There’s no better way than eating coconut oil raw to reap the most health benefits out of it. That’s because heat may destroy some of its health-promoting nutrients. With that in mind, here are the few good ways to enjoy coconut oil in its most natural raw form.
1. Eating Coconut Oil on Its Own
When I first met it more than 10 years ago, I took coconut oil fresh out of the jar. I didn’t want to mix with any other food because the natural coconut scent in it was so irresistibly aromatic. I wanted to try taking coconut oil that way.
Ended up I got the runs. And it upset my stomach for several hours.
That’s because I took coconut oil internally on an empty stomach.
Yes, when there’s nothing in your stomach to slow the digestion of coconut oil, it quickly splits into its individual fatty acids and glycerols that stimulate bowel movement.
If you really prefer eating coconut oil raw that way but yet you do not want to upset your stomach, then you must make sure your stomach is not empty. That means, you must consume something first before you ingest one or two tablespoonfuls of coconut oil.
In essence, never take coconut oil on an empty stomach unless you desperately need coconut oil as a laxative to stimulate bowel movement.
2. Adding Coconut Oil to Beverages
Many people are stirring coconut oil into their coffee to pep themselves up in the morning.
However, if coffee isn’t your cup of tea, smoothies, juices, soy milk, brown rice milk or almond milk are great choices to which you can add coconut oil. It simply makes your drinks healthier.
If you simply mix into the liquid, you’ll probably see a layer of oil floating on top. It looks kind of yucky. Try to focus on its benefits rather than the overall appearance and you should be fine.
Oh, here’s at least a workaround to help the smoothies look less greasy. Blend coconut oil together with the fruits and vegetables and it’ll give you a supercharged smoothie without an oily aftertaste.
3. Pouring Coconut Oil over Food
Yes, just pour coconut oil over any food on your dining table, regardless of whether the food is cooked (like brown rice) or raw (like salad) and mix them well.
Speaking of salad, if it’s chilled, then coconut oil may form into snow flakes. Because it begins to solidify below 76 °F. A simple workaround is to mix coconut oil with olive oil. This lowers coconut oil’s melting point so it won’t solidify easily.
Some people feel that adding to cooked food defeats the purpose of reaping the most health benefits out of coconut oil. This is because some coconut oil would have lost to the surroundings when they rise with the steam from the food.
Well, if you’re concerned about that, then wait till the food becomes less hot before pouring coconut oil over.
How do you "pour" coconut oil? It is generally solid; unless my kitchen is EXTREMELY hot.
That is correct – you would have to heat it in a little pot to make it pourable.
You can also immerse your jar of coconut oil in warm water. Or use a hairdryer to blow onto the oil. These are ways you can do to make coconut oil more liquid especially in winter.