News / Coconut oil
The lymphatic system and skin health
Good news Sunday
Do you agree? Here are some positives for an optimistic outlook today 💚💚💚
1- Parts of the Great Barrier Reef are showing the best signs of coral recovery in 36 years!
2- There are now enough solar panels around the world to generate 1 terrawatt of electricity.
3- The world’s largest offshore wind farm in Yorkshire is now fully operational and will help to provide renewable energy to more than 1.4 million homes in the UK.
4- Hawaii closed its last coal power plant to focus on greener energy options, removing 1,5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases per year.
5- In the space of a year the number of monarch butterflies 🦋 in California grew from 2’000 to nearly 250’000!
In these times, we all need to hear some good news too
💚💚💚💚
True organic of Sweden
True organic of Sweden
Organic and natural skincare products made in Sweden in sustainable packaging. True Organic of Sweden is a multi award winning brand for people who want effective skincare that is kind to the skin and the planet.
When my son was born I had just finished a degree in science of natural health. My son had diaper rash and I had sore breasts from breastfeeding. I searched for any ointment relief, even the organic certified ones had ingredients that I would never use on my son. They could have as little as 5 percent organic ingredients and the rest could be anything. How can this be?
I was living in Switzerland at that time, and when I moved back to Sweden, my home country a few years later, I started looking around for how to actually produce skin care. I found a wonderful organic and natural skin care guru. Together we created the first product: All you need is me balm. Two weeks after launch, All you need is me balm won its first award of many. It’s 100% natural and 95% organic in a compostable tube made of sugarcane. I was very happy and content with my accomplishment of such a unique, pure and effective balm but then people started to ask me “What is your next product “? Next product ?! I asked. After this I followed by producing my own wish list of my dream skincare products. True organic of Sweden skincare brand was born. True organic of Sweden skincare products are with as few ingredients as possible, as high in organic content as possible and ingredients that you recognize, at the same time very effective products that bring results. We have 7 products today and developing more.Our customers are loyal, we have a 60% return rate. http://trueorganicofsweden.com
Now we sell all over the world, to distributors, retailers and directly to consumers.
Starting as a one person company has been a challenge. Both financially and time wise. I have never wanted to employ lots of people but instead used freelancers and distributors responsible for their areas. The distributors have bought in bulk, have exclusive rights to their country but in return also been responsible for getting the products into retailers and conduct marketing, sales and PR. Some distributors have been better than others but as a small unknown brand it’s even difficult to get a distributor to look at your products. So if the distributors ignore their obligations there’s not much you can do other than remove the brand from them but then you might not fin anyone else willing to take your brand in that market.
Another challenge has been in the sourcing of ingredients and creating products that are efficient, as high in organic ingredients as possible, 100% natural using only planet friendly ingredients in sustainable packaging. Not all ingredients can be found grown organically. Most products have water and water can never be organic. This brings the organic level down. Organic produce is grown without synthetic fertilizers, genetic engineering, irradiation or pesticides. The plants need to grow at a certain distance from any farm that is not organic so the bees cannot fly in between. Our mission statement is to create top quality skincare products with the highest levels of organic ingredients. We are committed to protect the planet, its resources and all those who populate it.
The skincare business is big and competition is fierce but the more of us organic and natural skincare producer there are, the better it is for our environment.If natural, organic products in sustainable packaging become the norm, the better it is for all of us, our children and the planet.
Looking towards future opportunities there is a very positive awareness that there is no planet B and everyone needs to do their bit.
With so many natural disasters around the world it’s difficult for even the most climate change deniers to ignore facts. People are looking for ways to do their bit to help our planet. More are turning to organic and natural products. We are becoming aware of sustainable packaging and getting upset when an item is packaged in far more plastic than needed. Luckily we see that innovation is buzzing and sustainable solutions are presented in every field.
With the pandemic we had to rethink like everyone else and concentrate our efforts more to the online business instead of retail stores. Our distributors who had mainly retail stores were suffering while the ones with online businesses were thriving. http://trueorganicofsweden.com
A business is a living thing and one needs to nurture it and be flexible because change is constant. Wether it’s a pandemic, war or inflation. Being a small business it may be easier to make a quick change. We for example had Rosewood essential oil in our deodorant Undercover agent. I found out that rosewood is endangered so we could quickly change to ho leaf essential oil instead with a similar scent.
Talking about being flexible and change, I have decided to take on a partner in the business. It’s one of our distributors who has more economical muscle and is an established skincare distributor. Together we will be able to create new products faster and more cost effective. If you take on a partner it’s important that you have the same vision and values. For me it’s not an unknown partner, I know and have worked with this company for several years.
The advice I can give anyone wanting to start a business is just do. You can have market research, plans and preparations for years but I say just start. Take a first step and then the next one. I have to say, everything takes much longer than you think and more expensive than you thought.
