When we shipped the first “virgin coconut oil” from the Philippines into the U.S. back in 2001, there were only two other commercially available coconut oils being sold as edible oils in the U.S. market. Coconut oil was certainly not popular 13 years ago and there were few choices. If you were using coconut oil as dietary oil back then, chances are you were getting your information about fats and oils from Dr. Mary Enig. Many of her writings have been featured in the Weston A. Price Foundation over the years.

Today, one has a plethora of choices when it comes to purchasing coconut oil. So what I am going to do in this article is give you an insider view of the current market, without mentioning any specific brands. Not all coconut oils are produced the same way and the type of coconut oil you purchase will depend on what you plan to do with it.

But first, in order to make an intelligent decision about which coconut oil best suits your needs, you need to understand what is currently in the market, and how they differ.