re just getting started with this tropical oil, you need to exercise precautions on these two “flaws” despite its enormous benefits on both our health and skin. Otherwise, it may hurt you more than helping. And it’ll scare you away.
1. Coconut Oil Causes Diarrhea
Some people (especially newbies) have to dash to the bathroom many times in a day after consuming coconut oil.
What’s wrong with coconut oil, actually? It’s supposed to benefit us, isn’t it?
To answer that, we have to delve into the key component that coconut oil carries – medium-chain triglycerides.
Each medium-chain triglyceride comprises 3 medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) and a glycerol molecule. These MCFA and glycerol are closely attached to each other.
Now, when our digestive system breaks the triglycerides apart into glycerols and MCFA, they started to ignite the diarrhea effect.
Glycerol is also known as glycerin. If you’ve ever used suppositories for constipation, you definitely wouldn’t be stranger to this term.
Glycerols gather water molecules to help soften the hard stool while MCFA stimulate the intestinal muscles to contract. Together, they help to move the bowels.
Which is why people often get stomach cramp after taking coconut oil. And it gets worse when you take especially 2 tablespoons on an empty stomach.
Even some chronic constipation sufferers found coconut oil amazing at relieving constipation, not to speak of “part-time” sufferers.
Hence, if you want to consume coconut oil for health benefits, I advise you to pour it over and mix well with food before you swallow. This can help you avoid the diarrhea symptoms as other foods are present to slow the digestion.
2. Coconut Oil Triggers Acne Breakout
If coconut oil breaks out acne on your chest or back, you might not feel so resentful. Because you can easily cover up with your clothing and carry on with meeting people or attending an event.
But if it’s on your face, it can freak you out and make you so nasty that you start slamming coconut oil for making you uglier.
In fact, the reason why coconut oil behaves as such is actually helping, not hurting. Let me explain.
You might not know it, but our skin has become a warehouse for storing toxins rather than helping the body to expel toxins. Thanks to the poor diet and sedentary lifestyle most of us are having.
Do you see many people in the street having a dull and dispirited skin nowadays? That’s the toxins at work.
When you apply coconut oil to your skin, what it does is its MCFA will penetrate deep into your skin and propel the cells to purge toxins. Your cells may have already stored the toxins for ages.
If your pores are not clogged, toxins that flow up to the skin surface simply does no harm to your appearance. But if dead cells clog up your pores, then whiteheads or pimples will pop up.
What’s even worse is that if you’ve already had pimples all over your face, the toxins that coconut oil draws up to the surface will either cause more breakouts or make your pimples larger.
That explains why you can hear some acne sufferers lambasting coconut oil for its acne-triggering effect and then went back to using their commercial acne treatment cream or lotion that will continue to bury more toxic stuff into their skin.
Gosh, they have wronged coconut oil big time. It is so good that it helps to expel toxins so that your skin will look smoother and more radiant than ever.
Honestly, does knowing this fact encourage you to use coconut oil for acne or daily skin care?
I hope it’s a big ‘YES’ because it’s trying really hard to help cleanse your skin of toxins, not hurting your appearance and affecting your self-esteem.
I understand your fear for the breakout.
Tell you what, put more dark green leafy vegetables in your diet from today onward. These greens can provide you with plenty of super nutrients that will dramatically reduce the odds of storing toxins in your skin.
You should, at the same time, cut back on the intake of toxin-laden meat and sugar-loaded refined food.
Once you’ve done those things, you’re all set to making your skin glow with regular application of coconut oil without a single breakout.
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