Coconut oil is the Swiss army knife of food; does everything. Even more amazing, it also wonders on the outside of the body.

Let me just list many of the wonderful charms of this medium-chain saturated fat.

Inside the body, coconut oil:

• Speeds up your metabolism, helping the thyroid and waist.

• Fight against infections

• Defeat viruses

• Improves all your cholesterol levels (although I hate to mention that since cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease and it's not really the ogre it claims to be. Oh well)

• Facilitates the work of the pancreas, good for pancreatitis and diabetes

• Works to control blood sugar and improve insulin secretion, ideal for diabetics

• Helps manage irritable bowel syndrome

You can also purchase raw coconut oil from www.ostro-organics.com/product-category/coconut-oil/.

Outside the body, coconut oil:

• Protects infections from airborne toxins.

• Accelerates the healing of bruises

• Makes a great moisturizer

• Improves the condition of your scalp. Massage, wait a while, then shampoo

One physician, Bruce Fife ND, has testimonials from people whose thyroids have regained their proper function by adding coconut oil to their diet.

Coconut oil and breast milk contain a ton of lauric acid, which is very good and nutritious. The adult equivalent of lauric acid that a nursing baby would get is 3.5 tablespoons per day.

But if you like the taste of coconut, go for it. You can get raw organic coconut oil at health food stores. I keep raw coconut oil in the bathroom for my skin, nails, and hair.

For eating, I prefer non-hydrogenated, expeller-pressed (slow-processed) coconut oil. It has the same benefits, but it does not have a significant flavor. I get mine at the grocery store. I put it on almost everything.

And coconut oil also contains vitamin K, the next rock star vitamin.