When I first read the nutritional information for coconut butter, I thought the world had gone crazy. How could something mostly comprised of saturated fats be healthy? Really??! This question plagued me for quite some time, until I decided to go on a research quest to learn why something so fatty could be so healthy; giving promises of increased health, glowing skin, and stronger hair. Turns out, all those people were on to something. Little did I know, coconut butter is a medium chain fatty acid. This means that our bodies can break the fat down for energy much easier than the long chain fatty acids which include mono and poly unsaturated fats- nuts, eggs, beef, fish, etc. These medium chain fatty acids are water soluble and do not need to go through the same digestive process as the long chain fatty acids. This means that the fat is more likely to be burned for energy than stored. In fact, people find they have increased energy after eating coconut butter.
For this same reason, medium chain fatty acids, specifically coconut oil, has become very popular among athletes. This fat acts more like a carbohydrate in solubility, but does not initiate insulin production. So, you get the same energy boost as eating carbohydrates, but without the fat storing insulin production. Coconut oil even takes it a step further by aiding in weight loss. Thermogenesis is a method for breaking down medium chain fatty acids, our bodies use heat to break down the fats, thus increasing our metabolic rate.
Even better, coconut butter can increase our immune defenses because of it's high lauric acid content. Lauric acid is the thing in breast milk that helps babies gain a nice, healthy immune system when they are at that oh so susceptible age. Lauric acid also aids in destroying viruses and bacteria. Coconut oil is one of the few places that lauric acid can be found, other than breast milk.
Coconut oil is also high in antioxidants that do wonders for our health and our skin. Using coconut oil as a lotion helps with wrinkles, dry or rough skin, and is a natural SPF. The antioxidants are also great for fending off free radicals found in almost any part of the world, especially highly populated, urban areas. Coconut oil can also help repair damaged hair and give it that luster quality we are all after. Heat it and use it as a leave-in conditioner to give dry, brittle winter hair a new, healthy sheen.
Use coconut butter in cooking as a butter replacement to get the full effect. It can even be eaten solo if you need something yummy and healthy to curb a sweets craving. Just make sure to keep it down to 10% or less of your daily caloric intake. Fats should only take up to 30% of your overall diet and medium chain fats should only be a portion of that.