Few foods have visibly altered and benefited my body so palpably as Coconut Cream. Daily now I delight, even revel, in the baby softness of my skin and being able to eat certain foods that I could not through much of my life. Both are the result of Coconut Cream.

What is it?
From the website of the source I use: “Coconut Cream Concentrate is certified organic whole coconut meat in concentrated form. It is sometimes referred to as “coconut butter.” It contains no additives* (not even water). The dried coconut meat is ground very finely, giving it a creamy consistency due to its high fat content, much like other nut butters. Since it is 70% fat, it is a rich source of pure coconut oil. Note: this is a food, not a cooking oil.”

I find that it tastes similar to a good quality peanut butter but its flavor is less dense. We have used it in Spirit Fire’s kitchen for over a year in small experimental ways including: making coconut milk by adding water to it, or as a primary ingredient in homemade organic raw protein bars. But what has brought on these amazing outer and internal changes has been to have some daily, which now I have done for almost three months. It has 31 calories per teaspoon. I have 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon a few times a day, just the tip of a spoon’s worth.

On paper the benefits of coconut oil, milk, juice, and cream are substantial. They include:
• Lower cholesterol
• Improve digestion
• Ward off wrinkles
• Stabilize glucose levels
• Fight off viruses
• Build cells
• Regulate hormones
• Increase thyroid production
• Lose weight
• Increase metabolism
• Fight infections
• Stave off memory loss
• Kill bacteria
• And more! (source: undergroundhealthreporter.com)

At first I thought the increased softness of my skin was due to experimenting with the Body Ecology Diet, but that diet was not radically different from how I normally eat, so that didn’t make sense. Instead, upon reflection the only thing consistently different at the time was the intake of small tastes of coconut cream a few times a day. The most important time is in the morning before anything else is imbibed and at night before brushing teeth and bed. This way the first thing in my body is something completely healthy and regenerative, and the last thing too, as it will regenerate cells, skin, blood, nerves, and immune system while I sleep. Cool! And I am experiencing this. The beauty is that those factors of physiology which can rejuvenate are doing so. MS has caused some permanent damage to parts of my spinal cord and small areas of my brain. In likelihood, those are irreversible and I’m fine with that. Impermanence is, bodies get old, life has its cycles. But to experience regeneration with the factors that can is very cool.

Improved digestion is another major benefit to coconut fat and thus coconut cream. Certain legumes (garbanzos, black beans, adzuki, for example) were completely anathema to my gut. The pain of garbanzos was like broken glass. But after more than six weeks of the coconut cream regime, intuition said to try the homemade organic hummus being served to a guest client group at Spirit Fire. I could eat it!!! So, while organic food shopping for the first month of isolation-meditation, my body said buy hummus. It, blue corn chips, and sliced heirloom tomatoes have been one of my favorite repeated meals. Thank you, coconut cream!

My body has lost weight, and muscle tone is refining because I have more physical energy overall. My legs still don’t work well and each step has to be done in mindfulness, however, the sit down exercise “machine” here at my mom’s home is perfect for this increased energy and handicapped legs. (Abdoer Twist. If you have a disability with the lower half of your body, check this out. Video)

I am also starting to experience my thyroid needing less Kelp as a source of Iodine. Back story: low thyroid was being misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all and instead lumped into the overall slew of MS symptoms. Thank you, Martha for the heads up. I did some research and started to take Liquid Iodine. As that addressed the blatant deficiency, vitality started to return. Now my thyroid needed a more full spectrum so research again, and I started taking, and still do daily, Thyroid Complex from Botanic Choice. It saved my life from complete devitalization. I highly recommend this to anyone with sluggishness. Just try a little Liquid Iodine for 3 or 4 days. No harm can come of it, and you will know very quickly if this is something that might need further looking into. (Liquid Iodine is available at any Whole Foods, Co-op, or the like.) Mother Nature has what we need if we look to her first. Our bodies are born from her and her substances.

Lastly, I have an elderly friend who has been suffering with poor digestion most of her life and it had progressed to chronic reflux and gerd. Along with the mostly natural ways of addressing this, she is daily taking coconut milk, the creamy stuff in a can, and is experiencing great benefit.

In summary, I highly recommend an experiment to everyone. For one week, sauté foods in coconut oil and eat up to a total of 2 teaspoons of high quality coconut milk from a can. (Store it in a glass jar for better keeping.) This is an inexpensive readily available experiment. Trader Joe’s has both inexpensively. Use their new “brown” can coconut milk not the green can. Other high quality coconut milks are Thai Kitchen and Chaokoh, which have a high percentage of coconut cream in them.

If you find benefit of any kind (decreased cravings, more sustained energy, better digestion, positive adjustment to diabetes markers, for example), then go the next step and order up some Coconut Cream. Your body will be happy with you, and you will be happy. I use Tropical Traditions which sources from the Phillipines, uses local people, and harvests product in an environmentally friendly way. (See the 3 min. video.)

Good article on coconut parts and their health benefits

• Coconut Health Benefits, Life Saving and Antioxidant Properties
• the Tropical Traditions site
• Mercola.com