Coconut oil is amazing because it is a soluble liquid at body temperature, but becomes a semi-solid at the lower room temps - thus eliminating messy spills when things tip over on uneven surfaces. This melting point is also good news for people who are worried about accumulations within the body.
It can be obtained for cheap from Costco and a small container of it near the bed makes for great massages after a hard day in the garden and has excellent lubricity on top of its other amazing properties. A good massage right before bedtime increases the release of endorphins and other "feel-good" chemicals into the blood stream, making for a pleasant drift off into dream land. I would say it is the single best thing we have discovered in 22 years of marriage......
If ingested, it apparently is great for inhibiting certain forms of bacteria. Pretty amazing stuff according to this article:
Coconut oil can combat tooth decay, study suggests
Digested oil inhibits growth of streptococcus bacteria, Irish researchers find
Enzyme-modified coconut oil could potentially be added to dental
hygiene products like toothpaste to help combat common decay-causing
bacteria like streptococcus that is often found inside the mouth. (Paul
Sakuma/Associated Press)
Researchers at the Athlone Institute of Technology in
Ireland have found that digested coconut oil inhibits the growth of
common bacteria that cause tooth decay and could be an effective
alternative to chemical additives in dental hygiene products.
The researchers tested the effect of coconut oil on several common strains of streptococcus bacteria found inside the mouth.
They tested the effect of the oil in both its natural and digested form.
To mimic the process of digestion, they treated the oil with enzymes.
They found that in the digested form, the oil inhibited most strains of the bacteria, including streptococcus mutans, a common acid-producing bacteria that is is a major cause of tooth decay.
The coconut oil was also harmful to candida albicans, a yeast that causes a mouth infection called thrush.
The researchers presented their findings Monday at the autumn conference of the Society for General Microbiology, underway at the University of Warwick in England.
"Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations," Brady, associate director of the Bioscience Research Institute at the Athlone Institute, said in a press release.
"Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection."
Brady said finding effective weapons against the bacteria that cause tooth decay is important given the high number of adults and children who have some form of tooth decay.
"Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60-90 per cent of children and the majority of adults in industrialized countries," he said in the release.
Coconut oil is not the only food product to have exhibited antibacterial properties in a partially digested form.
Past studies have shown that enzyme-modified milk reduced the binding of the streptococcus mutans bacteria to tooth enamel.
Brady said he and his colleagues hope to further investigate which other bacteria strains and yeast the coconut oil might be effective against and exactly how the oil and other enzyme-modified foodstuffs interfere with the processes by which bacteria cause disease.
The researchers tested the effect of coconut oil on several common strains of streptococcus bacteria found inside the mouth.
They tested the effect of the oil in both its natural and digested form.
To mimic the process of digestion, they treated the oil with enzymes.
They found that in the digested form, the oil inhibited most strains of the bacteria, including streptococcus mutans, a common acid-producing bacteria that is is a major cause of tooth decay.
The coconut oil was also harmful to candida albicans, a yeast that causes a mouth infection called thrush.
The researchers presented their findings Monday at the autumn conference of the Society for General Microbiology, underway at the University of Warwick in England.
Of interest to dental hygiene industry
Damien Brady, who led the research, and his colleagues say their findings could be used to market coconut oil as an antimicrobial in dental care products."Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations," Brady, associate director of the Bioscience Research Institute at the Athlone Institute, said in a press release.
"Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection."
Brady said finding effective weapons against the bacteria that cause tooth decay is important given the high number of adults and children who have some form of tooth decay.
"Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60-90 per cent of children and the majority of adults in industrialized countries," he said in the release.
Coconut oil is not the only food product to have exhibited antibacterial properties in a partially digested form.
Past studies have shown that enzyme-modified milk reduced the binding of the streptococcus mutans bacteria to tooth enamel.
Brady said he and his colleagues hope to further investigate which other bacteria strains and yeast the coconut oil might be effective against and exactly how the oil and other enzyme-modified foodstuffs interfere with the processes by which bacteria cause disease.
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