What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0109

5401.  Studies of Pacific Islanders, who ate up to 63 percent of their calories from coconut fat, found them to be lean and free of heart disease or stroke.  Their total cholesterol was higher, but so was their good cholesterol or HDL;

5402.  Other studies have found that lipid profiles improve on high-fat diets containing coconut oil.  Good cholesterol is higher and triglycerides and the number of the small LDL cholesterol particles are lower;

5403.  Coconut fat is associated with lower insulin levels;

5404.  Coconut butter is made from whole coconut flesh with all its delicious fat and solids.  It is essentially pureed or pulverized coconut meat and has a thick, creamy, smooth texture.  It is about 60 percent oil.  The fiber content of coconut butter differentiates it from coconut oil.  One tablespoon of coconut butter has 3 grams of fiber;

5405.  Coconut oil is extracted from the dried flesh of the coconut;

5406.  Coconut oil is made up of 86 percent saturated fat, 6 percent monounsaturated fat and 1.4 percent polyunsaturated fat;

5407.  About half of the saturated fat in coconut oil is a rare, special type of saturated fat called lauric acid.  It is known as a medium-chain triglyceride or MCT;

5408.  In the body, lauric acid converts to monolaurin, one of the compounds found in breast milk that boost a baby’s immune system.  It is like a super fuel for your cells, metabolism, bones and brain;

5409.  If there are expectations, that just means you’re close to something great;

5410.  Staying in a common room in Gadsby’s Tavern in (Old Town) Alexandria used to cost $.05/night;

5411.  Thomas Jefferson stayed in Gadsby’s Tavern’s most expensive room (i.e., the “blue: room) for $5.50/night;

5412.  Our soul wants to expand and grow.  When we stay with the familiar, just because it is familiar, we are responding to a fear of failure that doesn’t support our growth.  If you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities.  If you believe it won’t, you will see obstacles;

5413.  What if there is no such thing as failure?  Failing is a judgment that we humans place on a given action.  Rather than judgment, substitute this attitude: You cannot fail, you can only produce results.  Then the most important question to ask yourself is, “What do you do with the results you produce?”  It is better to jump in and experience life than to stand on the sidelines fearing that something might go wrong;

5414.  When we step back and examine our limiting belief, we can recognize that nothing can stand in our way of our goals and dreams, but us;

5415.  By remembering that fear is the acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real, we can step past it and become who and what we want to be;

5416.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  The fearful are caught as often as the bold;

5417.  You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You must do the thing which you think you cannot do;

5418.  The enemy is fear.  We think it is hate, but it is fear;

5419.  Apparently, Kristy doesn’t like to eat anything with bones;

5420.  Kristy wants to visit every continent including Antarctica;

5421.  Connor McDavid (of the Edmonton Oilers) is fast;

5422.  I’ve watched a hockey game with the “Great One” (i.e., Wayne Gretzky);

5423.  Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.  Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes;

5424.  If you think something is missing in your life it’s probably you!  Realize that only you can fill the void;

5425.  Forgiving others is essential for spiritual growth.  Your experience of someone who has hurt you, while painful, is now nothing more than a thought or feeling that you carry around.  These thoughts of resentment, anger and hatred represent slow, debilitating energies that will disempower you if you continue to let these thoughts occupy space in your head.  If you could release them, you would know more peace;

5426.  If we must forgive, we must first have blamed.  To forgive is to stop blaming and to accept with compassion that everyone is simply doing the best they can, given the conditions of their life and what they have to work with at the time;

5427.  Forgiveness sets you free to move past the pain and on into a life of loving and serving;

5428.  I find it (rather) disgusting when a (random) stranger coughs into your hair when you’re riding the Metro;

5429.  The saturated fat in coconut oil is very rare, very beneficial type called medium-chain triglycerides (“MCT”).  These saturated fats actually reduce the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (a good thing) and promote weight loss and can even heal fatty liver caused by obesity;

5430.  MCTs are a unique form of saturated fat that have been shown to possess antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, which help support the immune system;

5431.  MCTs convert easily into energy; therefore, very little MCT oil is stored as fat because it is used for energy.  This is how MCTs help you burn fat and lose weight;

