Coconut oil’s antimicrobial agents help to keep disease-causing skin infections at bay. Acne is one of the plagues of modern man, but it is unheard of among the Pacific islanders who use coconut oil every day.
Acne is a skin disease that is very common among adolescents, afflicting more than 85 percent of teenagers in the United States. Acne is an inflammatory infection caused by bacteria which colonizes the hair follicles and feeds on the natural oils of the skin.
Most doctors recommend antimicrobial agents and antibiotics to treat acne. Benzoyl peroxide is one of the most frequently recommended medications for treating patients who suffer from mild to moderate acne. But there have been several side effects reported by those patients, including; redness, inflammation, scaling, and burning. The Journal of Investigative Dermatology published a study that showed that the lauric acid (the primary fatty acid in coconut oil) demonstrated antimicrobial activity that was 15 times stronger than Benzoyl peroxide for this purpose, while not producing any unpleasant side effects.
Most people associate acne with oily skin, since acne feeds on the oil that is produced in the skin; the more oil produced, the greater the chance of infection. So putting oil on the skin may seem counterproductive, but because of the lauric acid in coconut oil, the oil actually kills the bacteria that produce acne.
If you or a family member is bothered by acne, you may want to give coconut oil a try. It is much safer than the chemicals prescribed by most doctors for this treatment.
Until next time.
Janis
0 comments:
Post a Comment