A few years back, when I got into health and fitness, I came across a quote that went something like, “Don’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t eat.” This really got me thinking about how modern marketing has fooled us into using hundreds of chemicals,

fragrances, parabens, and whatnot on our skin, supposedly to make it healthy. In reality, they are doing anything but that. These so-called body lotions, moisturisers, and face creams are causing more harm to our health than we can imagine. Synthetic fragrances and parabens in these lotions and creams can cause skin allergies, disrupt the endocrine system, and potentially disrupt hormonal balance, leading to reproductive issues. It makes sense that whatever we put on our skin gets absorbed into our body. So why do we continue to use these products? Because we believe what we see in advertisements and never give it a second thought. I was like that too, but when this realisation came to me, I immediately stopped using what I had and started looking for something more natural, something that could be consumed internally as well, which I thought was a good indicator of a product’s safety. That’s when I thought of coconut oil, which our ancestors had been using for thousands of years for cooking and hair oiling. I already knew that coconut oil was good for hair oiling, but being a North Indian, I had never used it in cooking. So I began my search for authentic extra virgin coconut oil because the coconut oil normally available in the market was refined and not suitable for cooking, at least those available in Rajasthan at the time. One day, I came across Vedika Organics's cold pressed coconut oil, wood pressed traditionally and without the use of any heat during the process, to keep the nutritions in the oil intact.

My life improved significantly after I decided to give it a try. This is literally the best coconut oil I have ever come across. The sweet coconut fragrance you get when you open the bottle attested to the oil’s authenticity. I started using it as a body moisturiser, and within a few days, my skin began to glow and looked visibly healthier. I only had to apply it once a day after a shower, and my skin remained moisturised throughout the day. It didn’t even feel greasy, as it easily got absorbed into the skin within a few minutes of application. I was so happy that I had started in the right direction of taking care of my health.

Soon after, I began using the coconut oil mixed with castor oil as a hair mask just before shampooing. I saw visible results after the first wash—my hair became much silkier and smoother, and the frizz was gone. No amount of hair masks I had tried in the past had given me such good results.

My obsession with this coconut oil didn’t stop there. I thought, why not use it in baking? I generally used fragrance-free refined oil and knew how bad refined oil was for our health. I decided to try extra virgin coconut oil in baking my cakes, muffins, and banana bread. To tell you the truth, I was skeptical at first, but when I made my first chocolate cake with it, all my doubts vanished as the cake turned out great. Yes, there was a coconut fragrance when I took it out of the oven, but when the cake cooled down, the fragrance was gone, and I couldn’t even tell that the cake was baked with coconut oil and not with refined oil. Personally, I wouldn’t have minded the sweet coconut fragrance even if it was there, but it was not. I also tried cooking curries with coconut oil and loved it. It was so light on my stomach. I had never experienced that before. Anything I made with coconut oil was so easily digestible that it got me hooked.

I feel like I’ve struck gold. How a single oil can do so many things is beyond my understanding. I highly recommend anyone looking to improve their lifestyle, health,and fitness to try extra virgin coconut oil. I promise you will thank me later.