5432.  A small study carried out at the University of Rochester Medical Center and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at what happened when a group of men consumed meals with either MCTs or LCTs.  The test meals contained either 45 grams of MCT or 45 grams of LCT in the form of corn oil and the scientists measured the subjects’ metabolic rates both before the meals and up to six hours after.  They measured oxygen consumption (which is an indirect measure of metabolism – the more oxygen you can burn per minute, the more calories you can burn and the faster your metabolism) and found that oxygen consumption after the meal rich in MCTs increased by 12 percent – about triple the increase seen after the LCT meal.  They also found that blood levels of triglycerides soared by 68 percent after the LCT meal with corn oil, but there was no increase in triglycerides after the MCT meal;

5433.  MCT oils get absorbed directly from the gut to the liver and burned quickly, while omega-6 fats from seed, bean or grain oils – like corn, soy, sunflower and canola – are transported into the lymphatic system, not the blood, which allows them to be taken up in your fat tissues.  That is my MCT oils boost your metabolism and help you burn more calories, reduce fat storage and cut your appetite;

5434.  Studies show MCTs cause you to burn about 460 extra calories a day for men and about 190 extra calories for women;

5435.  Consumption of MCTs reduced body fat and triglycerides more than omega-6 vegetable oils.  After eight weeks, the experiment showed that the group having the MCT had greater reductions in their weight, body fat percentage and levels of subcutaneous fat and a 15 percent drop in triglycerides and LDL or bad cholesterol (even though the MCT is a saturated fat) despite no differences in exercise levels or daily consumption of total calories, protein, fat and carbs;

5436.  In the 1940s, when farmers wanted to fatten up their livestock, they gave them coconut oil.  Their plan backfired.  The animals lost weight and had more energy;

5437.  Researchers have discovered significant antifungal effects of coconut oil;

5438.  Coconut oil is also an antibacterial;

5439.  Virgin coconut oil can help treat skin infections.  It also fights dry skin and scientists have found that it works against bacteria, fungi and viruses;

5440.  In one study, scientists followed about 2,500 people from the Polynesian islands of Tokelau and Pukapuka.  They ate a very high-fat diet, mostly from coconuts.  They basically ate some form of coconut at every meal.  The study found that the islanders’ health was good and that heart disease was almost unknown.  They also did not suffer from most chronic diseases including colon cancer and digestive problems;

5441.  Look for coconut oil that is virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined and never deodorized or bleached;

5442.  Like coconut oil, coconut butter is highly stable because of its high content of saturated fats.  It will last quite a while in your cabinet;

5443.  Palm oil is a vegetable oil derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree.  It has gotten a bad rap because of its saturated fat content.  It has been shown to be protective of blood vessels and toe reduce blood pressure and heart disease risk.  It even seems to improve cholesterol profile;

5444.  There are different kinds of palm oil and they are not all good for your health or the environment;

5445.  Red palm oil is the virgin, unrefined stuff that comes from the flesh or fruit.  Palm oil is naturally reddish and it comes chock full of vitamins and antioxidants including vitamin E, beta-carotene (much more than carrots or tomatoes) and coenzyme Q10 (key for cellular respiration);

5446.  While the vitamin E in most foods is mainly tocopherol, the vitamin E in red palm oil is made up of both tocopherols and tocotrienols, which are especially effective antioxidants;

5447.  Refined palm oil is about 50 percent saturated fat, 39 percent monounsaturated fat and only around 11 percent polyunsaturated fat.  While it is stable for cooking (and storage), you shouldn’t use it.  When palm oil is highly refined, it loses its color and taste right along with the inarguably beneficial effects;

5448.  Palm kernel oil comes from the seeds of the plant – the kernels.  Palm kernel oil is highly saturated (around 80 percent saturated fat, 15 percent monounsaturated fat and 2.5 percent polyunsaturated fat) and bad for you and found in roughly half of the packaged goods in American grocery stores;

5449.  Bad palm oil goes by many names including palm kernel oil, palmitate and glyceryl stearate and can be hidden in processed foods;

5450.  Ensure you buy products that contain sustainable palm oil.  Look for the certified sustainable palm oil (“CSPO”) label;