Coconut oil is widely used worldwide due to its numerous health benefits. Coconut oil is available in the market as refined oil and unrefined oil. Both refined and unrefined coconut oil is used for various purposes, such as cooking, skincare and hair care, to name a few. To buy the right product that suits an individual’s needs, one should know the differences between refined coconut oil and unrefined coconut oil.
Refined and unrefined coconut oil differ in terms of nutritional factors, flavour and smoking point. These differences are mainly due to the differences in their extraction process. Unrefined coconut oil is popularly known as Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). Before we move on to the differences between these coconut oils, we will see the extraction process of both oils.
Extraction of Virgin Coconut Oil and Refined Coconut Oil
Virgin coconut oil is extracted from fresh coconuts. For this, the coconut meat is first scooped out from the shells of the coconut. It is then pressed to extract the oil. Dry and wet methods are used to press the oil. In the dry method, the coconut meat is first dried through heating. Then it is pressed with the help of a machine to extract the oil. In the wet method, popularly known as the cold-pressed method, fresh coconut is pressed with the help of a machine to get coconut milk. The oil is separated from the coconut milk by fermentation or with the help of enzymes or centrifuge machines. So, cold-pressed oil does not involve any heating process.
Refined coconut oil is made from copra, dried coconut meat. This dried meat is pressed through a machine and undergoes steaming or heating to deodorize the product to extract the oil. The extracted oil then undergoes a bleaching process. The bleaching process involves filtration of the oil to remove the impurities. Thus, refined coconut oil undergoes refining, bleaching and deodorizing (RBD) processes.
Difference Between Virgin Coconut Oil and Unrefined Coconut Oil
As cold-pressed coconut oil extraction does not involve any heating process, it retains more nutrients than the coconut oil extracted using other methods. So virgin coconut oil has more health benefits. Since refined coconut oil undergoes refining, bleaching and deodorizing processes, it eliminates some of the healthy compounds from the oil.
Cold-pressed oil is the best oil to be used for skin care and hair care as it has more nutrients than other coconut oils. As cold-pressed technology does not involve any heating process, this oil retains all the goodness of fresh coconut.
Unrefined coconut oil also has a strong aroma and flavour of fresh coconuts. So, it is good for making dishes with coconut flavour and aroma. Refined coconut oil has a neutral taste. However, unrefined coconut oil is also said to have a low smoke point (350˚F) and may not be suitable for deep frying.
Health Benefits of VCO
Cold-pressed virgin coconut oil retains components such as tocopherols and phenolics, which enhance some biological activities of the human body. VCO is widely used due to pharmacological activities such as anti-hyperlipidemia, anti-bacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and neuroprotective activities. Thus, cold-pressed VCO provides many health benefits due to its high nutrition content.
To specifically mention one of the health benefits of VCO, we could say that consuming cold-pressed VCO can protect our hearts by reducing bad cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol. However, a high intake of refined oils can increase the risk of strokes and heart diseases.
Nutriplus Virgin Coconut Oil
We already discussed that virgin coconut oil retains all the goodness of coconut. So, it is important to source good coconuts for the extraction process. QNET India offers Nutriplus VCO that is extracted from pure coconuts. This oil is extracted using cold-pressed technology.
For making this oil, high-quality coconuts that are free of harmful chemicals and pesticides are sourced from Kerala. Kerala is famous for producing high-quality coconuts. The cold-extraction technology ensures that all the nutrients are retained. Nutriplus virgin coconut oil ensures zero contamination throughout the processing-from the farming stage to the packaging stage.
In Brief, enjoy the goodness of fresh, high-quality coconuts with Nutriplus Virgin Coconut Oil. You can use this oil for cooking and many other purposes such as skin care, fast healing of wounds, repairing damaged hair, and anti-inflammatory product. This oil is available only through QNET India.
