Coconut Craze

 

One of the biggest health trends right now is coconut.  Whether it be coconut water, coconut meat, coconut milk or coconut oil, food companies are capitalizing on this and for good reason.  I love a great coconut product.  The benefits of adding coconut into your life are widely varied – it helps to boost immunity, improve heart health, promote lean body weight, stoke your metabolism, and is incredibly nourishing for your hair and skin.  But the most awesome health benefit about coconut oil is its’ ability to help the body burn fat for energy.

Here’s the deal….coconut oil is composed of medium-chain triglycerides.  I know…kinda sounds a bit scientific but let me tell you a little about the structure of a fatty acid.  All fats contain a certain number of carbon atoms, which are connected together in a big chain.  There are short chain fatty acids, medium-chain fatty acids, long-chain fatty acids, and very long chain fatty acids.   The body breaks down and metabolizes all these fatty acids differently – some are used for immediate energy, while others aren’t used as effectively and tend to be more predominately stored in fat cells.  The fatty acid in a coconut (it’s oil) is a medium-chain fatty acid, therefore its smaller, easily digested, and then immediately burned by the liver for energy.  In other words, it helps to boost your metabolism!  Many people are on low-fat diets, however, don’t skimp on adding this amazing fat to your diet.

Now let’s talk about the coconut products on the market…

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Loving me some Chia Seeds!

Chia seeds are on the market and like any other health food product, they are coming in strong.  If you have recently ventured into any health food store, such as Whole Foods, you would have seen many products that contain chia seeds or even just chia seeds alone.   And for good reason! Basically, chia seeds are awesome and they should become a new staple in your diet.  First of all, chia seeds are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.  These fabulous and healthy fats (ALA, DHA & EPA) benefit the brain by increasing memory and cognition, help to decrease inflammation in the body, assist in lowering high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and play positive roles in diabetes, heart disease, depression, and arthritis.

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