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I haven’t yet filmed the 3rd in the series on Dehydrated Skin…but will get there! However, I found an interesting article from Jenny of Coconut Magic with relation to dry & dehydrated skin. She writes “free radicals are toxic byproducts that can have the most harmful affect on your health, beauty and longevity. Especially found in heated, rancid and unsaturated oils, free radicals can damage proteins, fats, cell membranes, and vital DNA. They can also help accelerate the ageing process.”

It is so true that the type of fats we consume have an impact on our skin. I have discussed this many times with relation to the fatty membrane of skin skin cells. If the fats in the membrane are comprised predominantly of pro-inflammatory fats, then the skin cell is likely to experience greater damage from free radical production and cellular nutrition and hydration will be compromised. However, if you supply the skin with good fat sources, the fatty membrane will incorporate these and both inflammation and free radical damage will reduce. Cellular nutrition and hydration will also improve significantly.

Topically there are many beneficial oils that can help improve cellular health (for specifics read this article) however, the fats we eat will also have a huge impact. More from Jenny: Coconut oil is a saturated fat (it’s true – not all saturated fats are bad but that is a topic for another blog) that is made up of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA’s). The MCFA’s in coconut oil possess incredible health giving properties. They provide natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, ant-viral and detox benefits. Coconut oil is cleansing, nourishing and helps with the body’s absorption of vitamin E and omega 3’s, which further enhances its beautifying effects.

Coconut oil reverses the free radical tissue-damaging process by displacing the rancid, pro-inflammatory oils from the tissues and providing fat-soluble vitamins, minerals and super nutrition factors directly to the damaged tissue.

In his book The Coconut Oil Miracle, Bruce Fife, ND, details: “Studies show that dry skin contains a higher content of unsaturated fatty acids (60%) compared to normal skin (49%). The best oil to use is one that doesn’t create free radicals. Saturated fat fits that requirement.”

For those with dry and dehydrated skin, the protection that good fat affords is critical for skin recovery. Taking up to 4 teaspoons of coconut oil per day it wont take very long to start seeing the major benefits that coconut oil will have on your health and the way that you look and feel.

As you may have read in a previous blog I have had an ambivalent relationship with coconut oil – that was until I found Coconut Magic. However, despite liking the taste (or lack thereof) of Coconut Magic Oil, I still hadn’t really found the motivation to take it regularly…until now. I went to the Coconut Magic site and was doing a bit of reading and came across a video blog that Jenni from Coconut Magic did about the benefits of coconut oil which includes teeth whitening. Now this peaked my interest. I may just have to take up the challenge…and I would love to hear of any experiences of teeth whitening or oil pulling (see video for more info on this) – please comment if you have given either of these a go using coconut oil.

Watch Jenni’s video blog below: