Liquid coconut oil is good for you due to its pure content of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs).
What’s so good about MCTs?
MCTs are relatively smaller fat molecules that our cells can easily absorb and convert to energy.
Long-chain triglycerides (LCTs), on the other hand, require the aid of insulin to transport them into cells. This tax on our insulin reserve. Not only that, most LCTs do not readily convert to energy.
If you’re insulin resistant, MCTs can still provide energy for you but not LCTs. Which is why many diabetics have reported an improvement on their diabetic condition after eating coconut oil regularly.
But regular coconut oil has only 60% MCTs whereas its liquid counterpart carries purely MCTs. So, you can imagine how good liquid coconut oil is for people who are insulin resistant.
Addition of Lauric Acid for Better Health
Lauric acid, among the MCTs, is the strongest antimicrobial agent.
It can help you kill a variety of lipid-coated viruses and bacteria such as HIV, HSV, measles, sarcoma, leukemia, influenza, H. pylori, chlamydia pneumoniae etc.
Knowing the benefits of lauric acid, some companies have started to pump lauric acid into their liquid coconut oil. This is definitely good for you because it provides better health protection.
But not all brands have lauric acid. So, how do you know which brand contains lauric acid? The product label will tell you.
Why the Need for Liquid Coconut Oil?
Regular coconut oil easily hardens in cold weather. This is due to its inclusion of other LCTs. By carrying only MCTs, liquid coconut oil can stay liquid even at 32 °F (0 °C).
This provides great convenience for people who live in regions where cold climate is inevitable.
Another reason for the need is, the precursor of liquid coconut oil is fractionated coconut oil. You cannot ingest fractionated coconut oil because it’s made for topical use. To create a fractionated coconut oil that is edible, liquid coconut oil is born.
But do check carefully the label of the product when you buy. Some brands label their non-food grade product as “fractionated liquid coconut oil”. This has created confusion for people who are not good at differentiating the food grade from the non-food grade.
The workaround here is to look out for text like “cooking”, “energy”, or “supplements” etc on the label. These words indicate the suitability for consumption.
Benefits of liquid coconut oil
Carrying only MCTs, it’s much lighter and thinner than regular coconut oil.
For that reason, you can use it to dilute essential oils for massage therapy. You can also apply it directly to your skin for skin care. Your skin absorbs it pretty fast.
On top of that, all MCTs are saturated. This means that they can help deactivate free radical activities on your skin.
Free radicals are renegades that cause your skin to sag and wrinkle. Free radicals also promote sunburn when you over-expose your skin to UV.
As said early on, it’s food safe. So, you can drink it straight from the bottle or cook your food with it. Or you can simply pour it over your food or beverage.
Most are flavored with a delicate coconut scent while few are not. It’s shown on the label so you can make a sound decision. And a good quality liquid coconut oil should look colorless.
Conclusion
Liquid coconut oil is good for you because it provides the key benefits of coconut oil and yet, without causing inconvenience for you during winter.
Because of its capability to remain in liquid form at low temperatures, you can literally consume it for health benefits or apply to your skin anytime you need it.
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