Coconut Oil… Fact or Fad?

By Mariah  Haddad

 There are hundreds of ways to use coconut oil, with more being discovered each day.

(Photo: Mariah Haddad)

With popular celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie reportedly using coconut oil daily, the natural beauty product is hard to ignore.

Coconut oil comes from the flesh of a mature coconut. According to CoconutOilPost.com, there are two different types of oil you can purchase: the industrially manufactured oil that comes from copra, the low-grade, dried flesh of the coconut, or “Cold Pressed Virgin Certified Organic” coconut oil. The latter is recommended.

Cold pressed, virgin, and certified organic are all important when it comes to choosing your oil. Cold pressed is the term associated with the low temperatures used to dry the coconut naturally. Virgin oil ensures that your oil has come directly from the coconut and has not been refined, bleached or deodorized.  Organic coconut oil (is) made from coconuts grown without using artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemical additives during the growing process.

NiuLife, a coconut oil distributer for over 20 years, states, “The Oil of Life” benefits your metabolism, weight loss, heart health, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, reverses aging, and it even good for your pets.

There are hundreds of ways to use coconut oil, with more being discovered each day. A stable cooking oil, substituting coconut oil in for your polyunsaturated fatty oils is a common way to consume it. Since the oil is a solid at room temperature, it may also be used in place of butter or margarine for a bread spread. 

Not everyone stands behind the coconut oil trend. Dr. Carol DeNysschen, associate professor and chair of the Department of Health and Nutrition & Dietetics at (SUNY) Buffalo State does not recommend using coconut oil daily.

“First, 92 percent of its fat is saturated,” she said. “That makes coconut oil far more saturated than most other oils and fats. Olive and soybean oils, for example, are about 15 percent saturated, while beef fat is about 50 percent saturated and butter is 63 percent saturated.” Only palm kernel oil, at 82 percent saturated, rivals coconut oil.” she said.

“All those saturated chemical bonds explain why coconut oil is solid at room temperature and doesn't go rancid quickly,” DeNysschen said. “That makes it attractive to many candy makers, who use it in chocolate, yogurt, and other coatings that don’t melt until they hit your mouth. It's also why some vegans—who eat no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy foods—use it as a butter substitute.”

Tara Peters, a 23-year-old Canisius College graduate, disagrees.

“Oil pulling makes me feel like I just went to the dentist,” she said. “I love the way it tastes in my meals and the way it feels on my skin. I even use it daily as chap stick.” Peters pulled out a pocket size tin of coconut oil from her handbag. “Oh, and it is great for split ends on your hair.”

Headaches… what a Headache!

By Mariah Haddad

About 14 million people a year suffer from daily headaches.

(Photo by: Sierra Haddad)

Millions of people worldwide suffer daily with the burden of headaches. It is important to find the causes of these aches, and not continuously take an aspirin for temporary relief. There are natural and holistic ways to not only ease headaches, but prevent them.

It is important first to classify your headache as a primary or a secondary headache. According to the Mayo Clinic, a primary headache is caused by problems with, or overactivity of pain-sensitive structures in your head, and is not a symptom of an underlying disease. The most common primary headaches can be classified into three types: cluster, migraine, and tension.

The Mayo Clinic advises that secondary headaches can be a symptom of an illness or disease that can activate pain-sensitive nerves in the head. Types of ailments that can cause secondary headaches are acute sinusitis, blood clots, concussion, ear infection, glaucoma, and panic disorder.

“I was diagnosed with chronic migraines at 9 years old,” said Xavier Washburn, a 27-year-old Attica native. “My whole life I have tried medication after medication with extreme negative side-effects, or no effect at all.”

Washburn hasn’t suffered alone. About 14 million people experience headaches on near-daily basis. 

How do you address the pain?

Washburn said he uses preventative techniques.

“I went to a specialist who practiced a very holistic approach to everything. When I told her about the amount of medication I was taking, she was upset." Washburn said. “She explained that oftentimes medication makes matters worse. The best way to prevent these aches is a change in my lifestyle.”

Lifestyle changes are a huge factor in your health.

Washburn began drinking more than 100 ounces of water a day, and started tracking his sleep and diet.

“It turns out I have always had a very high sodium diet, which dehydrated me,” Washburn said. “As soon as I started drinking what feels like excessive amounts of water, my migraines were fewer and fewer.” Washburn continues to follow a strict diet and is continuously trying new techniques, such as monitoring his sleep, to prevent his headaches.

What happens if you get a headache?

Melissa Foxx, a 38-year-old elementary school teacher, enjoys aromatherapy.

"Simply smelling my lavender oil or applying it to my skin starts to ease my pain immediately,” she said. “If I massage my ginger oil into my temples, it feels like it relieves all of the pressure in my mind. I begin to think clearer and focus less on the pain that I am feeling.”

Whether you have primary or secondary headaches, it is best if you have chronic pain to make an appointment with your doctor.

With thousands of causes of headaches, it is important to make an effort to prevent them, as well has a holistic approach to cure them.

Foxx said headaches have saved her life.

“Even though I use aromatherapy, if I see a change in my headache pattern I go to a specialist immediately."

In 2003, Foxx experienced a minor brain aneurysm.

“I just felt like out of nowhere I had this crazy migraine I couldn’t get rid of. Soon, I couldn’t even stand so I called my doctor.  I was induced and upon awakening I learned of my aneurysm.”

Foxx since then is careful to monitor how her headaches feel.