coconut oil raises your temperature

Cairidh · Post by **Cairidh** » Thu 04 May 2006 00:43

I ordered some over the internet and it finally arrived today. Nutiva brand.
I expected it to look nice and creamy but it looked like candle wax or something out of an operating theatre.
I ate some straight off the spoon because all the articles say its so delicious you can do that. Yuck. It wasn't nice. I had 3 tsp which is supposed to be the same as 1 tablespoon. The recommended dose is 3 1/2 tbs but I couldnt manage any more.

About half an hour later, I was suddenly boiling hot, all over. My head, legs, arms, feet, hands, I had to leave the room and go in search of somewhere cooler. I had to drink lots of water to try cool me down.

This is unheard of because I suffer from Reynauds disease (extremely poor circulation) which is where you're permeanantly freezing cold. It's not a problem now I'm raw, I no longer turn blue or become so cold I can't move, and people no longer prefer my hands to icepacks when they have an injury. But I'm still always cold.

I read that coconut oil raises your temperature, but I didn't believe it would do that for me. Wow!! I'm a convert!!! Coconut Oil is a miracle.

6 hours later the rest of me is still boiling hot but my feet are cold so I'm going to go have some more. And then I'm going to go invent a cheap herbal remedy, secretly add coconut oil, and sell it as a cure for reynauds

avalon · Post by **avalon** » Thu 04 May 2006 00:48

Flame On!

nick · Post by **nick** » Thu 04 May 2006 01:02

Maybe you need to slowly introduce it to your diet?

CurlyGirl · Post by **CurlyGirl** » Thu 04 May 2006 11:18

Yip, Cairidh, coconut oil does raise your temperature, which is why it is often used as a nutritional 'treatment' for people with hypothyroidism. The oil contains medium-chain fatty acids and lauric acid, both of which apparently have a thermogenic effect.

"Following rapid breakdown and absorption in the intestinal tract, MCTs [medium-chain triglycerides] are transported directly to the liver. Once there, they freely enter the mitochondria (the energy-producing elements of the cell) and are rapidly converted to ketones, which are almost immediately converted into energy. On the other hand, long-chain triglycerides (LCTs), which compose most other oils, are transported from the intestines as chylomicrons (relatively large fat droplets). They are eventually dumped into the bloodstream near the heart through the thoracic duct. These fat droplets must then be transported through the entire body before they reach the liver.

"This difference in metabolism means that the body treats MCTs in a completely different manner than the way it deals with other fats. LCTs are slow to be metabolized in the body, and as a result, are more easily stored as fat. MCTs, on the other hand, rapidly burn for energy use, thus are less likely to contribute to fat storage. If you consider your body's metabolism to be like an oil furnace, eating LCTs is like adding oil to the storage tank, whereas consuming MCTs is like pumping fuel from the delivery truck right into the furnace. Less is stored; more is burned.

"The fatty acid chains in polyunsaturated oils are LCTs, while the fatty acid chains in coconut oil are MCTs. It has been known for a long time in the scientific community that LCTs tend to produce fat in the body, while MCTs promote weight loss. People in the animal feed business have known this truth for quite some time as well. If you feed animals vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more meat. If you feed them coconut oil, they will be very lean and active."

Hmmm... come to think of it, my mother has Reynaud's syndrome too. Perhaps I will ship her some jars of coconut oil!

Cairidh · Post by **Cairidh** » Fri 05 May 2006 03:27

Yes do!!!!!!!!

It could be a godsend to her!

Thanks for the quote

I bought the stuff to give to my mum as she has hypothyroidism, but I couldn't resist trying it myself to see what it was like.

Today I had another tablespoon to keep me warm (hot), then I made a fruit smoothie for my mum and added 2 tablespoons. She drank a quarter of it and refused to drink the rest so I had to. So I'm boiling again but at least my nose is warm for the first time since I was about 5. My Grandpa used to call me Rudolph because I always had a red nose.

CurlyGirl · Post by **CurlyGirl** » Fri 05 May 2006 11:49

Hey, Oscar... here's your cue to insert a picture of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

You need to spike that smoothie with something to get your mama to chug it all down, Cairidh!

Thanks for the advice about coconut oil for my mom... I'll keep you all posted.

Post by **Oscar** » Fri 05 May 2006 12:01

LOL! I was indeed thinking about that, but concluded it was too obvious!

Corinne · Post by **Corinne** » Sat 13 May 2006 09:46

hum... I havn't noticed this (feeling hot) yet but maybe because I havn't eaten enough at one time?
I just invested in a huge jar (1,7L) of coconut oil. It cost me 42 euros, but it's cheaper than 11,50 for 250ml (0,25 L)! I love it! Especially now that the weather is warm it's almost liquid and easier to combine with cut fruits.
The brand is PranaAman.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » Sat 23 Feb 2008 02:05

If you take coconut oil and are a cold water swimmer/diver, you may stay in the water longer (with a thinner wetsuit) in colder months.

Some swimmers also take supplements that increase this effect (carnitine, calcium pyruvate, and garcinia, combined with coconut oil or medium chain triglycerides purified out of coconut oil). Somehow this changes the liver's metabolism to allow longer time in cold water.

This is quite off the topic of the diet here, but it is amazing if one experiments to use this to enjoy natural-water swimming and diving in colder regions in wintry months.

Post by **Oscar** » Mon 25 Feb 2008 11:59

Interesting!

halfgaar · Post by **halfgaar** » Fri 29 Feb 2008 19:14

I have been using virgin coconut oil for some time now as well, same brand as Corrinne (same price even...). But, I haven't really noticed any effects. I tend to have cold hands and feet, but the coconut oil didn't help. I also read it was good against small skin infections, like acne, but that didn't help either. (if it did help, I wouldn't have found this site. I think I will try the Wai diet as a next attempt to fix my acne).

Mr. PC · Post by **Mr. PC** » Mon 25 Jan 2010 18:50

So the medium-chain triglycerides give you more quick energy, and quicken your metabolism, and this makes you warmer?

How does the Lauric Acid make you warmer?

I've read about herbal or drug remedies that open up your blood vessels, like Viagra, but I imagine your body would generally become accustomed to it and it would lose it's affect. Do you think this would be a lasting affect, as long as you kept eating it?

Post by **Iris** » Mon 25 Jan 2010 21:29

I don't know bout the theoretical part, but my mom (who eat lots of coconut oil daily) says she doesn't feel the warmth anymore that it provided her with in the beginning. But then again, she doesn't know whether she feels the difference between eating it or not, since she eats a lot of it every single day.

And these days, when it's freakin' cold here (for Dutch concepts

), coconut oil really doesn't help that much

sunwukong · Post by **sunwukong** » Mon 29 Mar 2010 02:23

I live in Singapore, so it's hot and humid. I consume 2 tablespoons a day on average and haven't noticed a heating effect.