If you go ahead, do something you are passionate and interested in, feel the excitement and have fun! That’s what I always have said, I will do it as long as it’s fun
Coconut Oil: Virgin vs. Refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD)
First printed at Centra Foods | Simply Authentic
"Comparing The Different Grades Of Coconut Oil: RBD Vs Virgin"
Posted by: Hannah Broaddus
If you walk down the oil aisle of any grocery store, you are bound to find a plethora of different coconut oils – it's one of the most popular oils in today's food market.
After being demonized in the 80s and 90s, scientists are now debunking the myth that it is unhealthy. Fans of coconut oil (especially in the snack food industry) are rejoicing this drastic shift in health and perception.
A common question that we get from food manufacturers who are choosing coconut oil as an ingredient is, which kind of coconut oil should we choose? There are multiple types, or grades, of coconut oil — just like olive oil. And it’s important to choose the right grade of coconut oil to meet both your product attribute needs and functionality.
We will first go through the attributes of different types of coconut oil. These attributes will mix and match to create the different grades of coconut oil, which we’ll review afterwards.
The Attributes Of Coconut Oil
Produced From Fresh Coconut Meat Vs Copra
Virgin Coconut Oil is produced from the fresh meat of the coconut. This meat is usually dried and preserved before being turned into oil or it may be “wet milled”. Wet milling is when coconut meat is immediately pressed into coconut milk, and then the oil is separated out of that milk.
Refined coconut oils, in contrast, are produced from the copra of the coconut. The copra is the dried meat of the coconut that has been removed from the shell and dried or smoked and saved for longer periods of time for future use.
The copra meat is similar to olive pomace — it is more of a lower-quality commodity itself, while the fresh meat is more expensive and has to be freshly preserved to be expeller pressed soon after.
Refined Vs Unrefined
Once produced, coconut oil can either be refined (like canola oil) or it can stay in its original unrefined state (like Extra Virgin Olive Oil). Unrefined oil maintains much of the coconut’s natural nutritional value (including polyphenols and antioxidants), so for that reason, many health experts recommend that consumers eat Virgin Coconut Oil in their home kitchens.
The refining process is a high heat system that uses hot steam and filtering. It makes the oil more consistent, and also filters out solid particles of coconut. Refined coconut oil is bright white and when it’s in its solid state, it is consistent throughout (without the coconut particles common in virgin oil).
Virgin coconut oil is less consistent throughout, and also can have an off-white tint because it is in a completely natural state.
Coconut Oil Comparison
Expeller Pressed Vs Solvent Expelled
Virgin Coconut Oil is expeller pressed and in addition, it is often cold pressed. The oil is extracted from fresh, mature coconut meat using an expeller press which physically squeezes the oil out. If it doesn’t use a traditional expeller-press method, it will use a comparable centrifuge method which spins the oil out (like with Extra Virgin Olive Oil) or a natural method called “settling”. These are cold pressed methods that don’t use any heat and nothing is added to make the oil — it is just physically pressed out.
On the flip side, most RBD oils that are made from the coconut copra are solvent expelled, like Olive Pomace Oil, RBD Soybean or RBD Canola Oil. There are, however, some refined coconut oils that are expeller pressed, but they are rarer.
You can safely assume that unless “expeller pressed” is called out in the title or description of the oil, it is probably a solvent expelled oil.
Virgin Vs Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Surprisingly enough, the olive oil industry has muddled this one up!
With coconut oil, there is no extra virgin grade – only virgin. However, because many oil connoisseurs understand extra virgin to be the best grade of olive oil available, marketers have taken to labelling coconut oil as extra virgin as well.
Coconut governing bodies only recognize the virgin grade and don’t recognize extra virgin as a real grade (much less a better grade!).
Organic Vs Conventional
Organic coconut oil is grown and produced organically. If the organic oil is refined, it is done so organically.
Conventional is another term for non-organic coconut oil.
At A Glance: Comparing Virgin Vs RBD Coconut Oil
Virgin Coconut Oil
- Unrefined (not refined, bleached or deodorized)
- Expeller pressed (mechanically produced, no chemicals used)
- Made from fresh or dried coconut meat instead of copra
- Antioxidant nutrition is maintained
- Often cold pressed (but that doesn't necessarily mean better nutrition)
- Strong coconut flavor
- 76-degree melt point
- Contains healthy MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) & lauric acid
Coconut RBD Oil
- Refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD)
- Made from "copra" instead of fresh or dried coconut meat
- Most often solvent expelled (though expeller pressed method does exist)
- Very little coconut flavor
- 76-degree melt point
- Contains healthy MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) & lauric acid
Other Coconut Oil Notes
There are currently no GMO varieties of coconut oil in existence. Therefore, all types of coconut oil are naturally non-GMO.
Very little pesticides are used in the coconut oil industry; coconut plants are not often sprayed because they are grown so high up in the air
Do you want to read more about Coconut Oil?
MCT Oil Health Benefits vs. Coconut Oil for Weight Loss and Ketosis
