Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil – Review

How many of you use Coconut Oil?   

I’ll admit, until recently I wasn’t familiar with it. Of course, I’ve used coconut in dozens of recipes and have even used Coconut Cream before. When I received a jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, I wasn’t sure how to use it.   

According to the Tropical Tradition website:   

There are many ways to use coconut oil and incorporate it into one’s diet. Since it is a stable cooking oil, one can simply replace unhealthy oils in their diet with coconut oil. Since it is a solid most of the time at room temperature or when refrigerated, it can be a butter or margarine substitute for spreads or for baking.   

I decided to put it to the test. After a long day of chasing all three of my kids around, I found some cocktail recipes that sounded perfect for my first taste of Coconut Oil. I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand, though, so I improvised a little and came up with a little treat we’ll call “Mickey’s Well-Deserved Frozen Cocktail”:   

3 tablespoons of Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 cup of pineapple juice
1 cup Malibu or white rum *
Cracked ice   

Of course, in the cocktail the coconut oil was delicious. But I wanted to learn more about the benefits of coconut oil. I did some research and learned more about Tropical Traditions and their products.

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Tropical Traditions was the first company to export virgin coconut oils from the Phillipines to the United States. It was founded by Brian Shilhavy, who discovered the health benefits of coconut oil after he moved to live in the Philippines with his wife, Marianita, who had grown up on a coconut plantation there. The Shilhavys, like many, believe that coconut oil has many uses and benefits: 

Virgin Coconut Oil is a food, and is one of the best cooking oils you can use. It has been a staple cooking oil for thousands of years in tropical climates. As a cooking oil, its chemical structure is kept in tact and therefore is resistant to mutations of fatty acid chains even when used in higher cooking temperatures, unlike most vegetable oils. Research shows that the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil boosts the body’s metabolism, raises body temperatures, and helps provide greater energy which can lead to weight loss.

Coconut oil is believed to help strengthen your immune system, help fight infection, boost your energy levels and potentially help with weight loss by increasing your metabolism. Many people also use Coconut oil to moisturize their skin and hair. After learning of this, I have started using the Coconut Oil on my skin after bathing. I love how soft and silky it makes my skin feel and am planning to use it on my hair next. Here are a couple of pics showing the difference in my skin with just one application of coconut oil:

These pictures were taken about two minutes apart in the exact same lighting. You can see how much nicer my hands look after using the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil. The results were even more noticeable in person. The skin was silky, not dry-looking, especially on the fingers and on the knuckles.

In addition to many other amazing products, Tropical Traditions carries four types of Coconut Oil: Gold Label Coconut Oil, Green Label Coconut Oil and non-certified Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil. The different features of each are shown in the chart below:

Overall, I’m really impressed with Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. I look forward to trying many new recipes with it and using it to condition and moisturize my skin and hair. If you’d like to learn more about the many products at Tropical Traditions, you can visit them online, on Twitter and on Facebook.

* I did not receive any financial compensation for this review, though I did review a sample of the product for evaluation purposes. The opinions in this review are my own. *