How To Use Coconut Oil In Cooking For Health

Coconut oil challenges the notion that all saturated fats are unhealthy. In fact, the saturated fat from coconut oil may help fight disease, give you energy, burn fat and improve digestion, according to Jayson Kroner's article "Coconut Oil: Another Reason to Love the Tropics!" Naturally occurring fatty acids in coconut oil include lauric, myristic, capric, oleic and linoleic acids. Use coconut oil in your diet as a functional and healthy ingredient for life.

Step 1

Use 1 to 3 tbsp. of coconut oil when cooking or grilling meats. Coconut oil resists oxidation very well, meaning that it does not easily convert into harmful by-products like other oils can. Moreover, like olive oil, the natural antioxidants in coconut oil may help to prevent the carcinogens that naturally form when meat cooks.

Step 2

Substitute other cooking oils, such as vegetable oil, with coconut oil to add an exotic taste to stir-fry dishes. You can also use both sesame seed and coconut oil for a fat-burning and energizing combination, says best-selling fitness author Jeff Anderson. Toss in some broccoli, asparagus, chopped carrots and onions for a truly healthy antioxidant boost.

Step 3

Add coconut oil to salad dressings. Aimee Hughes, in her article "Cooking With Coconut Oil," recommends combining a quarter cup of red wine vinegar, a half cup of coconut oil, a half cup of olive oil, sea salt and fresh herbs to taste. Drizzle this mixture on salads or use it to marinate fish or chicken cutlets.

Step 4

Put coconut oil on your toast rather than butter. Many people use coconut oil as a delicious substitute for butter. Unlike the saturated fats in butter, coconut oil may even help battle cardiovascular disease by decreasing blood lipoprotein, according to "Cooking With Coconut Oil."

Step 5

Stir coconut oil or coconut milk into tea or coffee in place of dairy cream, which contains a lot of artery-clogging "bad" saturated fats. Use 1 tbsp. and enjoy the energizing side effect of this natural thermogenic fat, which author Jeff Anderson recommends taking 30 minutes before a workout.

Step 6

Blend 1 or 2 tbsp. of coconut oil into fruit smoothies or protein shakes. The muscle-building and fat-burning benefits of coconut oil work synergistically with protein to help you stay lean and achieve your health and fitness goals, according to "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson.