Coconut oil has been a topic of debate for some time. Often labeled a “superfood,” while others have written off the benefits of coconuts as just another momentary trend. So what is it good or bad and should you include it in your diet?

Are Coconuts Good for You?

When it comes to saturated fats, coconuts are a little bit different than the rest of the bunch. Some people still lump them in with all other saturated fats, such as butter, but what some people neglect to consider is that not all saturated fats are created equal.

Coconuts Contain Healthy Saturated Fats

There are three different types of saturated fatty acids. The fatty acids found in coconuts are metabolized by the body differently than those found in other animal products. These fatty acids are able to be used directly in the body for energy. This is where the distinction between “bad” and “good” saturated fats comes in. The good saturated fats found in coconuts are responsible for a number of health benefits. Here are a few of them:

A Healthy Energy Boost

Healthy saturated fats found in coconuts are absorbed directly by the liver to produce energy. That energy can improve your brain functioning as well as your physical energy levels. In short, if you’re in need of a little boost–products containing natural, organic coconut might help pick you back up.

Increased Fat Burning

Coconuts might also be a healthy way to get your body to burn more fat. Good saturated fats have been seen to increase the number of calories you burn in comparison to other saturated fats. One study found that the fatty acids found in coconuts increased the calories burned for participants by about 5% over a 24 hour period.

Reduced Hunger

Coconut products may help increase satiety, which can help if you find yourself feeling hungry even when you know your body already has the nutrition it needs. This is also an effect of the healthy saturated fats found in coconuts. In one study, subjects consumed products with the same fatty acids found in coconuts and saw that the participants consumed fewer calories per day, on average, with the addition of good saturated fats in their diet.

May Help Maintain Good Cholesterol

Healthy saturated fats contained in coconut have been seen to increase good cholesterol in your body, possibly even decreasing bad cholesterol. A few studies have shown some evidence of this, showing an increase in good cholesterol with the use of coconut oil. Lower cholesterol, in general, is associated with improved health and decreased risk of heart disease.

Healthy Coconut Energy Snacks

For a healthy, coconut-fueled way to stay energized and satiate check out our Almond & Coconut Energy Bite. With toasted coconut and 100mg of natural caffeine, this snack works wonders for your energy and tastes great while doing so!

 

Photos by: Chema Photos, Rodion Kutsaev, Epicurrence

As always, please check in with your healthcare professional before making lifestyle changes based on this blog. Thanks!

It’s well known that coconuts have a number of health benefits, but the sheer number of different ways they can be used in your day to day life might surprise you. From the husk to the meat and water inside this tropical phenomena is extremely versatile and is recognized across the globe for its many benefits.

Coconut Snacks for Sustained, Healthy Energy and Nutrition

If you’re looking for a boost of energy or need to fight your way through the afternoon slump, eating foods with coconut could be the answer. Coconut flakes (the dried meat of the coconut) are high in dietary fiber and provide a good source of minerals and healthy fatty acids that can help with increased energy.

Tip: Try sprinkling coconut flakes on your yogurt or cereal in the morning for an added boost or finding snacks that already have coconut in them. Try one of Ritual Energy’s toasted coconut and almond bites. The boost of energy from our organic toasted coconut flakes paired with the natural caffeine from green coffee beans provides a clean & sustained energy to get you through the day.

Coconut Oil Treating Skin Conditions

Coconut oil is often used as a natural solution for treating some mild skin conditions such as dandruff, eczema, and acne. It can also be used as a moisturizer to hydrate the skin. Some researchers believe this could be due to its potential antibacterial properties. When attempting to treat acne, those with oily skin are usually encouraged to incorporate coconut oil into their diets rather than applying it topically. Like anything, results will be different for everyone. Monitor your condition if you use coconut oil for your skin and always remember that with coconut oil– a little goes a long way.

Coconut Oil for Longer, Healthier Hair

Coconut oil has long been linked to hydrated and healthy hair. There are a few different ways to use it for hair health.

One of the most common ways to use coconut oil in your hair is by warming up a small amount in the microwave or in your hands and applying it directly to your hair. It can be applied all over or by focusing on the dry and damaged parts. Leave the oil in overnight (sleeping with a shower cap on or towel can help contain the oil) and make sure to wash thoroughly in the morning. This should leave your hair feeling healthier and more hydrated

 

Photos by: Sweet Ice Cream Photography, Amplitude Magazin

According to the American Sleep Association, between 50-70 million US adults have a sleep disorder. More specifically, 37% of 20-39 year-olds report being sleep deprived. Sleep is not only important for your mental focus and productivity, it also plays a vital role in your overall well being. Poor and inadequate sleep has strong links to health concerns such as weight gain, depression, lowered immunity, inflammation, and degraded emotional intelligence.

Getting your night time routine dialed in and finding practices that best fit your lifestyle can be tough. To help you out, we’re giving you a glimpse into our team’s favorite night time routines. We hope that by the time you finish reading this article you feel inspired and well-equipped to get your best night of sleep yet!

Alex:

Sweet sweet sleep! I think we all inherently know how good life can get with a solid night’s rest and at the same time, we all know how things start to spiral out of control without it. That being said, there doesn’t seem to be a “one-size” fits all approach to sleep. Even when dialing in my own sleep habits, I find it’s an ongoing balancing act that requires constant adjustments depending on the rhythms and demands of the day. It’s finicky for sure, but there are a few things I’ve found over the years that if I can stay on top of will almost guarantee that I’ll knock out like a light. Give these tips a try and I’ll bet my bottom dollar your nights will be more restful.

Consistency: This means going to bed and waking up at nearly the same time every day (+/-30min). If I find myself needing more sleep, an effective habit to build is going to bed earlier rather than sleeping in. Sleeping in will make the following morning much harder to wake up at a normal time.

Exhaustion: Often times my best nights are made by busy days. Mental and/or physical exhaustion makes sleep easy for me. I also find the inverse to be true. If I’m mentally/physically stagnant for most of the day, it becomes harder to fall and stay asleep.

1 calming hour: This comes as a slight caveat to the prior suggestion. Being busy throughout the day is great for sleep but busyness right before bed can be detrimental to my rest. I’ve found it takes me about an hour in the absence of stimulating materials, activities or thoughts to wind my mind and body down for bed. For me, this means no videos, limited cellphone/computer use, exercise, games, or anything else that might ramp me up physically or mentally.

Dinner: I don’t always notice when food helps me sleep, but I always notice when it gets in the way. Avoiding late and heavy dinners keeps me from the discomfort of tossing and turning while getting to bed.

Light hygiene: This could have been an extension of the 1 calming hour, but it’s so important to my routine that I wanted to emphasize on its own. Limiting exposure to bright lights, and especially blue lights, really helps me to wind down in the last hour before bed. This could look like using a dimmer switch in your bedroom or just turning off a few lights while going through your nightly routine. This also means limiting exposure to screens or using functional like Night Shift on Apple products to “warm” the spectrum of light that your device is exposing you to before bed.

 

Junior:

Oh, how I love sleep! But, I never get enough of it. So keeping a nightly routine is very important to me. I’m a night owl by nature so it takes a lot of self-discipline to stick to a nightly routine. If I don’t stick to my routine my bedtime ends up being around 11:30 pm and with a 5:30 am wake-up time on the weekdays, that’s not very much sleep! When I can stick to my schedule, I like to go to bed around 9:30 pm, meaning I start my bedtime routine around 9 pm by adopting no screen time and enjoying a nice warm Sleep Time tea. As I enjoy my tea, I like to pick out my clothes for the next day. After I decide what to wear, I take a hot shower, brush my teeth, clean my face and kiss my puppy, Marlowe, good night. And now I’m ready for bed -- Haha if only it were that easy! The hard part for me is actually falling asleep, and still to this day, I am working on finding what is the best way for me to fall asleep. If I don’t fall asleep right away, I try focusing on a noise (like my fan), breathing, and fighting the urge to grab my phone.

Tyler:

I love getting an amazing night's sleep. I know it sounds obvious, but I really notice the next day when the quality of my sleep was at its best. So to maximize my quality sleep, I take a few minutes every evening before bed to relax and unwind. I brush my teeth, wash my face and stretch right before getting into bed. Going to bed feeling clean is something I’ve always practiced and I think it plays a huge part in the quality of my sleep. Another part of my nightly routine is avoiding any electronic use 30 minutes before bed (other than setting my alarm clock). I try to make a point not to use social media or answer emails in bed as well. This way, my bedroom only feels like a place for sleeping and not like my office.

Ashley:

In my opinion, getting a truly restful night of sleep is one of the most underrated acts of self-care. I’m a pretty light sleeper and different things can easily throw off the quality of my sleep, so for me, staying on top of my sleep hygiene is extremely important. I try to be in bed before 9:30 pm each night, but really, my bedtime routine begins hours prior. I avoid drinking any caffeine after noon as caffeine has a half-life of five hours, and I also try to not eat anything at least 90 minutes before I plan to go to bed. Also, as soon as the sun goes down, I reduce all artificial lighting in our house, relying on light dimmers and candles. I do this to allow my body to align more closely with the natural setting of the sun and to avoid exposure to blue light, which inhibits the production of melatonin in your brain making it more difficult to fall and stay asleep. I also avoid blue light by turning off all electronics one hour before bedtime - a.k.a. no cell phone or TV usage. Instead, I opt for reading. Then, each night I rely on a few different night time routines depending on my mood. My favorite go-to's include: drinking a warm, sleepytime tea like vanilla or chamomile, diffusing a relaxing essential oil blend in my bedroom, spritzing my pillows with lavender essential oil and playing ambient nature sounds or binaural beats as I fall asleep.

If you’re looking for ideas on how to improve your nighttime routine and to get a better night’s sleep, you can read about 15 different ways to do so on my site.

 

Photos by: Yuliya Kosolapova, Jay Wennington, Miti, Rodion Kutsaev, Christin Hume