Virgin Coconut Oil: For Health and Wellness

Contents: 1. Virgin Coconut Oil for Health and Wellness. 2. Global Coconut Situation. 3. Consumption of Coconut and Coconut Oil. 4. Global Coconut Products. 5. Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). 6. Health Benets of VCO. 7. Who can use VCO? 8. The Need for Human Study. 9. Global VCO Market. 10. Machineries for VCO Production. Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is a miracle oil obtained from matured coconut kernel. Apart from its beneficial role in the nutrition, health, and beauty, VCO provides abundant utility in functional foods, infant foods, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical products. VCO is a niche colourless and tasteless product with high content of vitamin E. It differs in its nutritional benefits from the traditional coconut oil (CNO), which has to undergo chemical refining, bleaching and deodorisation (RBD) process. VCO, well known for its Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) as well as high content of LA (> 48 %), exhibits anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoal properties. Other than VCO, high concentration of MCFAs is naturally found only in mothers milk (colostrum), an essential nutrition that provides newly born babies the immunity to infections. Health-conscious people all over the world are now using VCO as nature cure. Practically anyone, at all ages and sexes right from infant to elderly people, irrespective female or male, can consume this oil. One serving of VCO as a dietary supplement (e.g., 1 tablespoon,15 ml or 14.5 g) can provide saturated fatty acids amounting to 67% of the recommendation of the World Health Organization of <20 g/ day (WHO, 2003). A daily intake of 15 ml-20 ml of VCO is the recommended dosage for adults including pregnant and nursing mothers. Two ml twice a day added in the milk is recommended for infants.…