Fat-free has almost become a cornerstone in many homes. It is certainly something of a fixture on modern restaurant menus. And industries have addressed the fat-free concern by supplying foods labeled fat-free and low-fat, as well as herbal and medical products that block fat metabolism. But the bottom line on the beauty and health fronts is that if you want beautiful skin with fewer wrinkles or speed up your metabolism, you need to eat the right kind of fats.

The skin benefits of eating the right fats every day are many. Beneficial fats stimulate collagen production, improve blood flow in the layer below the skin that supplies nutrients for the creation of new, healthy skin cells. Poor quality blood flow here means low yield of new skin cells. Fats keep the skin moist, from the inside. Fats are crucial for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins – A, D, E and K. And beneficial phytonutrients like carotene, lycopene and lutein also need fat to be absorbed.

For example, eating salad with a dressing that contains fat increases the absorption of these phytonutrients. One study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (and mentioned in Gorgeous Skin by E Angyal) found that those who ate a salad with a low-fat dressing had too little alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lycopene in their blood tests. taken after. Those who consumed a full-fat dressing with their salad had markedly higher levels of these carotenoids and lycopene metabolites in their blood.

Fats also help produce and regulate hormones, reduce inflammation (the right fats anyway), and prevent eczema, psoriasis, and hair loss.

According to Erica Angyal, you need about 2 tablespoons or 20 grams of fats per day so that the skin can be lubricated and enough vitamin A can be absorbed. Vitamin A prevents premature aging.

Erica Angyal recommends olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, pumpkin seed oil, coconut oil, mustard seed oil, avocado oil, soybean oil, macadamia oil, and canola oil. She suggests using extra virgin, virgin, cold-pressed oils where available, as these are always of better quality and the way they are processed means health-harming chemical changes in the oils are avoided. Of the oils here, monounsaturated oils include olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia oil, as well as oil from cold-water fish, such as swordfish, mackerel, and salmon. Monounsaturated oils can reduce wrinkles. Polyunsaturated oils include flaxseed, walnut, pumpkin seed, and canola oil. For the reasons described below, she personally would not use them to get most of her daily fat needs. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but extremely good for you.

Coconut oil

I love this material. Not only does it smell beautiful when it’s good quality cold pressed coconut oil, it also has amazing health benefits that go beyond great looking skin. Aging, including brain and skin aging, is associated with a process called “peroxidation.” This simply means that free radicals remove an oxygen electron from the fats (lipids) in our cell membranes. Ultraviolet light, from the sun, causes peroxidation of unsaturated fats, both in the laboratory and on your skin. This increases the rate at which wrinkles form.

And unsaturated fats, like regular vegetable oils, slow down your metabolic rate. Unsaturated fats suppress the response of body tissues to thyroid hormone. Unsaturated fats inhibit the digestive enzyme protein that forms thyroid hormone, as well as damage the mitochondria in cells, which is involved in cellular energy production. Coconut oil counteracts these unwanted effects of unsaturated fats.

Coconut oil is incredibly versatile. Because it is so stable, it can be used for cooking without hydrogenating. And it does not change the taste of the food, despite its strong aroma. Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids. These are not stored in cells like other fats, but instead go directly to the liver, which converts them into energy. The shorter chain length allows them to bypass the metabolic pathway that other longer chain fats need to use. Coconut oil is the only saturated fat that is good for the body.

Interestingly, Dr. Mercola’s website cites an article by Dr. Ray Peat in which he mentions that when so-called essential fatty acids were used in intravenously fed patients, their immune systems were suppressed. Therefore, coconut oil is used instead. The only exceptions are in cases where immunosuppression is needed, such as in organ transplant patients. Essential fatty acids are omega 3 and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Examples include flaxseed oil, cold-water fish oils such as salmon, evening primrose oil, and sunflower oil.

References:

1. http://www.mercola.com/2001/mar/24/coconut_oil.htm

2. Erica Angyal, Beautiful Skin in 30 Days (Lothian Books, 2005)