Coconut oil is made from the coconut of the palm tree. It has been reported to possess a wide range of health benefits and applications.
Coconut Oil contains the following Vitamins:
- Choline (Vitamin B4): Choline is found in coconut oil at levels of 0.3 milligrams per 100 grams of oil. The daily recommended intake of choline is 550 mg/day for men and 425 milligrams per day for women.
- Vitamin E: The USDA reports 0.20 milligrams of gamma-tocopherol is in 100 grams of coconut oil. The Office of Dietary Supplements recommends daily allowances of Vitamin E of 15 milligrams per day for people over the age of 14 years.
- Vitamin K: In 100 grams of coconut oil, 0.5 micrograms of vitamin K is found. Vitamin K helps make proteins for healthy bones and blood clotting. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, in a study reported in Nurses’ Health Study, women who get at least 110 micrograms of vitamin K are 30 percent less likely to break a hip than those who do not.
Coconut Oil contains the following Medium Chain Fatty Acids (aka Medium Chain Triglycerides or MCTs):
- Lauric Acid: 44 – 52%
- Myristic Acid: 13 – 19%
- Palmitic Acid: 8 – 11%
- Capric Acid: 6 – 10%
- Caprylic Acid: 5 – 9%
- Oleic Acid: 5 – 8%
- Stearic Acid: 1 – 3%
- Linoleic Acid: 0 – 1%
- Caproic Acid: 0 – 0.8%
- Arachidic Acid: 0 – 0.5%
And for the chemist in us all…
- Iodine Value: 7.5 – 10.5
- Melting Point: 20-24 degrees C or 68-75 degrees F.
- Saponification Value: 251 – 263
- Specific Gravity: 0.917-0.919/25°C
The Nutrition Facts for 1 tablespoon (13.6 g) of coconut oil is (with Percent of Daily Value in parentheses):
- Calories: 117 (>1%)
- Total Fat: 14 g (21%)
- Saturated fat: 12 g (60%)
- Polyunsaturated fat: 0.2 g
- Monounsaturated fat: 0.8 g
- Trans fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0 mg
- Dietary Fiber: 0 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Protein: 0 mg
- Vitamin A: 0 mg
- Calcium: 0 mg
- Vitamin D: 0 mg
- Vitamin B-12: 0 mg
- Vitamin C: 0 mg
- Iron: 0 mg
- Vitamin B-6: 0 mg
- Magnesium: 0 mg
Glossary:
- Iodine Value (or “iodine adsorption value” or “iodine number” or “iodine index”): in chemistry is the mass of iodine in grams that is consumed by 100 grams of a chemical substance. Iodine numbers are often used to determine the amount of unsaturation in fatty acids. Generally, Iodine Values under 50 are considered low. Values between 51 and 100 are considered Medium, while values between 101 and 125 are considered Medium High and Iodine Values over 125 are considered High.
- Saponification Value (also referred to as “sap”): represents the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide required to saponify 1g of fat under the conditions specified. It is a measure of the average molecular weight (or chain length) of all the fatty acids present.
- Specific Gravity: the ratio of the density of a substance to the density (mass of the same unit volume) of a reference substance. The reference substance is nearly always water for liquids or air for gases. Specific gravity is commonly used in industry as a simple means of obtaining information about the concentration of solutions.
Article source: Tawne Bachus, Owner of Dirty Organics. Originally published here on July 25, 2014.
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