hi there misskimbee, we do seem to be the only two from the great white north. there used to be a couple of others from the yukon but i don't see them anymore. i've noticed your posts here and there around the forum, keep up the good work lc'ing
how are you liking the coconut oil you ordered, was it tropical traditions?

jes

Yep, it was Tropical Traditions, and usually I take between 1 and 2 tablespoons a day, melted in my coffee!

I wonder if different people are sensitive to different tastes? I bought a jar of the NOW coconut oil and *I* found it to have that soapy taste. Soapy coconut. I also bought a different brand, Nutriva EVCO...it has a coconut taste, but not soapy. I like the taste, but doubt it would work with something like eggs. It's good with cocoa powder, though!
The first brand I did buy that was tasteless, someone else found it to be soapy. Wierd, no?

There's a new organic coconut oil product out HERE (I am in Metro Manila) called Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. It costs aboy 4 dollars per liter HERE. They've flavored the CVO so i haveno idea if that means it's still organic.
I use real cocnut oil which is NOT white but has no color. The first thing I did notice was that I was having hot flushes but it didn't last for more than 2 days. I know it's good for the thyroid and the immunity some say AIDs but I doubt it, despite some studies claiming do. I now it helps the thyroids, calms the nerves and takes away "phobias" somehow.. dunno how...
I also use the WHITE coconut MILK (which is different from the oil and I get that DIRECT from the coconut--- costs about less than 50 cents here... and I boil meats veggies and put the long big green hot pepper with it and it tastes great! (Some add squash)
CVO is common here -- works for colds but so does Vit C.
I have no idea if it helps anyone loose weight FRANKLY, I'm into ATKINS, and I am trying to lose 50 lbs and it is working. VCO HELPS but I doubt all those claims about weight loss.
Tropica traditions is produced here and it is organic. Some people use that as "sugar" on the Cofee. Many simply coook with it and I don't think it makes much of a difference how you take it.
It does however mak your face rather oily... some people THINK it is a cure-all,it is NOT. Oh and do not PUT it on your face unless you're not allergic to it. Some delicate skin types "burn" when you apply that directly to your face.

Coconut oil solidifies at 76 degrees farenheit. I know it is usually much warmer than that in Manila, but it frequently is much cooler than that in the northern parts of North America.

When coconut is cool enough to solidify, it becomes a milky white color. Translucent, not opaque like coconut milk.

You are RIGHT! Coconut oil is the FIRST thing you get from the coconut and IF I were there, I would try tropical traditions btw because it is made here. Coconot milk is the white 'soupy" milk you get from the coconut...coconut oil and milk are used daily by the some people who love using the coconut milk as soup base for anything usually w ginger and fish or chicken then the usual thing is to add peppers (the hot ones). It tastes great with rice and it is one of the healthiest "poor man's dish" here.
Coconut Virgin Oil is used at the San Lazaro Hospital for severe cases of immunity breakdown (there are claims that AIDs can be cured because of the Lauric acid on it btw--- but I do not think that 2 people cured of AIDs are proof enough since i am a cynic). I use CVO in the cooking and it does however improve my thyroid, it does make me feel more energetic, it does cure the flu, it does do a a LOT of good.
Some claim it encourges weight loss or makes you energetic enough to continue weight loss, but I cannot YET say this from personal experience. I did notice that on the first day you use it, you feel hot flushes but it;s okie... means it's "fixing" your system.
It cures phobias, anxiety which is probably related to the thyroid glands.Usually makes a person happier too. Yet, I really have doubts that 2 examples of AIDS "cured" is enough proof of
other rather cure-all claims because one medical jounal doesn't really make it true.
Oh yeah, it makes the skin oilier sometimes... i can't use it as a facial mosturizer because i KNOW it could burn the face.(dunno if the same happens when u go out in winter- we have no winter).
We do have a lot of foreigners at San Lazaro Hospital HERE who claim that they have been cured of AIDs because of it and so they come and believe it. Some do get cured but NOT all but
the aids people have a nother forum on CVO which makes me wonder sometimes...All I know is that it is generally good.
It also is very cheap here, I but the organic one by the liter at about 5 dollars per liter. I guess it is the shipping THERE which makes it "expensive".
In times of crisis and emrgency DYI.... some have tried it for typhoid and other infections and in most cases (not all) it does work.