Dear Nancy,
You said: <<For a cheaper source of coconut oil, I found some at the local Asian market, only $4 for a pint. I can't say anything about the processing or purity, but it is deodorized, so it doesn't interfere with the taste of food with that strong coconut taste. I like cooking eggplant with it, as eggplant can really soak up the oil, but CO with a strong coconut taste makes the eggplant taste unpleasant. I also like to put CO on popcorn, mixed with butter, and topped with Brewer's yeast and/or Parmesan cheese or blue cheese seasoning powder>> ** This is the type of coconut oil you want to avoid. Deodorizing requires a high degree of processing. You may want to read the opinion of an internationally recognized expert on lipids. http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/coconut_oil.html Other sources are: http://www.mercola.com/2003/sep/13/coconut_oil.htm "Most commercial grade coconut oils are made from copra. Copra is basically the dried kernel (meat) of the coconut. It can be made by: smoke drying, sun drying, or kiln drying , or derivatives or a combination of these three. If standard copra is used as a starting material, the unrefined coconut oil extracted from copra is not suitable for consumption and must be purified, that is refined. This is because the way most copra is dried is very unsanitary. Most of the copra is dried under the sun in the open air, where it is exposed to insects and molds. The standard end product made from copra is RBD coconut oil. RBD stands for refined, bleached, and deodorized. Both high heat and chemicals (e.g. solvent extractions) are used in this method. When referring to RBD refined oils, there are two main processes: chemical extraction using solvent extracts, or the older physical/mechanical processing. RBD oil is also sometimes hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils have been shown to increase serum cholesterol levels which contribute to heart disease. One of the main differences between Virgin Coconut oil and refined coconut oils is the scent and taste. All Virgin Coconut Oils retain the fresh scent and taste of coconuts, whereas the copra-based refined coconut oils have no taste at all due to the refining process. Some grades of refined copra-based oils are also now sold that have a coconut flavor, but are usually bitter and have a burnt taste to it." http://www.coconut-info.com/what_is_virgin_coconut_oil.htm Regards, Catherine -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com Silver List archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html Address Off-Topic messages to: silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com OT Archive: http://escribe.com/health/silverofftopiclist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@eskimo.com>